Thread: Disappointed in the D5 / waiting for the Defender

Tombie i agree that it would be a good post topic. In saying that ive had a look at the d5 and a few things turn me off straight away.
The body does not lend itself to be pushed through tuff terrain. It has large panels and to me is extremely "bulky". Almost like a d4 that hit the gym and put on some size. Its a big car when you actually get close up to it.

The tappering roof is ridiculous. This is a result of LR trying to make the vehicle more pleasing to the eye rather than practical. The d4 is much more practical in this regard. The boot space is.....well its a box. Good place to store stuff, the d5 has a lot of space but a lot of it is not practical.
The wheels and tyres....really? Why can't LR offer a base model with 17s and decent tyres?
Sitting in a d4 you have a fairly good idea of all four corners of the vehicle, in a defender its excellent. In a d5 with a bulky body and a tappering roof with "squinting" windows i dont think id have a good idea of where my rear is in regards to obstacles.

They're a few points that instantly caught my eye when i examined one parked up next to my work. Dont get me wrong its a great looking vehicle, looks comfortable and no doubt is full of leading edge technology....but in regards to the OP it doesn't convince me either.
I love my LR, i love LR's slogan and LR's amazing history. LR used to me more than just a car manufacturer, they were the quintessential "offroad" vehicle. I fear that LR is now the quintessential "luxury" vehicle. The rugged conquering image has gone. I love luxury and technology and admire LR's ability to be at thr forefront of vehicle technology but its not for me im sorry.

Strange.. LRs image has always been the quintessential “luxury adventure” vehicle (RR)

The Defender style had a following obviously as no-nonsense but little more...

Numbers vouch for the fact the Defender was always an also-ran in the company range..
The first series being a means to an end post war...

Originally Posted by Tombie

Strange.. LRs image has always been the quintessential “luxury adventure” vehicle (RR)

The Defender style had a following obviously as no-nonsense but little more...

Numbers vouch for the fact the Defender was always an also-ran in the company range..
The first series being a means to an end post war...

That image is in Australia and a few other countries. I was born in Portugal and i have a lot of family in Spain, France, Brazil and Germany. If you were to ask anyone of my family members what LR stands for they would instantly reply: offroad, 4wd, adventure.....not luxury. These are markets that Toyota has never managed to dominate, when someone wanted a offorad vehicle it was a series or a defender!
Id imagine that Africa would be no different. Tells you a little about peoples idea of offroad requirements amd what LR stood for. Luxury to them is either Mercedes or BMW, German not British

Originally Posted by rammypluge

...........The idea that big tyres and some other accessories are unecessary just says you are either inexperienced, dont look for challenges, or drive a banger that you dont care about damaging. I agree some or many overdo it, but its often just as much about preventing damage to the vehicle as making it more capable. Off road enough and damage can accumulate and cost more and cause more issues than prevention.

Very experienced, have done my share of challenging things, do care about my vehicle.
Picking appropriate lines, (even if that includes the so-called "chicken track"), walking an obstacle before driving it, being aware of the capabilities and, more importantly, the limitations of your vehicle, will often get you much further than horsepower up the wazoo and big gobfuls of revs.
In the time I have been driving, I've taken vehicles into, and out of, a whole lot of steep, rough, hilly, flat, wet, dry and hot and cold country.
Going off-road doesn't have to result in damage. Certain environments can require higher maintenance than others, and can place more stress on particular components, but again it comes back to knowing your vehicle and what strengths and weaknesses it has.
"As slow as you can, and only as fast as you have to" was some advice I got early in life.

I can remember seeing my first disco years ago and thinking why on earth would anyone take that Bush, It's Far to "Pretty" for that malarkey
So here I am thinking the exact same thing about the D5 and yet I will take my D2a anywhere without a second thought.
For Me the main reason I am not that keen on the D5 is they are far too expensive an outlay and IF I did buy one there is NO way in the world I would use it the way I do my D2a for fear of doing any damage to it.
The D5 May turn out to be another success story like all the previous Disco's and only time will tell if that is the case

Did you buy your D2a new?

...interestingly this is the biggest thread by far in the D5 section.

Who likes the D5? and is buying one instead of waiting for new Defender?

Who has already purchased one for off road or remote area use?

I'd love to hear some rave reviews of the D5.

Originally Posted by tact

Wot rot. I travel with iPhone and my BAS tool (plugs into OBD port and talks to mobile devices via bluetooth). Checks/resets faults and gives live data from sensors etc.

Haven't had to use it in the jungles at all in the 4yrs I have been driving my Defender. The only use it has ever seen is turning back to stock tune when leaving the vehicle with a service centre.

I used to worry about being in a situation where I could not disable the immobiliser in the deep jungle. (Lost or damaged central locking fob.) So I used to always bring a spare set of keys and place them with an accompanying vehicle. (Or secure them in a waterproof container strapped outside my vehicle cabin if travelling alone.)

A little less worried now that I have a working EKA code.

Remote area travel requires one knows their vehicle, and carries appropriate spares. A spare ABS wheel sensor and engine ECU may not be needed spares if you drive an ox cart.

I am not at all claiming to be expert in code reading or plugging in etc. However, one thing i have heard, is what if you have a fuel problem, and then need to reprime the system? You can do that with the right cable and a laptop, in my case anyway, but i expect not with a simple code reader/clearer. You would have to power the pump directly, which could be a pita. Modern diesels to my knowledge dont tend to have the manual priming pumps that older diesels had.