Thread: The "New" Defender,.....When?

My head is turning every time when a Defender drives past me. I have to say, I love driving my Land Rover, but there is always something missing.

The simpler the better, I think its the best description for the Defenders.

However, there must be reasons why these brilliant defenders were beaten by L/C & Patrols in terms of sales numbers, reliability, cost of running etc etc...

I am not really a technical person. But I do think that in the context of Australia, where the environmental conditions are harsh, as a consumer, I would not want to drive a 2.2L diesel Defender with spare 180L fuel and a tonne of supplies in the outback.

You see, that's the thing I don't quite understand the LR philosophy, you built a such brilliant truck but equip it with a 2.2L engine. Again, a 2.2L diesel can never be a 4.2L diesel. Many occasions we need the torque at the rev before the turbo starts working, so max output at higher rev then seems irrelevant.
Under the same condition, it is much easier to replace the Defender with a L/C or Patrol which is one size bigger to do the same task.

Personally, I think it is very unlikely that the JLR will refresh the Defender with a bigger diesel engine, because it think there are not many competition in this class. 76 series is more expensive, G-Wagon is not really easy to get and also expensive, wrangler is more like a weekend car to me. So why change when there is not much competitions?

It is very sad to see Defender to go.

Originally Posted by airman08

I am not really a technical person. But I do think that in the context of Australia, where the environmental conditions are harsh, as a consumer, I would not want to drive a 2.2L diesel Defender with spare 180L fuel and a tonne of supplies in the outback.

Yet while you're sitting there thinking about it people are out there doing it. Who's the one missing out?

Originally Posted by inside

Yet while you're sitting there thinking about it people are out there doing it. Who's the one missing out?

What makes you think I didnt

Originally Posted by inside

Yet while you're sitting there thinking about it people are out there doing it. Who's the one missing out?

Yes, but mostly it is only rusted on Land Rover nuts who know the real capabilities, and many more can't comprehend.

But as said, many many more are doing it in Toyota, Nissan, etc. and who is missing out? Land Rover that's who, and as a result Australian Land Rover owners through, for example, the poor distribution of Land Rover support in our "outback" regions.

IMHO, if they offered a larger displacement engine (at least 3.0 litre, but maybe 3.2) as an option , and a better distributor network, more Australian buyers would be tempted.

Edit: the 2.2 litre engine in land rovers is basically a Mazda engine with updated fuel injection system. But Mazda don't use it in their 4x4 vehicles here, they are smart enough to use a larger displacement engine that would be better suited to our current Defenders.

Part of me wonders why Landrover have only ever installed around 90kw of diesel power in the defender?
Is it stability, potentially driving faster than the tyres speed rating or something else.

It does appear they take 90kw and 300Nm then look for the smallest engine in their range that'll deliver those figures.

Hopefully with a new chassis they'll consider 140-150kw.

Originally Posted by Dougal

Part of me wonders why Landrover have only ever installed around 90kw of diesel power in the defender?
Is it stability, potentially driving faster than the tyres speed rating or something else.

It does appear they take 90kw and 300Nm then look for the smallest engine in their range that'll deliver those figures.

Hopefully with a new chassis they'll consider 140-150kw.

Dougal, surely you have read in the past that the limiting factor has been the import tax on engiens over 2.5lt in some europian countries that keeps the LR Def at that or under. This has been going on for years. Yet they are to short sited to offer another engine option.

reasons for not offering another engine:

LR feel the limit has been reached for sales, so why bother.
LR feel that, say, using the 3.2 duratorq, would require re engineering of components to handle new power. Not worth it to them.

The Puma does have 360NM, which is a reasonable torque figure.
Cheers, Pickles.

Originally Posted by uninformed

Dougal, surely you have read in the past that the limiting factor has been the import tax on engiens over 2.5lt in some europian countries that keeps the LR Def at that or under. This has been going on for years. Yet they are to short sited to offer another engine option.

reasons for not offering another engine:

LR feel the limit has been reached for sales, so why bother.
LR feel that, say, using the 3.2 duratorq, would require re engineering of components to handle new power. Not worth it to them.

The tax on engine displacement went a long time ago. They tax on CO2 emissions now so thirstier engines pay more regardless of engine capacity.