New Model Defender - more non info

[FenianEel]

Nothing really new here, think they're just trying to give a glimpse into what they're thinking/planning.

Land Rover 2015 Defender - No new Land Rover Defender until at least 2016 | GoAuto

[Pickles2]

Yes....It will be interesting to see how long it will be before any REAL clues are released.....I note in one of the quoted articles that L.R. say they will release "some" details of the "New" Defender, "WAY BEFORE" its release date?
I've got no idea....but, I'll be watching.
Cheers, Pickles.

[JamesB71]

They refer to their current market as "ageing traditionalists".

I suppose that shoe fits.....

[juddy]

Its a valid point, if they don't move with the times then why bother.

[ezyrama]

If they can make the Disco 4 comply in every country with such a boxy shape then why not use the same basic platform as a starting point for the new Defender, but they have to keep the live axles.

[FenianEel]

16000 a year worldwide is not sustainable, and only Land Rover would continue to do that, thankfully

As an example in April, nationwide there were

44 Defenders sold
2100 Hiluxs
1274 Rangers
875 Colorados

I just hope they don't price/luxury themselves out of potential sales.
They really should've re-developed it years ago.
By not doing so, they've just handed the utility & wagon, fleet/govt/mining sector over to Toyota, and Ford/Mazda & Holden are catching up.

I love the "basicness and utilitarianess" of them, and the fact they still look like a series vehicle.
Unfortunately, the majority of the buying public doesn't.

[Pickles2]

When We walked into the Dealership where we eventually bought our "90", there wasn't one to be seen....several Range Rovers, Jaguars etc...we were almost embarrassed to ask about a Defender.
However, when we mentioned "Defender" the sales lady's face lit up....she was most enthusiastic...."We love our Defenders" she said...going on to tell us about some she had sold.
Cheers, Pickles.

[TerryO]

They could do worse than use the D3/4 chassis as the new Defender platform. To say it is robust is an understatement, equally so if they were going to keep it affordable then chances are independent suspension will be what you get.

Sure they could if they wanted make it look a lot more like a Defender, which would be good, but changing the chassis for straight axles could be hard and expensive.

You can buy complete airshock suspension struts for around $400 now so it is very affordable to replace the suspension when it is worn out, which by the way is in 99% of cases why you replace them because now it is very reliable. The electronics have also come a long way since 2005 when first introduced.

This might upset traditionalists but by 2016-17-18 when ever the new Fender is released then chances are many of those traditionalists will be of an age that means they have already bought their last Defender, so LR is unlikely to do much more than pay lip service to what the so called 'old timers' say.

Anyway it would be good to see all you blokes driving new Discovery's, sorry I meant Defenders of course. ....

[Cobber]

However, when we mentioned "Defender" the sales lady's face lit up....she was most enthusiastic...."We love our Defenders" she said...going on to tell us about some she had sold.

I wonder if you had asked about a Freelander you would have got the same result?

Still, it's nice to see there is still enthusiastic sales people out there - it clearly made a difference if you bought a car

[ezyrama]

Your not calling me old are you Terry??. The main problem I see with LandRover is they dont even market the Defender, everytime you see an ad on the idiot box, they sprout all sorts of rhetoric on sales on all the other models but all you ever see is a photo of one in the last scene jammed up the back as if its an embarrasement to them. I just dont get it!. If you dont market it, how the hell are you supposed to sell them?

Cheers Ian