2020 Land Rover Defender review.

[bob10]

Excellent on and off road, but not one for the DIY'er.

Pat Callinan's 4X4 Adventures | The Essence of 4X4 Adventure - 2020 Land Rover Defender Review: First Drive (https://mr4x4.com.au/2020-land-rover-defender-review-first-drive/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=How+to+stay+sane+while+not+actually+fo ur-wheel+driving&utm_campaign=PC+Newsletter+%23306)

[ramblingboy42]

I'm not going to listen to any more offroad reports until I hear how a new Defender travels over the most atrocious roads I know. Namely those around the Mt Dare/ Dalhousie areas.

I go up there every so often (have friends live and work there) and prefer to just drive across the bush in preference to the established roads . The station owners grade their internal roads and I travel those when I can.

I think most will agree with me about so many of our bush roads being able to shake your teeth out over the corrugations...thats where I want to see a vehicle shine.

The station owners I know have possibly 100 Toyotas and I just cannot see them getting in and out of a nicely upholstered Landrover with cow**** and rocks and prickles on their boots, they wipe their dirty hands on the arse of their jeans and throw fencing gear and fuel/chainsaws and welders into the vehicles. I just can't see it unless LR release a utilty vehicle, a serious utilty vehicle.

[jon3950]

If the D4 is anything to go by (and it is), it will eat those roads up.

It will never replace the working Cruisers out on the stations and it was never designed to. It has the potential to replace the 200s and Prados, but I can’t really see that happening.

[Slunnie]

If the D4 is anything to go by (and it is), it will eat those roads up.

It will never replace the working Cruisers out on the stations and it was never designed to. It has the potential to replace the 200s and Prados, but I can’t really see that happening.

I tend to agree. The Defender chassis and suspension has also been built significantly stronger than whats in the the current range to make sure it is extra heavy duty for a constantly hard life.

[scarry]

If the D4 is anything to go by (and it is), it will eat those roads up.

It will never replace the working Cruisers out on the stations and it was never designed to. It has the potential to replace the 200s and Prados, but I can’t really see that happening.

Correct,done those roads twice in the loaded D4,including the road up through Finke to Alice.
Corrugations were the worst i have ever encountered.
No issue at all,and my lower control arms, still lasted until 85K,more than many others.
Both front struts were replaced at that mileage as well,due to air leaks,but the shocks were fine.

That new Defender will do it easily.

I can't see this new Defender even putting a tiny dent in the LC sales,no matter what the new LC or Prado are like.
I think it is a lot smaller than an LC200 as well,particularly in the rear load area behind the second row seats.
Tiny Diesel engine,small fuel tank,the grey nomads that tow blocks of flats are not going to be interested.

[Carrow81]

I had a read of the review in the link, what new touring wagon isn't going to need a tow truck to save it if the electronics fail? And whens there's money involved in reviews whom are u going to believe? u don't here about the lc200 in reviews having a auto the surges all the time and won't stay in overdrive which requires a lock up , or that the blow by gets dumped into the left bank turbo, or the fact that they suck dust in through the back, or the fact that u have to raise the front so you dont feel like your driving on an angle or if a starter motor goes its a big job. thats my rant for the day as a former lc200 owner.


cheers
Chris

[Meccles]

I suppose the real question is will JLR survive the COVID virus? All our thoughts re nee deefer irrelevant if it doesn't

[PerthDisco]

I suppose the real question is will JLR survive the COVID virus? All our thoughts re nee deefer irrelevant if it doesn't

Agree, yep car companies going out the back door currently. Thank goodness LR is RHD origin as that’s another trick to drop the small RHD market for Europe and US based marques.

Very difficult times in India currently so Tata’s viability is the question as not sure who will take the LR pass the parcel next.

[Graeme]

The Defer has CVDs so it will ride corrugations, outback tracks and roads beautifully.

[zilch]

My RRS has soaked up the best the PDR and OTT has thrown at it, control arms changed
at 125k, the Defender should handle corrugations no problem

[cripesamighty]

My only issue (and it’s more driver education related), is that the CVD suspension will soak up the bumps so easily, that you need to have a bit of mechanical sympathy for the vehicle to not go beyond it’s limits. Kind of like a duck swimming where it looks serene up top, but you don’t notice the feet paddling away like crazy underneath...

[Graeme]

That's not my experience with CVDs on my L322 which has been that CVDs allow for a soft but controlled ride adjusting the bump and rebound to only be firm when needed for control rather than permanently firm, which was my reason for swapping from a 3.0 D4 to my L322. The journo who thought that the rear shock rebound was underdone was likely thinking that the shocks wouldn't be firm enough when loaded, not knowing that the rebound didn't have to be as firm when unloaded as he was accustomed to because the damping is adjusted to provide only what is required at that time as determined from the suspension height sensors, body accelerometers, steering angle sensor etc.

[cripesamighty]

My bad. I thought Greg Milner’s L322 TDV8 was fitted with CVD and that may have partly contributed to the rear shock failing on his trip up North.

Murphy's Law, catastrophic failure in a very bad place (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/l322-range-rover/199922-murphys-law-catastrophic-failure-very-bad-place.html)

[Graeme]

Greg's indeed had CVDs but very low profile tyres at very slow speeds so the system would have been trying to soften every little bump, whereas travelling faster at 80kph on tyres with a bit more sidewall wouldn't have been nearly so much work for the shocks.