payydg

payydg

Well-Known Member
Actually a positive review from a guy who knows what he's talking about.



If you've not watched Harry's Garage channel - its excellent. The videos of driving a Ferrari Testarossa to the Sahara and a Rolls-Royce to the artic circle are particularly good.
 
I have a lot of respect for Harry and his views, it is just the price. I am sure I would be happy with an 80k second Defender :)
 
It is important to be honest, it is only a Defender in name. Therefore we cannot realisticly compare this latest model with the original Series and Defenders because naturally it will be far superior in many aspects. I was luck to test drive one just prior to the 3rd Lockdown, when my wife's Evoque was in for service - it was fabulous, smooth, comfortable and extremely quiet. The advancement of technology has made for much more reliable and comfortable vehicle. However, this was never the appeal of the original Defender, the ability to fix things in the field and throw things in the with worrying about messing or damaging the interior was a big pull. Indeed if you knocked it on a tree or a rock it wasn't a big deal...truthfully, who was ever afraid of hitting it with a big hammer? Even now the appeal of the old Defenders is that we are all able to tinker on with them, that is lost on the new model. But anyone who suggested that the new Defender is worse and less reliable than the old one is lying, it is almost an impossibility, but the fact is that most of us don't like it because it doesn't fit the criteria we associate with a Defender or the role we need the Defender to fulfil. Therefore, in my opinion, it is not a Defender, its simply another new modern 4x4 which will drive around the urban metropolis saying "look at me, I drive a new Defender". Furthermore, at that price there are much better vehicles available which do the same job. So its a big no from me!!!
 
While I agree with what you say the bit about reliability is just not so There are many reports of problems with the new Defender, mostly but not all to do with its electronics, a problem that Defenders up to TD5's never had an issue with. I dare say that many of these issues [ Teething ] will be resolved as owners test drive vehicles for JLR.

The problem with computers today is not so much the computers themselves but the program writers who just do not live in the real world.
Q. How do you get a program writer to stop.
A. You shout Whoa, Stop, He then walks away muttering under his breath. But I could have made it do so much more. " This and that and that and this and tha-----------------------
 
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My neighbours one that shut down on them was locked and they could only get in the drivers door but they had two dogs in a cage in the boot. The boot wouldn’t open so they had to fold down the back seats and cut the cage open to get the dogs out. o_O
 
tottot said:
While I agree with what you say the bit about reliability is just not so There are many reports of problems with the new Defender, mostly but not all to do with its electronics, a problem that Defenders up to TD5's never had an issue with. I dare say that many of these issues [ Teething ] will be resolved as owners test drive vehicles for JLR.

The problem with computers today is not so much the computers themselves but the program writers who just do not live in the real world.
Q. How do you get a program writer to stop.
A. You shout Whoa, Stop, He then walks away muttering under his breath. But I could have made it do so much more. " This and that and that and this and tha-----------------------
Click to expand...

I was referring to overall quality, but I agree with you points.
However, my wife's brand new Range Rover Evoque was in the garage 18 times in less than two years with persistent electrical issues, mainly with the Sat Nav and media centre. They eventually end up replacing the media unit and then control unit, not ECU but something like that, unfortunately the problem persisted and they eventually agreed to exchange the vehicle. As comfortable a drive it was, and it was VERY, they electrics are very poor and let Jaguar/RR down. They certainly wouldn't be my go to for a new vehicle.
 
Landyfox said:
It is important to be honest, it is only a Defender in name. Therefore we cannot realisticly compare this latest model with the original Series and Defenders because naturally it will be far superior in many aspects. I was luck to test drive one just prior to the 3rd Lockdown, when my wife's Evoque was in for service - it was fabulous, smooth, comfortable and extremely quiet. The advancement of technology has made for much more reliable and comfortable vehicle. However, this was never the appeal of the original Defender, the ability to fix things in the field and throw things in the with worrying about messing or damaging the interior was a big pull. Indeed if you knocked it on a tree or a rock it wasn't a big deal...truthfully, who was ever afraid of hitting it with a big hammer? Even now the appeal of the old Defenders is that we are all able to tinker on with them, that is lost on the new model. But anyone who suggested that the new Defender is worse and less reliable than the old one is lying, it is almost an impossibility, but the fact is that most of us don't like it because it doesn't fit the criteria we associate with a Defender or the role we need the Defender to fulfil. Therefore, in my opinion, it is not a Defender, its simply another new modern 4x4 which will drive around the urban metropolis saying "look at me, I drive a new Defender". Furthermore, at that price there are much better vehicles available which do the same job. So its a big no from me!!!
Click to expand...



I have read quotes saying this should have been the new discovery!

I think you are being a brave man putting reliable and land rover in the same comment.

I can say hand on heart the newer trucks have amazing power/torque/handling in fact just about everything but not reliability, they are quite literally an expensive nightmare, no one in their right mind would buy a new truck outright, and I would hazard a guess small commerical vehicles are no different.
 
lynall said:
I have read quotes saying this should have been the new discovery!

I think you are being a brave man putting reliable and land rover in the same comment.:D

I can say hand on heart the newer trucks have amazing power/torque/handling in fact just about everything but not reliability, they are quite literally an expensive nightmare, no one in their right mind would buy a new truck outright, and I would hazard a guess small commerical vehicles are no different.
Click to expand...
@lynall I have a disclaimer with my immediate post above .
 
Is the moderator slacking someone keeps using the "E" word. Will the new Defender be leak proof around the drivers door, if so it not a true Defender.
 
Def90man said:
My neighbours one that shut down on them was locked and they could only get in the drivers door but they had two dogs in a cage in the boot. The boot wouldn’t open so they had to fold down the back seats and cut the cage open to get the dogs out. o_O
Click to expand...


That would be its death knell for me, that could have been an accident situation!
 
lynall said:
That would be its death knell for me, that could have been an accident situation!
Click to expand...


He says he’s taken a dislike to it now because of this. They were always Land Rover people (for obvious reasons) but had a Volvo XC90 for a while now before trying Landrover again :rolleyes:
 
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I wasn’t intending to start a conversation about whether it’s a defender or not because it clearly isn’t. That’s just semantics (and marketing). But I was quite impressed with his review of it as a vehicle.
 
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