Thread: The New Defender

I have seven Landrovers (or remains of) here.

1. 110. pretty much unchanged from factory - except for the 60l auxiliary fuel tank, 40l water tank, cruise control and central locking.

2. Series 2a 109. Converted from soft top to cab ute. FFR tailgate replaced by civilian setup. Deluxe trim and high back seats

3. Series 2a 109. Converted from UK windowless hardtop to windowed sides. Engine swap to Holden.

4. Series 2a 88. Converted to shooting buggy - no top, windscreen or doors.

5. Series 2a 88.. Converted to firefighting trailer

6. Series 2a 88. Converted to V8 engine.

7. Series 3. Supplied as cab/chassis, converted to homebuilt tray back.

It seems unlikely the new Defender would allow any similar changes. And #1, #2 and #5 are the only ones I did any of the modifications on. All the others are as acquired. Finding an older Landrover that is not significantly modified is the rarity, not finding one that is.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Older owners talk of ultimately customisable yet in all the years I’ve seen maybe 3 that were modified beyond their primary design..

I have never seen a stock Land Rover.

Now let’s look at the modern world.

Nobody would even allow a Defender (<2015) to be used for fire fighting - they now use LTs.
Pump units are now on LTs.

They only modified these things because it was all there was. Truck market sorts that now.

Older vehicles having roofs bolted on and off or converted by adding a part from another unit is hardly justification of dislike of a modern version.

Campers - I agree, unlikely many will rip the roof off a new one.

As for never seen a stock Land Rover - lift and a few trinkets are not significant modifications. In the Defender section almost all owners have done the basic mods most though are still an intact Defender body/chassis.

Doesn’t matter though - the new one can keep our Modified yet stock old one company

Originally Posted by Tombie

Now let’s look at the modern world.

Nobody would even allow a Defender (<2015) to be used for fire fighting - they now use LTs.
Pump units are now on LTs.

They only modified these things because it was all there was. Truck market sorts that now.

Older vehicles having roofs bolted on and off or converted by adding a part from another unit is hardly justification of dislike of a modern version.

Campers - I agree, unlikely many will rip the roof off a new one.

As for never seen a stock Land Rover - lift and a few trinkets are not significant modifications. In the Defender section almost all owners have done the basic mods most though are still an intact Defender body/chassis.

Doesn’t matter though - the new one can keep our Modified yet stock old one company

New one comes with rooftop tent option, no need to rip top off or add additional weight were you don't want it. However the rag top option does lend itself to some interesting applications down the track.

For us, we will get the factory roof rack and rooftop tent/ladder will do well for trips that suit, otherwise the oztent.

Originally Posted by Red90

I have never seen a stock Land Rover.

I probably see 50-100 every day in our local area alone.
New defender looks like you won't have to modify it much.

Originally Posted by blackrangie

I probably see 50-100 every day in our local area alone.
New defender looks like you won't have to modify it much.

Agree, our D4 is the least modified Land Rover I’ve ever owned - needed SFA to be fully competent off road.

Our 90, by decree of Mrs Tombie was to remain as stock looking as possible, it has all the gear it needs without the excess of my previous LRs and aside from the extreme terrain I went on in the other vehicles, it can do 90% of that now which is what she wanted (it won’t be doing certain VHC tracks for example) however it will easily do any track in the Flinders without issue.

Our plan when the new one arrives is to take it to the Cape for its shake down run!

Originally Posted by Tombie

Conversely- the original was known for inability to:

Get warm
Get cool
Keep breeze out
Allow conversation
Keep water out
Keep dust out
Corner
Stay together - plenty of parts failing or rivets etc snapping.
Stop quickly
Go quickly
Park on a hill using its handbrake
Keep the occupants alive in a collision

Although you could stand on the front wings (which bend under anything over about 75kg)

This new one can tow more, carry more, support more, survive more.

So which one’s pretending to be a vehicle?
The leaky tractor?

It’s alright to have a preference for the earlier units, but this whole childish attitude towards the modern version is ridiculous.

Oh come on Mike.

In its time the coiler Deefer was leaps and bounds ahead of its direct opposition on and off road.
It cornered well on road and stopped fine compared to the rest.
And the heater worked, I lived in -6,-7°winters for fifteen years.
You know as well at anyone, Lara was a weapon. (After a few mods )
The rest of the list, yep!

It was designed to work and did that better in a lot of ways than its competitors.
That list sounds a little like choice supportive bias.

Nothing wrong with that, we all do it.

The new car is not a farm/off road work vehicle, it's an upmarket SUV aimed at a totally different market, the engineers and marketing people have said so.

Land Rover is a luxury SUV manufacturer, the new Deefer is not a G Wagen Pro or 79 Series competitor
I maintain its the true successor to the D4.
Nothing wrong with that, but it isn't really a Series/Defender successor.

Originally Posted by Tombie

Now let’s look at the modern world.

Nobody would even allow a Defender (<2015) to be used for fire fighting - they now use LTs.
Pump units are now on LTs.

They only modified these things because it was all there was. Truck market sorts that now.

Not true though. Even pumas were adapted to suit roles in emergency services.

Price, capability off road, highpayload, were all good reasons to choose them . Not because it was all there was.