Thread: Disappointed in the D5 / waiting for the Defender

Originally Posted by Tombie

The “GProfessional” wagon..
Seems the “Professional” is rather lacking
(And there’s several Army mechs that are sick of fixing the damn things!)

I cant get excited about a GP either, but the aus army ones appear to have significantly more ground clearance and bigger tyres.

Originally Posted by rammypluge

I think there already is on utube.

Thanks Rammypluge, not a bad test. D5 did pretty well. But the G looked to be better than D5 on all tests. Not as comfortable suspension as D5, but more robust, better clearance, better wheel travel and departure/ramp over angles.

Hopefully we'll see more comparos and looking forward to a three way comparison with next Defender.

He could have pushed that G a lot quicker than what he did. It could have taken the hammering just as the Wrangler did. Very poor testing. The rock crawl was a doddle. Where were the uphill axle twisters.

Cheers

I watched that video, and in the sense that it was comparing OEM vehicles... it was sorta fair enough. However...

They stopped the rock crawl when they thought they might bottom out. Being a stock car, it was only in standard “off road” height. There’s a whole lot more ground clearance available if you do happen to get yourself turtled or if you install something like LLAMS - which we all do.

The race around the track is something that’s very contrary to the way that LR vehicles are generally designed. We are encouraged to go “as slow as it takes, only as fast as is necessary”. So not having the fastest time there means nothing to me.

And once again... OEM wheels and tyres are so insufficient off-road. LR really ought to offer decent wheel and tyre combo as part of their “capability pack”. That would make these comparisons much more reasonable.

I found this video on youtube. Now some of you will say that the bloke driving it is doing something wrong etc. Not using the car settings correctly etc.
That bloke could drive my defender, id show him how to lock the center diff, and engage the front or rear locker if needed and he'd drive everything with his eyes closed. Only 3 choices in my defender; center diff lock and front and rear diff lock...no settings or dials just 1 lever and 2 buttons. A capable offroader also has an ace up its sleeve, the ability to adjust tyre pressures to terrain.
The biggest let down on the d5 are tyres. No matter how capable on paper the tyres will always let it down.

land rover discovery 5 2018 off road - YouTube

Oh you have an automatic in your Defer?

Driver skill plays a part. Knowing the vehicle plays a part. And lowering your damn tyre pressures plays a big part too.

Originally Posted by TB

Oh you have an automatic in your Defer?

Driver skill plays a part. Knowing the vehicle plays a part. And lowering your damn tyre pressures plays a big part too.

I agree with everything your saying. I think if it had proper offroad tyres the driver would off been able to drive all those obstacles with no issue.

Looks like its struggling.

It seems when the D3/4/5 are put into offroad height there isnt much droop travel left, or the raising in conjunction with the swaybars are stopping droop.

During hillclimbing any pause in drive to a wheel(s) will greatly increase the risk of a loss in momentum. Thats another reason why diff locks are so good.


Yes, my Amarok is modified, but can a D5 be brought to this level? Since this video was taken i have further improved my front suspension, and hence traction....
Rhett's Automotive, Steep hill climb Loveday 4x4 Adventure Park, Amarok Offroad - YouTube