2007my Defender in the flesh

[sniegy]

Afternoon all,
Was on a course for the Last 3 days in Syd (Freelander2) & while there asked our trainer if they had the new Defender here as of yet..Yes
They had one that was tucked away in the dungeon car park.
So we went & had a look , the first thing that stood out for me was the lack of vent on the front firewall below the windscreen as they are not there & there is just a indented panel that is obviously sealed & painted.
Then there is the bulge in the bonnet, looks neat, can see lots of TDi/TD5 owners wanting these . The new dash is sensational, funny though it makes the windsceen look even smaller even though it isnt, the seats look so comfy & even the 2nd/3rd row variants look very nice with head rests, this was a UK spec vehiclle & completly carpeted & sunroof.
Didnt get to see the transmission or engine as we didnt have keys

The best thing was we saw a video on the new Def pulling a 12tonne truck. The new Defender has a new function called anti-stall.
It operates in low range & works sensationally, There was a guy in the vid, one of the engineers who starts the 90 while in gear & while no-one in the drivers seat the little beast starts to pull the 12tonne truck away with ease, then while this is happening there is a guy in the truck who starts to apply the brake. This is all done on a large clean white pebbled area, when the truck starts to slow to a stop u can see the 90 do its magic, it kinda bogs down trying to grip something doing its traction control dance in the pebbles & doenst stall, just tries to pull away with the truck.
You can even start the Def while in low & ease up a hill letting the foot off the clutch & it will walk away slowly, sort of like winding the diesel throttle on to a point.
I think(i should of asked) it will time out & then stall but not sure.

The new Def looks all the same from the outside apart from a few small differences, but inside a lot of people will like the new layout..me for one,
It looks so different from all the previous variants even with all the subtle changes to the top of the dash area, this is huge & hopefully will please a lot of new buyers.

[Defender=1st]

Thanks for the update mate. Sounds Bloody Good. is this feature electronical or mechanical ??

[Grizzly_Adams]

I think you'll find it's electromechanical

It's electronics doing funny stuff with the gearbox...

When I visited Solihull in 2005 the instructor there was telling me about the anti-stall in the TD5 we went around the grounds in, never heard of it over here though...

[Ken]

Thats it I want one

[hiline]

where's the bloody pics

[Richard]

i second this notion!!

this thread is useless without pics lol

[barney]

sorry to say that Jeep has an anti stall device on the wrangler, and has had for a couple of years. you can approach an obstacle and as the engine is loaded up, the computer squirts somemore juice into the engine and it keeps it going.
at the syd 4wd show last week, i drove the wrangler around the whole course, ruts, humps and the hill without touch any pedal. the anti stall and traction control took the manual wrangler all the way around. pity it had no wheel travel, although more than some of the other demo vehicles there.

[rick130]

One of the UK blokes has a bit of a write of a drive up on the lr4x4 board http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php'showtopic=13169
Reckons it goes no better than his Td5 but loves the new 6sp g/box.

[spudboy]

I am definitely book a test drive when they arrive here.

All this waiting is very tedious though. Wish one would get here so I can take a good look.

[sniegy]

Sorry HiLine & Richrd,
Pics are unfotunately banned from the PAG HQ.
I would of liked to take some but couldnt.
It is electromechanical as posted.
The Transit motor also had to be down tuned because the tyres werent up to spec to handle the speed rating. Only 10Kw or so but this means the little donk does have some get up & go. Some of the PAG guys who have driven it say it does go a little better & smoother than the TD5 & the 6 spd box is so slick.
Arriving 3rd qtr of the year some time.