Disappointed in the D5 / waiting for the Defender

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Originally Posted by Gullible

I had my first look at a D5 yesterday, The outside was as seen in the adverts and there have been enough comments about the look.

What truely disappointed me was the interior. Don't get me wrong sitting in the drivers seat was pure luxury. But the headroom in the middle row of seats was abysmal. The roof brace on the D3 & D4 is behind the passengers head, in the D5 it is in front of the passengers head. This makes it feel like the roof is much lower that it is, and the roof is quite low above the passenger head. I have more headroom in our Micro and Mirage than in the D5.

Moving to the rear set of seats was even worse, the whole car pulls in from the middle row of seats. Everything apart from the floor gets narrower the further back you go. This makes you feel like you are being crammed into a small space, tucked away in a little pocket, or put in a cupboard for punishment.

Now to the windows. I understand that with cameras all around driver vision is not such a big deal, but small cars have small windows. Cheep cars also have small windows. The D5 has small windows.

With the small windows, low roof, tight feeling space in the rear, I did not feel like I was in a luxury car. I would like to see a D4 & D5 side by side to see the difference in roof hight and passenger space.

My thoughts were that it did not feel like an SUV, just a big car. Sure it has all the tech and suspension to get you places, but as a passenger I would not want to go to those places sitting in those seat. [bigsad]

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Great points well made. Agreed. Especially back seats. It feels like being in the back seat of a Cessna with no wings. And it's $75K starting price. ...although I haven't driven one.

I drove the twin turbo 4, to tell you the truth I thought it would go much better than it did. Didn't feel as strong as my old TDV6 off the mark.

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Originally Posted by ~Rich~

I drove the twin turbo 4, to tell you the truth I thought it would go much better than it did. Didn't feel as strong as my old TDV6 off the mark.

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Mmmh interesting,. I had a RRS SD4 on loan the other day. I was pretty impressed especially off the mark. There was instant response. Thought not as urgent at high revs as my SDV6. Quieter than SDV6 at 100kph. Also lighter front end made it more nimble. What it would be like towing anything heavy I don't know.

A new styling trend has been developing, which i call 'Amorphous Blob'.

I noticed it first with the previous generation hilux, then the 200 series, then Y62 patrol, then mitsubishi outlander(?), then disco sport, now kinda D5.

I think they start with an egg and turn it into a car. Its good for aerodynamics, but how about some distinction and character? It doesnt have to come at the expense of aerodynamics.

There are always styling trends that are followed and cars from any given era share some similarity. Look at a Series 1 and a Jeep from the same era and there's not much difference - or a series 2 and a G60 Patrol or FJ40 Cruiser.

I'm not the biggest fan of the D5 styling (the rear looks like a disabled taxi to me) but after having seen a few on the road it is starting to grow on me. While there is a lot of similarity with other LR models I don't agree with the comparisons with other marques. On the road the Disco is quite distinctive and has a real presence. The styling is on another plane to the Japanese and Korean offerings.

If you want to talk ugly, talk Prado. Have you seen the 2018 model? I didn't think it was possible to make it uglier than the current one.

Cheers,
Jon

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Originally Posted by rammypluge

A new styling trend has been developing, which i call 'Amorphous Blob'.

I noticed it first with the previous generation hilux, then the 200 series, then Y62 patrol, then mitsubishi outlander(?), then disco sport, now kinda D5.

I think they start with an egg and turn it into a car. Its good for aerodynamics, but how about some distinction and character? It doesnt have to come at the expense of aerodynamics.

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They have to met the design rules of many different countries, try to get the best of both function and form, keep within the design story for the brand while still making it unique, so there's more at play than simple aerodynamics, pedestrian safety might even be a factor too[wink11]. I think Land Rover do alright when compared with other marques.

I think it looks okay but really not like an offroader. With some mods to make it suitable for offroading it could look interesting.

When your D5 smartphone controlled seats get hacked,

Go to 4:10 sec . . .
Best of: CHRISTINE - YouTube

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Originally Posted by rammypluge

A new styling trend has been developing, which i call 'Amorphous Blob'.

I noticed it first with the previous generation hilux, then the 200 series, then Y62 patrol, then mitsubishi outlander(?), then disco sport, now kinda D5.

I think they start with an egg and turn it into a car. Its good for aerodynamics, but how about some distinction and character? It doesnt have to come at the expense of aerodynamics.

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What are some cars that you do like? The first 3, while not pretty, are recognisable (well maybe not so much the patrol), the outlander and DS are well proportioned and good looking. The D5 is good from most angles, just has a big rump.

Theres not much uglier than the back of a Ssangyong Stavic
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...017/09/515.jpg

I wonder what the drag coeffiecient of the Ssangyong Stavic is, compared to the D5? The shape is remarkably similar.

Does anyone know, are the D5's drag coefficient numbers and fuel consumption figures really that much better than those of the D4? As this seems to be the most touted reasoning for the new cane toad / blob rump conformity - instead of the far more practical squared off design of D4.

...having said that and not really liking the look or functionality of the D5 ...I'd still like to take one for a spin!