Thread: Won’t be retro...

Concepts of tough and versatile are relative and interesting.

I remember talking to Mal Storey, an automotive engineer who owned maxidrive, about my County 110. He bagged the later 110 in Defender spec, as being weak (not tough). Hence how he made money, selling axle components etc.

Having a strong ladder chassis in an off road or square body to carry a heap of gear when touring, doesn’t appeal if something else is a show stopper or doesn’t perform on road, or help keep passengers safe in a crash.

Versatile: “able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities”.
Defender sales suggest most most 4WD new car buyers considered other vehicles to be more versatile. It could be adapted to make it better off road and more reliable. But couldn’t be adapted to make it more versatile.

Clearly the new Defender needs to be a lot more versatile, than just a tough off roader that will literally carry a tonne of gear. Otherwise it will be a short production run.

Originally Posted by rar110

I’m hoping it has a single range broad ratio 9 speed auto.

2019 Epace jag has 9 speed auto and i think 2019 evoque.

Why no lo range wanted, no need?

I suppose could just have 1st,2nd and 3rd as super low gears dedicated to offroad in the one box, simpler and lighter.

"Engine braking will also be solved by hybrid drive, as the electric motor can (in effect) be reversed and become a generator – giving you all the braking you’d want"

http://unsealed4x4.com.au/death-low-range/

You could be onto something.

Originally Posted by rar110

Concepts of tough and versatile are relative and interesting.

I remember talking to Mal Storey, an automotive engineer who owned maxidrive, about my County 110. He bagged the later 110 in Defender spec, as being weak (not tough). Hence how he made money, selling axle components etc.

Having a strong ladder chassis in an off road or square body to carry a heap of gear when touring, doesn’t appeal if something else is a show stopper or doesn’t perform on road, or help keep passengers safe in a crash.

Versatile: “able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities”.
Defender sales suggest most most 4WD new car buyers considered other vehicles to be more versatile. It could be adapted to make it better off road and more reliable. But couldn’t be adapted to make it more versatile.

Clearly the new Defender needs to be a lot more versatile, than just a tough off roader that will literally carry a tonne of gear. Otherwise it will be a short production run.

Spot on

Originally Posted by blackrangie

2019 Epace jag has 9 speed auto and i think 2019 evoque.

Why no lo range wanted, no need?

I suppose could just have 1st,2nd and 3rd as super low gears dedicated to offroad in the one box, simpler and lighter....

You could be onto something.

Not my idea, but yes.

In my LT95 1st high and 4th low are pretty close to the same.

A 9 speed could equate to 4 low range gears and 6 high range gears.

Or even a mild hybrid version electric rear hub drive with no tail shaft.

I own two Land Rovers, one with a 6-speed auto and 2-speed transfer case, and one with a 9-speed auto where the 1st gear is an extra-low "crawler" that isn't used in normal driving. I've spent a decent amount of time in both of them in various off-road conditions and I can assure you that the older D4 is absolutely miles ahead of the Disco Sport when it comes to the suitability of the transmission for low-speed off-road situations.

I actually think I damaged the torque converter in the Sport because it spends too much of its time unlocked. The crawler gear is roughly similar to L2 or L3 in the six speed in terms of how it drives and then there's a huge jump up to 2nd. The 8 gears used for regular driving are quite closely spaced to optimise fuel efficiency on the bitumen.

In contrast, switching to low range in the D4 gives me 6 gears that cover 0-40km/h, allowing for the engine to be in a suitable rev range and the TC locked in just about every low-speed situation.

The 9 speed (or Ford's new 10 speed which by all accounts is excellent) isn't a kill shot against the 2-speed transfer case IMO. But... I do agree that electrification changes the game completely, as per the conclusion in the article that was linked.

Originally Posted by rar110

I’m hoping it has a single range broad ratio 9 speed auto.

Similar to the Amarok?

Originally Posted by harro

Similar to the Amarok?

Amarok have an ZF 8 speed, so possible. But AFAIK do not have a true low ratio rock crawler type first gear. As a comparison (will disregard diff ratios will not be hugely different):
LR LT95 1st gear is slower than 12:1 in low range.
ROK with ZF 1st gear is 5.0:1