Thread: New defender haters gonna hate..........

Originally Posted by Fubar

To all the move with the times crowd....I agree with the sentiment.

But to label this new offering a Defender is pure marketing BS and mildly delusional.

No more delusional than calling a new Range Rover a "Range Rover" or a Discovery a "Discovery"

Lets face it, what does the latest Discovery have in common with a Discovery 1 ?

Originally Posted by Saulman1010

I like it. It looks smart and modern.
The old was the old and the new the new. Move on.
I hope they do do a commercial / tradie / poverty pack edition which will prob keep the "hose it out brigade" happy.
But in the meantime, all the modern safety stuff saves lives.

The Commercial model is mentioned at the bottom of this page:

Choose Your Model - Land Rover Defender - Land Rover UK

I have been pretty vocal about my dislike early on, however I don’t hate the new defender, I just think it’s a better disco than a defender.

I can’t help but wonder if they could have gone down another route, for the sake of the brands longetivy. Hyperthetically, if they had made the new defender as simple as possible, as robust as possible and as cheap as possible, then young people may be able to afford them, do adventurous things in them, love them and ultimately look back at those years of their lives as some of the best they have had.

Then later in life, when they have climbed some of the ladder, by a luxury car with the same badge (for the nostalgia) which is much better suited to moving the kids around and or towing a caravan.

I know that’s a long game, but might pay off once all cars are electric and are basically just competing on image and price.

Who knows, maybe that ship has already sailed. The Rivian looks like a puposful machine and if that’s a sign of things to come then I’m on board, literally and metaphorically.

Originally Posted by DazzaTD5

No more delusional than calling a new Range Rover a "Range Rover" or a Discovery a "Discovery"

Lets face it, what does the latest Discovery have in common with a Discovery 1 ?

A whole lot more than my Defender has.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

This is interesting!

Stopping power

There is no mechanical link between the brake pedal and the brake discs. Instead the Defender gets a brake-by-wire system claimed to provide more “precise, linear brake pressures”. Engineers also say the electronic braking system helps with off-road traction due to the ability to better regulate braking to each individual wheel.

Quite. Does that meet ADR’s? Will have to go have a look. Some time ago I recall something about there needing to be a mechanical connection between the pedal and the brakes. What happens if that computer craps it’s pants? Not saying it’s not legal or safe, I’m sure there’s more than one backup, but yes, very interesting.

Originally Posted by Homestar

Quite. Does that meet ADR’s? Will have to go have a look. Some time ago I recall something about there needing to be a mechanical connection between the pedal and the brakes. What happens if that computer craps it’s pants? Not saying it’s not legal or safe, I’m sure there’s more than one backup, but yes, very interesting.

Well you learn something every day - the original ADR 31 was repealed and is now up to revision 4, which although was released in 2017 only becomes mandatory over the old one from July 2019. It has much more detail about what the systems must and must not do, but not how this should be accomplished so it would seem theses sort of systems are being allowed for. Failure of the system shall bring the brakes on so a failsafe system which is probably not that hard to achieve and makes sense.

Here’s the whole standard for those interested - Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 31/04 – Brake Systems for Passenger Cars) 2017

Has a lot of detail around regenerative braking for EV’s too, so it’s probably all come about as new tech enters the arena. Interesting reading. 👍

Well I guess this release makes it official, Land Rover is no longer in the business of making an OFF ROAD four wheel drive.

The emphasis here being on OFF ROAD. Sure it may be a good SUV even an excellent one, only time will tell. At the moment it's just another pretty boy SUV, no more, no less. A totally unproven soft roader (by design) regardless of all the glamour and glitz and waiting. A better model designation would have been Discovery 6 in an attempt to rescue the name/product line after the Disco 5's lack lustre impact or even Freelander 4.

Personally I feel cheated as I (and many others) held hope that Land Rover would actually come up with an OFF ROAD capable vehicle. I've been strung along for 3 years by Land Rover who promised the world but have come up with a hairdressers car and not a serious OFF ROAD vehicle. Maybe there's no longer a market for vehicles with this capability ?, OFF ROAD capability that is. But if Land Rover (or anyone else really) actually thinks a monocoque construction, air bag suspension, auto only, lawn mower sized engine with it's neck wrung fitted with 18"-20" tyres is a serious OFF ROAD contender, then IMO .......... 'they're dreaming'.

If I wanted an OFF ROAD capable 4WD of this size I guess the 79 series is now the only option, that or a second hand traditional Defender. It will be interesting to see how the release of this new Defender effects the prices of older Defenders. I'd expect something similar to the value maintenance of the last of the 6 cylinder intercooled/turbo Landcruisers and Patrols.

Then again, if I was after a mid/large size SUV then the new Defender may just fit the bill.


Deano

Thats what everybody said when the Disco2 came out and then again when the Disco3 came out.

But everybody were surprised at how capable they all were when they got the into the bush. I havent heard anybody say these are not capable for a very long time.

I think it will be the same with the new Defender.... if it's not dragging its belly!