I drove the new Defender and...

[andrewm42]

Loved it.

I must start by saying I have never owned a Defender and that I come from the Toyota HJ60, HZJ78 Troopcarrier and LC100 side of the fence.

I found that the new Defender lets you feel like you are driving a truck (which I love), but gives you those modern safety feature which is missing in a new Toyota Troopcarrier. It is fun to drive.

As a parent, there was no way I could justify to myself buying a 70 series Toyota, with the lack of modern safety including rear passenger airbags and no full time four wheel drive to transport my child. The other alternatives, such as my 100 series (with 2" lift) or a Prado, just feel a little too boring, more like driving a normal car. The Defender gave me the sense of being in something different again. Maybe it is the seating position, possibly the vision through the windows where the A pillar doesn't take up 30% of your vision. Given the alternatives at the moment, I really believe the Defender ticks more of the boxes for me, than either the Prado, or a Toyota VDJ78, the most important ones being fun to drive, and safety for the family.

I honestly loved the car.

Having said that, my wife and I did get a little car sick, possibly due to the 'new car smell' or the air suspension, or a combination of both. We are interested in the version with the 3 seats across the front, so will have a look at another one when it becomes available later in the year, and take another for a drive.

The one we drove had 20" wheels, and I don't think this was doing the car any favours. Rather than a soft comfortable ride, I found speed humps rather a jolting experience, and not much different to my wife's A3. I think the 18" wheels would better suit the car, and hopefully on my next drive will be able to try that out.

The motor in the D240SE seemed reasonable with just the two of us, however I do wonder how it would struggle when fully laden (time will tell). I am looking forward to see what the 6 cylinder will be like. I just really really hope that they don't put bigger brakes on it, otherwise, you will have the same problem as with the P400, which is you can not fit the 18" wheels.


Is it as reliable as my friends old Tdi300 90 series? I think the real question is, when things break, can you keep going on. Hopefully some people here on the forum will start testing them in the wild soon so we can all find out...


PS: Daniel from Alto Artarmon was great to work with.

[PhilipA]

Funny I was rereading today about the 6 petrol with the 200Kwatt battery MHEV in an older LRO.

I then recalled the letter from (I think) a RR owner of the electric assist version who inquired at a UK dealer about the price of a battery and was told GBP10,000.
Now Tesla warrants their batteries for 8 years at 80%.
Think about paying AUD 20,000 for a new battery at say 10 years. OUCH!

Regards PhilipA

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[Hagrid]

Funny I was rereading today about the 6 petrol with the 200Kwatt battery MHEV in an older LRO.

I then recalled the letter from (I think) a RR owner of the electric assist version who inquired at a UK dealer about the price of a battery and was told GBP10,000.
Now Tesla warrants their batteries for 8 years at 80%.
Think about paying AUD 20,000 for a new battery at say 10 years. OUCH!

Regards PhilipA

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Good point, you don’t think about these things so much when you buy new, but I expect it will impact resale value when people realise they will likely have to replace them during their ownership.

[Slunnie]

Good point, you don’t think about these things so much when you buy new, but I expect it will impact resale value when people realise they will likely have to replace them during their ownership.

I don't think they will replace the battery, they'll just drive it like a normal car.

[Hagrid]

I don't think they will replace the battery, they'll just drive it like a normal car.

Yer true At $20k, but with a progressive loss of power.

[Hagrid]

Loved it.

I found that the new Defender lets you feel like you are driving a truck (which I love), but gives you those modern safety feature which is missing in a new Toyota Troopcarrier. It is fun to drive.

I honestly loved the car.
.

It’s a lot of fun to drive, and I agree truck like in a good way. I find the 240 enough grunt for me. I’m sure the 400 would be great fun though.

[INter674]

Its the open flattish dash that makes it feel truck like...reminds me of my old NPR. We're so used to wrap around fighter cockpit style front seating now that it causes some nervouness first up in the Defender.

Agree re the ride and power too and smell from all that rubberized plastic. Wife didn't like that at all. Seats...very firm too.

It's a bold move by LR that's for sure and no doubt other designers will be watching with interest as LR moves the goal posts once again.

[4runnernomore]

Test drove a D240 today. Overall impression very nice. Very roomy in the first and second row seatsanfor For ref I’m a real Aussie gentleman at 135kg and 185 cm tall with long legs. So much larger internally seating wise than my D2.

it’s a dimensionally very large all round from the short time I was behind the wheel firm but comfortable in the drivers seat. The view across the bonnet is quite good. The curve line at the front Makes it easier to see to the front corners and over. Side Mirrors are a good size.

the imitation checker plate was explained to me where your front wheels are placed when you are off-roading. The external camera views And look through the bonnet Camera view is amazing.

Ride is very firm , version I drove was on 19’s. Corners very flat with no body roll. D240 was a bit doughy Off idle until you Really pushed your foot down. My Chipped D2 TD5 manual had more go Initially down low.

Had a good hard look over the car in and out. Amazingly could not find the battery nor could the salesmen tell me where it was. Wanted to see if there was additional room for a dual battery. Found to big empty spaces on the five seat model. First one should be the same on the 7 seat model. There is a big long void under the rear seat hidden by a black metal panel. There would be plenty of space there to fit a long slimline battery in there. The second void was in the rear. Under the foam that holds the jack ect is another largish empty void where a battery could go. Unsure if the same space would be there on the 7 seat model. The 7 seater was the test driver so was in and out and couldn’t check it out.

aftermarket industry: will be interesting to see what there bullbar design will be like. There is a lot of radiator and coolers at the front that go quite low right across the front.

got to see the Tasman blue colour in the flesh and I really like it.

lots of interest in the showroom whilst I was there. At least 10different group enquires checking it out. Overheard one salesman saying they couldn’t get enough of them.

The D300 6 cylinder diesel will be a squeeze in the engine bay. Expected to arrive in Australia around June next year. Be good to test that one.

After been in one and seeing the inclusions and fit and finish I can see why it is priced where it is even though it would be Exeter if it was 20k cheaper.

Be interesting to hear how the first batch go reliability wise over the next 12 months.

They were also offering a 5 year warranty.

If I was in the market I could be very tempted.

cheers, Chris

[INter674]

..second hand from a lease-back change-over will be the go I think...it's just $20k too far for us atm...but I might sell a kidney for the 6cyl 280/90 kw pettie🙄

[Sporty_Stu]

I had a brief test drive of a Defender SE D240 today and was quite impressed. Can concur about the driving position, feels very elevated (my current off-roader is an FJ Cruiser with 2" lift). The D240 goes ok but does sound a bit harsh when pushed and had some ok "go" but I think the D300 or the P400 would be the go definitely. Overall for a very short drive I thought it was pretty good and I would be interested to go for a longer drive sometime.

The second row set (of the 7-seater) had plenty of leg and headroom even for me (6'5" tall).

The digital rearview mirror took some getting used to but it actually is pretty good (it's mandatory if you have the 6-seater with the front jump seat), it covers the blind spots better than the standard mirror but it was a little unnerving and I also felt like I was sitting very close to it.

This one was riding in the 20" rims with offroad tyres and they weren't too bad on the road to be fair (considering my FJ has muddies). It's a pitty the 18" rims won't be available here (as all the models in AU have the larger brakes I'm told) and there is not much available for tyres in 19" but for me that would be the go to get a little extra sidewall. As someone mentioned elsewhere, someone will likely come up with an 18" solution at some stage. Overall first short impression was I liked it and might consider one in the new year.

Oh and on the battery thing... in 10yrs time those batteries are likely to be a lot cheaper than today too, also for packaging in a second battery, have a look at some of the new slimline lithium ion batteries starting to come onto the market. Battery tech is going to boom in the coming years.

[zilch]

I did not get a chance to drive (my choice) but saw my first Defender at LR Northern Beaches in Sydney today, it was exactly the same model i ordered, a P400 SE.. it certainly has presence
and after turning the key and waiting for the start up to throttle back to an idle, a few pushes of the pedal exposed the sweet sounds of the 3 litre straight six petrol.. Looking forward to picking
mine up in about 2 weeks time.. its currently sitting at Port Kembla after arriving Saturday evening (i tracked the ship :) ) 12 months after i put my deposit down :MileStone:

[weeman]

18" wheels are available, but only on the D240 or soon to be released D250. The new D300 or P400 miss out because of the larger brakes.

I've ordered my D240 SE with 18s.

There are much more tyre options available with 20" but you do loose a bit of sidewall. There seem to be a some already running 33s on 20" rims with little or no modifications.

[veebs]

What i'm interested to know, is given the D250 is a de-rated version of the same engine used in the D300, can one order a D250 equipped car, with 18" rims, before upgrading the ECU to that of a D300?

[weeman]

There was a post on the FB group that said the fuel rail and injectors were different between the D250 & D300. Not sure how true this is.

I'd be keen to know if the D240 can be tuned to 500nm since this same engine produces 500nm in other models, but only 430nm in the defender

[scarry]

I'd be keen to know if the D240 can be tuned to 500nm since this same engine produces 500nm in other models, but only 430nm in the defender

I think you will find the D240 was de tuned a while ago for all Aus LR models.
No one seems to know why.

[disco gazza]

Detuned probably for our crappy fuel standards. [tonguewink]