Thread: Disappointed in the D5 / waiting for the Defender

Well the old Holden adage was “A Car will cost an average years pay” - this was a base model Holden...

Using that logic I can’t see the current line up being that expensive...

Good point Tombie. The average yearly Australian wage is $60,892. Realistically about $10K or so under a base D5 on the road.

If you apply that edict to various vehicles, those earning over $100K per year could afford most Land Rovers, they are premium vehicles aimed at premium market.

Let's hope the base model Defender is only $60K.

Originally Posted by Zeros

Let's hope the base model Defender is only $60K.

Why not hope it is $40k like a base model Amarok? Compared to other vehicles, that's what i reckon is the bargain of the century.

Some people think defenders are simpler, more suitable for the bush, but modern defenders have CANBUS too, and i am told have the computer near the footwell and its not good if it gets flooded. The computer in the Amarok is at the top of the engine bay and there are no reports as yet of water being a problem to it.

Rammy- the later Defenders ECU is on the firewall above the engine

Originally Posted by rammypluge

Why not hope it is $40k like a base model Amarok? Compared to other vehicles, that's what i reckon is the bargain of the century.

Some people think defenders are simpler, more suitable for the bush, but modern defenders have CANBUS too, and i am told have the computer near the footwell and its not good if it gets flooded. The computer in the Amarok is at the top of the engine bay and there are no reports as yet of water being a problem to it.

Yes Rammy Amarok's are pretty good value. I picked one up a few years ago for $36K new...minimum $40K+ now. I thought I'd try it out, but I was disappointed...it was like driving a car, soft panels dented easily and was nowhere near as good off road as Defender...mainly in terms of ruggedness. Not bad on road, but not really any better than Defender's all four coils. So I went back to Defender in 2014. I reckon the next Defender will be around $60K drive away starting price.

Defender ECU is at the top of the engine bay on fire wall. Electrics under seats are more vulnerable, so exbox is a good mod if you do deep water crossings. I know I'd rather be in a Defender with its big heavy chassis for a deep water crossing.

Originally Posted by Zeros

Yes Rammy Amarok's are pretty good value. I picked one up a few years ago for $36K new...minimum $40K+ now. I thought I'd try it out, but I was disappointed...it was like driving a car, soft panels dented easily and was nowhere near as good off road as Defender...mainly in terms of ruggedness. Not bad on road, but not really any better than Defender's all four coils. So I went back to Defender in 2014. I reckon the next Defender will be around $60K drive away starting price.

Defender ECU is at the top of the engine bay on fire wall. Electrics under seats are more vulnerable, so exbox is a good mod if you do deep water crossings. I know I'd rather be in a Defender with its big heavy chassis for a deep water crossing.

Well . . .

Like driving a car = good!

Pretty much all cars post 1970's have soft panels, unfortunately. The Amarok uses high tensile steel like many if not most new cars, but i dont think that makes any difference, supposedly they design cars so you dont dent them when polishing them (?). How many people cover over the bonnet surround panels on the defender because simply resting ones elbows on them causes dints?

With a few of the right mods, an Amarok can beat a defender offroad, mine always has, both a perentie with 33" tyres and a new defender.

Ruggedness? The Amarok has a heavy duty front underguard as standard, and only has a few weaknesses, for example, one of the fuel tank straps can get remolded when dragged over mud. The underside really is pretty good, no exhaust damage, no crossmember or chassis rail damage.

Chassis? The Amarok has a 3mm thick chassis, the Defenders is 2mm thick. Both are very stiff, i couldnt say which is stiffer, could go either way in my view, but the Amaroks is a newer design.

What made yours better off-road than a well set up Deefer especially given the Rocs independent front end (and no air bags cross linked to have a stab at simulating live axle)... from memory yours had a lot of work. Did the Deefer with 33s have a lot of work? Did he know how to drive? Did you have a locker?

Cheers

Cheers

Originally Posted by rammypluge

Why not hope it is $40k like a base model Amarok? Compared to other vehicles, that's what i reckon is the bargain of the century.

Some people think defenders are simpler, more suitable for the bush, but modern defenders have CANBUS too, and i am told have the computer near the footwell and its not good if it gets flooded. The computer in the Amarok is at the top of the engine bay and there are no reports as yet of water being a problem to it.

As has already been said, the ecu is at top centre of the firewall on the Puma so about as good as it gets considering you're driving a colander. The most vulnerable electrics are the fuses and relays underneath the drivers seat. Then comes the tps. If you are able to address both those issues you can get the wading depth up to that of a D5.

Can-bus isn't really anything to be scared of. In the Puma it just connects the ecu with the abs module and instrument cluster. Its just a pair of twisted wires.

No doubt the new Defender will be more complicated, but the reality is so is everything else and they need to be to comply with current legislation. If you don't want to live in the modern world (which I get - I'm a bit over it too) just keep your old Defender running. At least with a Defender that is a realistic alternative.

Cheers,
Jon