Thread: 2016 'Defender'

Its interesting in the 'bent utes' report in the latest 4 x 4 Australia there are two pictures of the latest Landcruiser dual cab v8 utes with bent chassis and one of the experts interviewed says he has seen a number of them bent. No mention of any bent Defender.

They do mention Land Rovers in the April '15 4x4 Australia, but only in the editors blurb at the front of the magazine though.

"It's interesting to note that the only 4x4 manufacturer we could find that reduces the towing capacity of its vehicles for off-road use is Land Rover. And before all the Land Rover jokers have their say, you have to think the conservative Brits know a thing or two about making their 4x4s last many years."

I was at my mechanics today getting the clutch changed on the work Hilux and he mentioned this article. Then he went on about a few vehicles they have had through the workshop with a bent chassis through overloading on bad roads; Triton's, GU Patrol's, Land Cruiser utes, Hilux's, D40 Navara's, etc, but no Land Rovers so far, although they do service a lot of them.

I had an ML Triton before getting the Defender and it was a great vehicle. The Triton has copped a lot of bad press and it's got more to do with half-wit owners than the vehicle itself IMO.

Take any DC ute, sell it to a not so bright spark that adds airbags to the rear suspension, then a dual wheel carrier, then overloads it, then drives at silly speeds over bad roads and you end up with a bent chassis. They bend where the airbags place load on a section of the chassis not designed for that load.

I have yet to see evidence of a bent Triton that didn't have airbags. If anyone has and has the pics to prove it I'd love to see them (have some Triton driving mates to stir up...).

There might be a towing capacity sales war going on but the reality is, and sensible people should know this, that very few of the DC utes are real HD commercial vehicles. Many are closer to being cars than any sort of truck. Just because the book says they can tow 3.5 tonne doesn't mean you should and to be frank it would be pretty damn dangerous IMO.

Use them sensibly and they are great things. They have introduced a lot of people to 4WDing and offer a level of practicality that is hard to beat. They drive like cars, have real 4WD (and are extremely capable), can carry a modest load and can even tow!

They shouldn't be confused with a 'HD Truck' though.

Sorry mate but don't blame people if they are deceived,people retire after spending their life behind a desk and buy a vehicle that suits their needs,it's only after they purchase one that they realise it can't do what the salesman said it would,if toyonissanmitsu built the vehicle properly in the first place there wouldn't be a need to fit airbags-helper springs-GVM upgrades. Pat

...any recent reports on a greater lack of Defender stock given the new 'icon' looks like it's now way over the distant future horizon? How many are compromising and opting for something else new before then?

I'm surprised that I don't see any shortage of new stock or ramping of pricing.
Only thing is, some variants are no longer available.
S/H pricing is not moving either.
The above suggests to me why Defender as we know it is finishing,.....there is just not the demand.
Pickles.

You might say there is no demand but around my area,50k's south of Perth there is huge numbers of them,mostly late model TDCi's,the main Perth dealer has no stock except a second hand 5 door,the Rockingham Toyota dealer had two that lasted days in a yard full of 76 and 79 series. Pat

We drove past Freo Harbour on Saturday night and counted about 10 90's and 110's sitting there. There were 2 Montelcino Red 90's amongst them.