Defender L663 review !

So, for general interest l thought l would start a thread on my Defender 90 Commercial.

l collected the vehicle this week, and it's the polar opposite of my old TD5, so much so that it's hard to review it in context, but l'll give it a go

INITIAL THOUGHTS

It's a bit of a beast, the sides are high and it feels big. lt's a fair bit wider than the old Defender.

SO HOW DOES IT DRIVE

Well, it's automatic so press the gas pedal and go.
The engine is very strong, and it feels quite sporty in the handling department
lt's a 3.0 MHEV diesel with 250bhp and over 500Nm torque
I took it off road on a local green lane and of course it performed well, but so does the old model.


FUEL ECONOMY?

Initially a scary 13mpg was showing, but in normal congested town driving and sat in queues l achieved 27.
Apparently it improves once run in.

WHAT ABOUT THE TECH?

Loaded with it but the cabin is not too fussy.
Haven't even tried the various off road modes.
Paired immediately with my iphone and the nav is great although l switched to Google Maps

ANY INITIAL DOWNSIDES?

lt's hard to get in, l need side steps!
As with all modern cars, there's endless bongs and beeps if you forget to do something.
For instance l opened the door while reversing up the drive so l could see the edge of the path
lnstantly the engine cut out and the transmission switched to PARK
So no reversing with the door open then....

SO, lS IT A DEFENDER

Of course it isn't.
Well, in base 90 Commercial spec it's probably more of a Defender than the £110,000 110 Carpathian Edition.

There's a few nods to the old one, such as the unpainted black plastic door handles, the grab handle at the end of the dash, the barrel sides, white steel wheels and rubber flooring. And the silhouette is similar.

The thing is, it's forty years of vehicle progress in one go, so it's basically nothing like the old one.

Our 2020 Jimny is the nearest thing you can buy to the old Defender, it's the same but with a bit of modern tech such as a media screen and door seals that actually seal.

Sadly it's a Defender in miniature, if it was 25% larger l would have bought another for my business.

We need picture's as well, hopefully off road !

Will do, when l get the chance

Good to hear a comparison with the previous model from someone who has owned both.

Agree with above nice to here a proper report from some one that used to own a proper landrover

keep us posted

So, another 100 miles

HOW'S THE DEFENDER IMPOSTER PERFORMING

Very well, no faults or issues. Automatic gearbox takes some getting used to. *lf you are cruising along and give it gas, nothing happens for a couple of seconds and then it shoots forward like you've been hit from behind*

EDIT
*update after 4,000 miles this no longer happens, it's now smooth*

ANY OTHER OBSERVATIONS?

Everything is electronic, even the interior light has no switch, touch it and comes on.
lt's very quiet at speed, almost eerily so, although remember my last car was a 110 TD5
This could be a good or bad thing depending on how much you like to hear from the mechanical systems when driving your vehicle

WHAT ABOUT FUEL ECONOMY

Currently says average 33mpg

AND THE WHITE STEEL WHEELS?

l don't like them

ANYTHING ELSE?

There's no interior release for the back door. l got stuck inside after it closed on me when l opened it on a steep hill, and got inside to look in my tool box

This is really dangerous, if the customer l was visiting hadn't come outside to see where l was and opened the door l could have died from lack of air after a while.
Email sent to LR dealer, seems earlier versions had a switch inside to release the door.

That is just nutts, hope that email was a bit stinky. A safety issue, JLR need to sort this.

Four more days of use for my business

SO, LIFE WITH THE NEW "DEFENDER"

The loadspace is about the same as
the rear of a 90, maybe a fraction smaller

There's lots of "easy scratch" plastic which shouldn't matter in the rear of what's essentially a posh van, but it does when you've spent over £50,000

I've put a foam mat in, but it needs a load liner, nobody does one yet

AND THE WHITE STEEL WHEELS?

l don't like them

THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION?

Okay now l am used to it. Manual mode is good fun

THE RIDE QUALITY, BETTER, YES?

Better than a 110 TD5? Well of course it is, on road at least. lt's superb.
Off road tbh there's not a lot in it, the new one certainly lets you know it's driving over a rough bridleway. l am a little disappointed

The air sprung one may be better, but actually l don't want to be too disconnected from what's going on.

FUEL ECONOMY?

Not a lot different to my TD5
Mid to high 20's round town and short journeys
Better on a run, 40+ if you sit at 65mph

DO I LIKE THE LOOK OF IT

Well yes, although l think it's colour dependent and the pointless bling on many of them spoils it in my opinion
Mines base specification
Will look better with some nice silver five spoke alloys.

DEFENDER 90 COMMERCIAL
IS IT A UTILITY VEHICLE THEN?

Well, more of a company showcase vehicle l
would say. The interior is a bit too posh with fancy finishes that might look manky after a couple of years.
I am using it as a works van so time will tell.

JLR and safety issues are a joke, my Range Rover Sport like many other Range Rover owners have had to put up the Air Bag warning light on and they do nothing about it.

Well, currently l have no faults or issues to report on the new "Defender" although it's only done 450 miles.

The safety issue where you can get trapped in the back, is still being looked at by Land Rover (according to the message l received today) and l will report back when something happens.

There's an aftermarket kit available for £22 which adds a switch to the inside of the rear door, so if Land Rover can't sort it l'll just fit that.

Another week of customer call outs, and a day out, in the new vehicle
400 miles

HOW'S IT GOING THEN?

Well, very nice. l still can't believe l'm driving around in one of these. lt's only the tax advantages that have made it possible

DO l MISS MY OLD 110

Yes, of course! l had "Elsa" for eight years and did 90,000 miles in her. l knew every nut and bolt, because l'd had most of them off over the eight years.
lf l had storage, l would buy it back from the dealer and keep it.
But the new one makes sense for my business, and (notwithstanding whether it's a genuine replacement for the Defender or not) it's a very good vehicle.

SO, THOSE WHITE STEEL WHEELS

I don't like them
But they are a nod to the old Defender, maybe l should fit some Boost Alloys lol

MPG?

Round town, 26-28
Same as my TD5 110

ANY GLITCHES?

None, although the parking sensors went silent on one occasion, it might have been something l pressed on the control panel

CUSTOMERS REACTIONS

Nobody's mentioned it except for one who said "that's a nice looking Defender"

OFF ROAD?

Mild off road and muddy fields at a local farm, very good but l am sure my old 110 wouldn't have struggled either.
On a severely pot holed bridleway absolutely fine.
l think my TD5 didn't throw me around so much, probably due to the better axle articulation on a live axle vehicle.

ON ROAD?

Fabulous, makes mincemeat of speed humps, pot holes and broken tarmac. But you'd expect that from a vehicle of this type.

VISIBILITY

Crap
But no worse than my old Transit Connect van
Cameras help, when l can figure out what they're showing me

Surprising about the fuel economy all these years and development and no further forward in using less fuel for the same power /distance

good reading your opinions for old n new

I guess, although it's much better on a run than my old TD5, 40mpg vs 26mpg

Most vehicles l've driven struggle to better 30mpg when used for the short local journeys l do all day.

haza88 said:

Surprising about the fuel economy all these years and development and no further forward in using less fuel for the same power /distance

good reading your opinions for old n new

Click to expand...

That is the emissions kit, modern engines can make fantastic power/torque, but the dpf/doc etc really stunts them.

Next time you speak to someone who is a truck driver ask them what mpg their truck does, then ask yourself how can 44 ton do 10mpg yet a 2 ton car can only do 35/40 mpg at best!

lynall said:

That is the emissions kit, modern engines can make fantastic power/torque, but the dpf/doc etc really stunts them.

Next time you speak to someone who is a truck driver ask them what mpg their truck does, then ask yourself how can 44 ton do 10mpg yet a 2 ton car can only do 35/40 mpg at best!

Click to expand...

This weeks average 8.8

@lightning first time Iv seen the fog lights used on the new defender, look very bright & it’s a nice idea that they mow have 2 of these.
Could see the defender longer than the BMW … of course it’s foggy & the BMW does not have any lights on..

Hicap phill said:

This weeks average 8.8

Click to expand...

Still better than a carbed v8

Hicap phill said:

@lightning first time Iv seen the fog lights used on the new defender, look very bright & it’s a nice idea that they mow have 2 of these.
Could see the defender longer than the BMW … of course it’s foggy & the BMW does not have any lights on..

Click to expand...

l guess you are talking about the rear fog lights?

The front fog lights aren't standard on the Commercial version, fortunately l ticked the option on the configurator, think it was £160, and yes they are very good as well.


Had a customer say today "that's a proper Land Rover Defender...."

l think he meant it's more of a what he thinks a Defender should look like, than their other current products.

Most other customers have said nothing, a couple commented it was "nice" and one lady whose neighbour worked on the software for it, asked how l was liking the vehicle and said she "loved them"

l got a lot more comments about my old 110, all positive.

Another week of constant use, now on 700 miles

ANYTHING NEW TO REPORT?

Not really, the looks are growing on me, the side and rear profile have quite a few designs features from the old Defender, the front less so.

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

Still getting used to it, after forty years of stick shift.
At first l was always watching the RPM to see what it was doing, but l've found it best to ignore it.
Being an eight speed it shifts gears quite a lot although it's very smooth with only the occasional time when you catch it out.

SO, A GOOD VAN THEN?

lt's good if a small van is adequate, it's fine for me. l can get a 55" TV against the bulkhead

ANYTHING I DON'T LIKE?

Not really, it's probably in reality no better van than a VW Caddy which is half the price.
But much nicer to drive and feels like more of an occasion.
lt's more useful than l initially thought it would be, with plenty of storage in the cab and under the floor in the back.

OFF ROAD?

lt's great, but (and some people won't agree with this) but nothing like driving an original Defender.
lt's just too precious and doesn't feel at home in a green lane, scrape the side and you're going to be sobbing into your cornflakes where with the old Defender it wouldn't matter.
Put a dent in a TD5 and you'll call it "patina"
Put a dent in this one and you'll be wide awake at 3am, eyes wide with despair.

THE WHITE STEEL WHEELS?

Growing on me. lmpossible to curb and won't get damaged off road. Tyres are like an old Defender so plenty of compliance.

Another few weeks of daily use

WHAT'S THE STORY SO FAR?

The new Pretender is now on 1200 miles and has so far behaved itself with no faults

STILL LOVING IT?

It's okay, it was a big decision to swap out my lovely 2005 Defender for this one and l still sometimes lie awake at night thinking what have l done

HOW'S THE NEW ONE THEN

As a daily driver, it's pretty much perfect, and unlike a lot of modern vehicles l've driven, it does have personality and is not dull to drive.

HAS IT GOT A NAME YET

Every Defender should have a name. l still haven't named this one yet. My missus suggested "Ripley"
EDIT. I've called her "Frida"

BEEN OFF ROAD?

Not really.

COMMENTS FROM CUSTOMERS l HAVE VISITED?

All positive although different comments to my old one.

IS IT A KEEPER?

Still not 110% sure. l still sometimes feel that it's "un-necessary" and l would have been just as well off in my old one.
I saw a lovely 65,000 mile 2005 110 XS SW for sale on Ebay last week and l have to say the temptation was there.