Thread: Disappointed in the D5 / waiting for the Defender

Originally Posted by ozscott

I like Bluetooth. I retrofitted it to my D2. I have gone soft. Cheers

It gets even worse over here. Mrs Tombies Defender has BT, factory. As well as electric windows!

It’s terrible to think neither of our vehicles are capable of going off road.


What ever shall we do? 🤪

Originally Posted by scarry

Any other good news?


As for AllTerr,yes, correct,but the issue is there is nothing in the pipeline for the D5,ARB, as an example have said publicly that they have no interest in developing anything for the vehicle.
Maybe some other manufacturer is doing something?
You would think by now we would have heard of something,particularly as the vehicle has now been around for quite a while.

Less than a year isn't very long.

Let's face it, big wagons are bought by grey nomads or tourers. Any one doing hard core offroading is using a 10 plus yo vehicle.

Originally Posted by weeds

I
If I had the coin I’d ditch the defender......but value for money I’m happy enough with the defender with average air-con, no radio, road noise, heat ......

Weeds! You blaspheme! ...so you’d swap your Defender for a D5?

The US market is predominantly massive utes. A new Defender 130 could fit in perfectly.

The LR Ford genetic connection is obvious when you look at the new Ford Explorer, looks like a beefy D5. If those cues are continued with the new Defender it could do well in US. Though not sure how the D5 is doing in US...does anyone know the stats?

I'm not quite sure which way to go with this, but anyway.

I got rid of the Defender because we needed comfort,, it was a good rig, but I didn't upgrade anything, other than a winch etc.
I guess though, as I get older, and hopefully wiser, I like the creature comforts of the lux wagon. However, with age has also came some wisdom in the form of the realization that playing hard equals damage,, costs money and time,, neither of which we have at our disposal,, and I would suggest, most here dont either. Going hard core in the bush is fine if you can afford it, and it probably doesn't matter what car your in.

I see people going on about problematic tyre sizes etc with the Disco's 4 and 5's. Well, there has to be a compromise somewhere, and if you want handling at speed, tyre's are a must,, Speed does not equal a Defender .

But lets ask the question,,, how many Defender drivers change they're tyre's, to go either fatter or taller. So suddenly, your not happy with your Defender's either really. So if it basically becomes "the norm" to upgrade Defer tyre's, why is it so wrong for Disco drivers to swap out they're tyre's?

If your going to go "crashing through the bush", wouldn't it make more sense to buy something "cheap and nasty", change it all to how you want it,,, (obviously everybody seems to want the next best thing to a bull dozer for this), then go and destroy it every time you hit the bush? I don't need a bull dozer these days,, I'd like to think I'm a better driver than when I was twenty, and can pick a better line, or have more respect for my car and ultimately, my life.

The D5 has been tested hard by LR, and no doubt time will tell just how well it does in real life. Those who own them, tell me they perform better than the D4. As time moves on, kit will be made for them,,, Ben is already on the case for some stuff. I had the option to wait for the D5, but chose not to due to it being the first of the run,,, I'd sooner wait for it to have been in production for a couple of years. The bugs will be ironed out by then.

Anyone who tours in any sort of a wagon now, will be able to do the exact same in a D5. Of course it will be different to pack etc,, but you'll work it. If your in to bush bashing, then I suspect you'd upgrade to a similar vehicle to do the same. If your not really into Disco's now,, you possibly never will be. Again, time will tell, we all get older, and start to prefer the comforts.

Has your beard for longer Chops?

You seem wiser 🤪

For most it’s also about price. D5’s are expensive luxury vehicles. Even the highest priced Defenders cost less. Most dual cabs cost half.

...if price is no object, and let’s face it an equipped D5 costs virtually $100k ...it makes me wonder why the G Professional isn’t talked about more here in comparison?