2020 Defender

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
Having owned a 110 in Brasil, smooth wouldn?t be an adjective I?d use to describe the ride.

Stable yes, smooth not so much.

And probably not replicated in this version which may or may not be a good thing.

That's what I meant. I get mentally caught up between two corners when considering cars, and think of stability as the transition from one to the other. A smooth vehicle glides along an invisible inertial railway. A twitchy vehicle will not pull itself through without correction. It can't hold the line as hard as it would need to.

That's one of the reasons I really like the DII. You hook it in there, and it just rides the wave like an oversized Jaguar.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
That's your opinion. I think it's still too soon to say. We won't know until the wraps come off. Even then it will be too soon. When the drooling automotive press gets its hands on it at a launch event it will still be too soon. A more realistic timeframe for drawing conclusions is probably 2 years after the Defender hits the showroom. Give owners a chance to develop their own experiences, let the quirks and flaws reveal themselves, let the strengths shine. How does it work in real life? I'm withholding judgment. There is still a chance that Land Rover did something clever and touched all (or enough of) the bases. Us gawping speculators don't even know what the final version will look like yet.

It's an observation based on past events in several industries.

When things take too long to come to fruition, and hype and speculation are in play during such a resurrection, even a perfect replica of the original isn't enough. It doesn't mean the vehicle will be bad. It simply means it can't possibly meet the vast array of expectations they have allowed to brew up.

Land Rover's fuck up happened several years ago. This vehicle should have been on a rotating display two years ago.

The vehicle is almost irrelevant at this point. Their poor marketing has given it one hell of a hill to climb, so I hope it's got some off-pavement chops. To be fair, they've never been good with marketing.

All those years of confusion, and look what they've done: Range Rover is nearly it's own brand again...

That as well was a foolish move on their part.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

fishEH

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2009
6,927
201
Lake Villa, IL
I'll need about 2 minutes to determine if it looks like a turd or not. It could be the most capable vehicle ever, but if it looks like a turd it's game over.
That's your opinion. I think it's still too soon to say. We won't know until the wraps come off. Even then it will be too soon. When the drooling automotive press gets its hands on it at a launch event it will still be too soon. A more realistic timeframe for drawing conclusions is probably 2 years after the Defender hits the showroom. Give owners a chance to develop their own experiences, let the quirks and flaws reveal themselves, let the strengths shine. How does it work in real life? I'm withholding judgment. There is still a chance that Land Rover did something clever and touched all (or enough of) the bases. Us gawping speculators don't even know what the final version will look like yet.
 

Lake_Bueller

Well-known member
Aug 11, 2004
2,105
59
56
Beloit, WI
I'll need about 2 minutes to determine if it looks like a turd or not. It could be the most capable vehicle ever, but if it looks like a turd it's game over.

I really hate to say it but I think it will look like a turd....or more specifically, a Jeep Renegade :ack:

I've been holding off on getting something newer than a nearly 15 year old Land Rover. But unless the Defender is something really special, I'll probably steer towards the Jeep Gladiator.
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
I think they've just got it very effectively camouflaged.

Here's where I think that shoulder is going to be, and where I think the roof will taper.

It really looks like they've tried to replicate the shape, but there's a lot of stuffing under that wrap.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

JackW

Well-known member
Mar 17, 2005
675
69
I'm guessing that the window line is much lower than the taped up version - in this side view you can see the trace of the rolled body line just above the door handles and I'm guessing the hood is much lower than the bulked up camouflage would have it appear.
 

Lake_Bueller

Well-known member
Aug 11, 2004
2,105
59
56
Beloit, WI
There is definitely something amiss with the roofline. It's way too "tall" (especially in the front). I'm thinking there may be more of DI styling in the actual roof design.
 

BarryO

Well-known member
May 15, 2018
98
7
Bend, OR
I think they've just got it very effectively camouflaged.

Here's where I think that shoulder is going to be, and where I think the roof will taper.

It really looks like they've tried to replicate the shape, but there's a lot of stuffing under that wrap.

Cheers,

Kennith

I hope you're right about the back end: that overhang looks a bit too much
 

kennith

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
10,891
172
North Carolina
That thing is buried, and I firmly believe that was a mistake on Land Rover's part. They simply do not know how to market.

You can infer the overall impression if you assume they used volumetric cladding where they had the space. That's how I pegged the shoulder line. If there's foam, there's space for foam. It's possible they did it over flat panels to confuse people, but that's unlikely. It's more likely the case that they hid a modern interpretation of an iconic and historic design feature, simply by filling it up.

I think it's going to look like a Defender, from a design perspective. There's no telling what they're going to do with the front end, but from the side I think it'll be a good looking vehicle.

Cheers,

Kennith
 

Howski

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2009
1,483
209
Alabama
The dash mounted shifter is awful. Use the command shift on the trail all the time and that isn’t at all convenient to reach up every time