The Defender replacement

So, this is probably the umpteenth time this subject comes up. I just wanted to let the forum know that Autoexpress very recently published a very interesting feature on the Defender replacement.

£40,000 starting price.

For what will essentially be another bland SUV selling off the back of the Defender heritage.

Nothing for me, it'll be too electronically and unnecessarily complicated.

No doubt it will sell though, to those who lease and have more money than sense.

They need to do a pickup version to meet the needs and demand of the farmer. Which the won't do. Urban warriors is all

I’ve got a defender, a 1991 200tdi defender, the first year of the defenders, which I love. But I’m kinda tempted. Maybe it’s just because I want a new toy but partly because I like supporting the JLR company. It won’t be a defender but it’s the one model LR are most famous for. It might be pretty cool.

dieseldog69 said:

£40,000 starting price.

For what will essentially be another bland SUV selling off the back of the Defender heritage.

Nothing for me, it'll be too electronically and unnecessarily complicated.

No doubt it will sell though, to those who lease and have more money than sense.

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Couldn't agree more!
It may be a new vehicle released by the same company, but a defender it certainly is not!

Thor 1950 said:

They need to do a pickup version to meet the needs and demand of the farmer. Which the won't do. Urban warriors is all

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I suppose it becomes dependent on the platform that they steal from something else in order to make it? They could have made an awesome utility vehicle for military/civilian use and although I would have dropped the Defender over a decade ago and assumed the D2 cabin and chassis for the utility vehicles as they were already using the Td5 and basic drive train of R380 and LT230, axles were mostly the same too and there was a huge demand for a crew cab pick up in the 2000s and it's easy to see why prospective buyers were walking away from the DCPU available from Land Rover, it was absolute sheet in almost every way when compared to the likes of the Nissan Navara, Toyota Hi-Lux where comfort levels were far superior, in the US, had the Defender been available still and sold as an everyday motor the DCPU would have appealed to weekend warriors and those looking to set a status symbol because it simply doesn't hold a candle to any of the full size duallies and DCPUs, the likes of the F150, Dodge Ram etc, payloads and tow capacities are huge on those motors.

Gottschalk said:

Couldn't agree more!
It may be a new vehicle released by the same company, but a defender it certainly is not!

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Most likely it will just end up another monocoque constructed body on a powertrain platform just like they do with all the rest these days, don't get me wrong, British Leyland and Austin Rover championed the pick a part out of the parts bin construction method, but that was back in the days when machining and casting, hell even design was limited to what could actually be manufactured, these days with modern machining and production methods it is entirely possible to create the most elaborate designs relatively cheaply. This is just hype to remain relevant in the field as I think it will be hard for JLR to retain the luxury 4X4 crown without making some headlines, but with the likes of the D5 turning out to be just another BMW X5 with an equally massive massive price tag to suit it's slab sides it's hard to give it a persona of adventure as it is quit an uninspiring vehicle with terrible looks and no character.

I will be interested to see what they actually unveil but I would be surprised if it lives up to the hype of 4 years of being teased by the replacement, I am 100% positive that there will be buyers and a lot of them, all eager to show off their new material possession.

Can't you tell the baby has gone to sleep and I'm in ranty mode LOLZ

Wot a load of sh*te. They have managed to get a load of spy shots which are the closest we have so far and put their own story around it. I could have made up the story.

FFS land rover spend millions designing and launching new cars. Why would they give control of the first release of info ont new tratter to a magazine? LR have their own social media channels and carefully stage manage new vehicle release. Just ignore wot they say and wait for lr's big launch.

Do you really think the minimum price will be £40k?

Do you really think the minimum price will be £40k?

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I guess it depends where it sits in the line-up. Above Disco Sport, below D5 & £40k's about right. What are Navara's - starting at early £20's? No money to be made by LR there!

pourickleboy said:

I guess it depends where it sits in the line-up. Above Disco Sport, below D5 & £40k's about right. What are Navara's - starting at early £20's? No money to be made by LR there!

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We'll have to wait and see. I don't think it will be comparable to the current line up of LR vehicles or be built to slot into the gaps technology wise. The tratter was always pitched as a separate utility vehicle. Some of which were modernised with basics like electric windows and leather on the park bench seats.

My guess is there will be a starting price of late 20 to early 30 thousand £ int UK. With options to go higher on spec with the price going up. Trailer assist technology etc from the FL2 and rear facing camera's fer towing... But that's based on logical thinking and market demand for a base vehicle. These days a base vechile would be very modern with abs and traction control etc as standard. I think LR will have it covered so they get the most sales and pull in money they need for it to pay oft.

An interesting read on rival vehicles on the run up to the launch

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volks...tric-land-rover-defender-rival-plans-revealed

The so called, log awaited reveal has been seen but in another thread it was vehicle overlap that caught my attention as did this excerpt from the article.

.
Large Land Rover Defender family planned
Beyond the launch of the basic model, Land Rover is planning to introduce a series of Defender models, spanning a variety of shapes and bodystyles. Land Rover's chief marketing officer Felix Bräutigam told Auto Express: "One of the exciting things for us is that we are not launching a car, we are launching a family of cars."

Furthermore, design boss Gerry McGovern has hinted that a performance SVR version of the forthcoming 4x4 could also be on the cards. Such a car would be developed by Jaguar Land Rover’s newly formed Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division, and would allow the brand to tap into demand in Russia and China for powerful and luxurious rugged off-roaders, currently dominated by the Mercedes-AMG G 63.

It's also likely that a hardcore Defender SVX will join the range at some stage and we could even see a luxurious SVA version in line with the Range Rover SVAutobiography.

Whatever happens, the new Defender will continue Land Rover’s recent move upmarket. “In its core form it can be something that can be quite elemental up to something incredibly luxurious,” said McGovern.

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You can't deny the ambition and vision, but in the bigger picture, this can't end well i fear

it not a defender unless it keeps it traditional internal roof leaking problem.

saxavordian said:

it not a defender unless it keeps it traditional internal roof leaking problem.

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Biggest question will be as to whether purist Defender drivers will rip out the door seals for that "authentic" Defender driving experience lol

JLR are a foreign owned corporate entity now. They are in the prestige market and the days of a rugged farmers hack are long gone.
Gentleman farmers will have the range rover, farm managers will get the discovery and everyone else gets various defender types.
If they don,t make a cheaper farm tractor there’s a big market there for ford and Nissan.
I liked the old landrover cos they were relatively mechanically simple and cheap to repair, anything since 1998 definitely isn't . Sold the defender and got 3 series vehicles for the same money, all tax and mot exempt and cost peanuts to keep on the road. To me that’s a landrover the rest are just executive toys and status symbols you can keep em

Rodeo Joe said:

JLR are a foreign owned corporate entity now. They are in the prestige market and the days of a rugged farmers hack are long gone.
Gentleman farmers will have the range rover, farm managers will get the discovery and everyone else gets various defender types.
If they don,t make a cheaper farm tractor there’s a big market there for ford and Nissan.
I liked the old landrover cos they were relatively mechanically simple and cheap to repair, anything since 1998 definitely isn't . Sold the defender and got 3 series vehicles for the same money, all tax and mot exempt and cost peanuts to keep on the road. To me that’s a landrover the rest are just executive toys and status symbols you can keep em

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Isn't it amazing how Mercedes keep pumping out G-Wagens virtually unchanged in shape bar a few style mods an a whole host of luxury options while JLR bang out whole new models and ranges to be offered on the same market and competing against their own brand.

I can't wait to see it, I reckon its going to be awesome. It won't be anything like the old Defenders, which is a good thing, they really were flogging a dead horse for the last 15 or so years. It's about time they did something new with it. And the farmer/tech thing? Have you seen the tech in modern tractors and combines and stuff?