Land Rover doesn't understand Australia - no ute !

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Originally Posted by AK83

No matter how good any Defer ute could have been .. could have been indestructible, the average punter would never have bought it. They're toyota/nissan/ford brides now.
Any $s spend on development of such a vehicle .. to sell a couple thousand per year = bad investment, especially at a time when all new car sales aren't doing so well around the globe.

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I guess we will never know for now.

The incremental cost to offer a more complete range of body styles on the new platform shouldn't have been that cost prohibitive, it would have been respectful of the past but not limited by it, and the potential additional sales could easily be 50,000 plus globally as it would have not only have been a tough and highly capable vehicle that you would see everywhere (globally), but it could have retained a lower cost entry point whilst still having the premium wagon versions on offer.

JLR are banking on making more profits from decreased sales volumes but this can only go so far. I am sure they will commit at some point in the future but for now it seems they are happy to be a very small player in a very big market. That is a lot of overhead and development costs that has to be spread over a diminishing volume base.

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Originally Posted by AK83

LR need to lift their game, both, their quality AND customer service.
If people want an entertainment system that doesn't fail on them so that JD Power can raise it's reliability standing .. then that's what they need to do.

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They have by 180% over the last 20 years until 2016 model year(current model surveyed), they were most improved over last year in the US. They match Toyota in the UK for reliability (not that they are reliable 4x4s atm).

Starting with the new Defender
The entertainment system has been completely redesigned to be like a high end mobile phone that gets better over time.

The whole car will fix issues without dealer visits and before most users know they exist.

Imo LR don't need to lift their game, they have and continue to do so, they just need to keep on the path of improvement they are on.

At the same time in context with this thread, Toyota's diesel 4x4s (not cars) seem to be going the other direction at the same time with multiple fundamental reliability issues that have not been fixed, showing a strange lack of care for the Australian Toyota buyer market.

Mercedes appear to be trying to take an image of high quality down market, with mixed results. The Mercedes ute just seems to be a tarted up Nissan.
BMW and Audi still have a high quality image.
Jaguar makes lovely cars, but needs to sell a lot more.
LR quality seems to have risen a lot.
It's been said that LR needs to sell a lot of high profit models to be able to afford to make workhorses. Unfortunately the new Defender is another luxury SUV, not a workhorse. Lovely thing, but not a work truck. Missed opportunity.

Spot the Pretender.....

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...987ff0af96.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c59ca6762d.jpg

...gotta love the internet for giving us fake photo’s and false hope.

More speculation?...heard the other day that Toyota plans to axe the LC300 series in the US in 2025.

Looks like the days of the big lumbering SUV are coming to an end....well 'cept for the cheeze burger stuffing American brands that will lumber on until the Fed support runs out☺

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Originally Posted by DiscoDB

Spot the Pretender.....

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...987ff0af96.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c59ca6762d.jpg

...gotta love the internet for giving us fake photo’s and false hope.

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Well you were given factual hope on record from LR from the interweb [emoji1787]

True. More the picture above (not from JLR) implied they had a prototype based on the 130 under testing. Don’t recall reading it was a mock up only.

Even if the LR came in a ute body, would it be imported downunder—considering they'd probably only sell
one a month in a limited marketplace? Let's face it; no Aussie framer would buy one. They'd only sell to
the poseurs, and never leave the bitumen, let alone throwing a dead sheep carcass into the tray LOL.

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Originally Posted by ausGeoff

Even if the LR came in a ute body, would it be imported downunder—considering they'd probably only sell
one a month in a limited marketplace? Let's face it; no Aussie framer would buy one. They'd only sell to
the poseurs, and never leave the bitumen, let alone throwing a dead sheep carcass into the tray LOL.

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I think there is as much chance that a farmer would buy a Jeep Gladiator [emoji1787][emoji1787]. Actually no there is probably more chance that a farmer would buy the Gladiator if he was forced to choose. That horse (the out back, bushies, farmer market) has long bolted for Land Rover. If we are realists we must accept that horse isn't coming back with the Defender 2 in any guise.

Cheers

"Help me, Obi-Wan Defender. You're my only hope." ...........
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...(crickets)