The thing is, how do you think Land Rover should have developed the new Defender? Traditional chassis with live axles, or the more modern independent setup? And the interior, should they have gone for a plastic interior trim (there are some plastics and it has rubber mats rather than carpet)
Do you think people would accept a vehicle with plastic door cards like a van?
lt's difficult to have a flat front because of pedestrian safety, but if you have a sloping front and leave the rest square it looks wrong (DC100 concept)
You can't have steel bumpers any more, either.
And what about the tech? People moan about the new Defender having too much of it, but you need to incorporate all the safety systems. And imagine the complaints if it had no media screen.
And the engine. Would you go diesel, hybrid or electric? Manual or automatic? It's all got to be electric eventually so you'd better make it an option in your design.
That means no manual transmission either.
l think Suzuki got as near as you can to the old Defender, with the new Jimmy. But even that's not available in the U.K. due to emissions.
Defender interior