Thread: Do you now view your current Land Rover differently?

It's a D4 in drag.
I expect the value of my Defender to keep rising, since it hasn't been replaced.

Originally Posted by Barraman

My D4 is coming up to 5 yrs old in a few months. If I could buy a new D4 I would looking to place an order - but I can't!

I love my D4, and it is the perfect vehicle for what I like/need to do - so I am about to spend a bunch of $$ giving it a "refresh" in the hope of getting a few more trouble free years out of it.

Don't know what I am going to do after that. Reluctantly buy a D5 I guess, unless they put a bigger diesel motor in the new Defender - then It might be a contender.

Exactly,in fact i was a fool not to buy one of the very last ones.

I had one of the very last D2a's,and it was a great vehicle.

The D4 suits us perfectly,but there is nothing around to replace it with.

The D5 has been crossed off the list ages ago,and i was hoping the new Defender was the go,but maybe not,i will have to wait and see it,first.

Looking at the specs,its way smaller in the rear than the D4,the 130 may be the go,but its ages away,and more expensive again.And needs a bigger diesel,as you said.

So by the time the D4 has to go,it will probably be something from another brand.

Originally Posted by goingbush

not clear at all, your arse about, Theres the new 'Thing' and the old Defender. there is no new Defender , just a Pretender !

Tongue duly removed from cheek.

My D4 has just come out of warranty and I've signed up for 3 years of the extended type. Not sure actually if I'll keep it that long but don't think any Defender will be the next vehicle.
Having a Puma (the worst vehicle after having had a Td5 and 300 Tdi) put me off Defenders for life with it's really sloppy axles, bad panel alignment and more Ford cheap build.
Although I quite like the look of the L663 but why such a piddling engine yet again? Why not something bigger for different markets like Oz?
Plus of course still no dealers or agents in the vast majority of places we love to travel in.
At this time I'm nearly nearly going the way of the dark side......
AlanH.

Whilst I've driven them, but never owned a traditional Defender, one of the beauties of the 'old Defender' was 'you can work on/repair them yourself'.
The new car is not that car. It will be very competent off-road and pleasant on-road - but it will need dealer or specialist servicing/repairs - and those are rare outside of Australian capital cities.
Fix it beside the non-existent road? I don't think so.
The only Land Rover I've owned is a Freelander 2 TD4 - which has it's limitations but they're a lot further up the difficulty scale than you'd expect. D4 climbing angle 49 degrees; FL2 6-speed, 39 degrees, FL2 9-speed, 42 degrees (from memory).
But - a recent experience with routine wear-n-tear; an intercooler hose split - nothing really unusual after 8 years, but it threw the engine into safe-mode/limp-mode - barely safe to drive in light traffic. And the genuine part was ludicrously expensive.
I suspect the electronic nannies on the new vehicle ("Pretender" - I like it!) will translate it into 'unsuitable for truly remote' despite any theoretical competence - on the 'If I can't rescue myself, don't go there' principle.

Originally Posted by Phideaux

one of the beauties of the 'old Defender' was 'you can work on/repair them yourself'.
The new car is not that car. It will be very competent off-road and pleasant on-road - but it will need dealer or specialist servicing/repairs - and those are rare outside of Australian capital cities.

Sorry, I dont agree. I service and maintain my RRS myself with a couple of basic tools like a code reader. The new Defender, while having more up to date systems than my RRS, as a general statement it is no more complex - TR2 instead of TR1 - hopefully a better air compressor etc. Likewise you mentioned the old Defender and for sure a 200tdi or 300tdi may have been able to be fixed by the side of the road but the latest Puma with the exception of the suspension and transfer case was nearly as complex as the rest of my RRS.

I think that once people become familiar with the new Defender and understand the foibles I am sure it will have, I am sure those with a mechanical and electrical bent will be able to look after the new vehicle quite well, just as the new D3 etc did back in 2005.

Garry

No...
*I still think my Perentie is a great tractor.
*I still think Jaguar Land Rover is a **** company that has been making hit and miss products plagued with poor build quality.
*I think the new Defender is great and if its got good build quality and reliability it will be awesome

Originally Posted by 101RRS

Sorry, I dont agree. I service and maintain my RRS myself with a couple of basic tools like a code reader. The new Defender, while having more up to date systems than my RRS, as a general statement it is no more complex - TR2 instead of TR1 - hopefully a better air compressor etc. Likewise you mentioned the old Defender and for sure a 200tdi or 300tdi may have been able to be fixed by the side of the road but the latest Puma with the exception of the suspension and transfer case was nearly as complex as the rest of my RRS.

I think that once people become familiar with the new Defender and understand the foibles I am sure it will have, I am sure those with a mechanical and electrical bent will be able to look after the new vehicle quite well, just as the new D3 etc did back in 2005.

Garry

They would want to be good with electrics.. doesn't it have 85 computers on board? imagine the problems if 2 of them happen to play up!