"I have now been fortunate enough to own a few Land Rovers over the last few years, including Defender 90 (Puma Engine), two Discovery 4's, Range Rover Vogue and most recently the All-New Discovery (5). Yes I know, I have a bit of an obsession with the brand, and each and every one of the cars I have owned has done exactly what they say they could do. "I was invited to the UK launch of the New Defender back in October 2019 and I have to say that my first impressions were mixed. The transition that Land Rover has had to make with this car has been incalculable and as a result, the Icon that was, was a little difficult to spot. "Unlike the Discovery - which has been through various transitions since its launch in 1989, making the changes somewhat easier to accept and grow with - the New Defender has been royally kicked into the 21st century. "Out of all the Land Rovers I have owned, my favourite (up until today that is) was always the worst car to drive, my old Defender 90! Every time you got in it, it made you feel as though you meant business, even if you were just going to the shops! At every opportunity, we would try and find the muddiest Game Fair to attend with spaniels chucked in the back, as we knew we could depend on Defender to get us out of any trouble we got into. The same applies for all of the Land Rovers I've owned, but the Defender was the one that I loved! "So to the new Defender... Well, it has already made an impression on me! The more you drive it, the more you know you are in a Defender! Unless you've owned one of the old ones, I don't think anyone would understand! Everything about it is brilliant, you almost have to ignore the luxury of the car and when you do, you start to feel its soul. That's the one thing that Land Rover haven't changed with the new Defender. Anyone thinking of getting one should, it really is brilliant! The Icon is dead, Long live the Icon, as you can tell, a new love affair is developing! Well done JLR!
Sure it's not the original, but ya know what, its not 1986 either. I think Land Rover smashed it with the new Defender. It combines their trusted off road tech with air suspension/Terrain Response which as more than proven itself by now (Coil spring option for those who don't want Air Suspension). This is the 21century folks and given that, I'm impressed. As an owner of eight Land/Range Rovers, please sign me up!
Only that the designers have ignored the Defender's need for utilitarian use, something which is the core value of the Defender irrespective of 1986 or 2019
@@jonh9561 Agreed, but as a car company that needs to sell cars in core demographics like North America, what should they be expected to do. I'll be curious to see what the commercial versions look like.
Well, for months I seen spy shots and knew it would be different for sure, I watched the unveiling live and _knew_ some people would hate the new design, but if the defender didn't change much at all for decades to come, it would be stuck in the past (even though the old one is an icon, luckily there are companies out there that still restore and modify the classic) you need to remember just because the new one is different doesn't mean the old one dies, it lives on. Anyhow, the only thing I wasn't sure whether I liked on the new models is the rounded front and the headlights being square, but I've grown to like it within a day, the rear end is good, but I love the interior, especially the front centre console design with wood and exposed fittings.
We can't wait to show you New Defender and to have you drive it. The New Defender is capable of great things and will take you to places that you've not been able to get to before.
Why can Jeep manage to stay current and up to date whilst maintaining similar characteristics of Jeeps from the past? I completely disagree. You *can* be current yet maintain the characteristics and features from the original Defender. However, I'm impressed by this video and love how it appears to cover rough terrain and the other features but, I just can't get past the appearance. It truly does look like a Honda Element and a four-door Mini cooper.
@@Tradebear Yes you are right about the mini. Have been trying to think what car it reminded me of. It also looks like a Freelander 2 with a very ugly front end and a bit bigger boot
@@LandRoverUK I think this car looks and sounds fantastic and i`m sure it will be but as a replacement for the defender I think its a total miss. People bought the old Defender because it was a jack of all trades but a master of none. In making this a master of off roading and comfort its lost its utilityness (if thats a word) that people loved.
It may be a capable new car, but it certainly isn't a Defender! Onboard entertainment package, WTF?! Maybe this is what the new Discovery should have been. But a Defender - utilitarian, adaptable, customisable, bashable and cheap to repair... nope, it's not a Defender :-(
It is a Defender, simply not the uncomfortable, bone shaking, unstable, so noisy over 60mph that you can't talk let alone hear the tinny stereo Defender that we all love.... but it's time to move on.
Agreed, they do need a rethink on the Disco. The Defender 110 will probably be the end of it. Also, I hope that they update the old defender and keep selling it somehow in markets that are not as stringent on emissions and crash safety, akin to what Toyota does with the 70 series LC
Hideous ..pause... hideously expensive - mind you, Land Rover went down the toilet once they associated with brand Beckham Frog of Steroids more flashy gizmos more to go wrong looks bloody awful cheap tacky Susuki ,Skoda ,Kia Ford and Jeep SUV models sit way way better in price points and design cues too ,higher than Land Rover defender it really means nothing
@@sallyandrews4608 absolutely correct, Sally. All the posters who live in some fantasy world rather than actual experience of living with a D90. Who wants to drive a vehicle built to 1950's standards?
Agree, if some institution like UN need a vehicles, maybe they will choose Lan Cruiser rather than this new defender even tough they had a history with the old defender
The voice over and the back ground drums is great motivation speech before going a cross country expedition. Being really honest, the should also modernise the old defender models for simplicity and military usage.
Nice SUV but as someone that has owned seven Land Rovers from the 88, 109, 90, and 110 range I can't consider this Pretender to be a legitimate continuation of the line. They should have retired the Defender name rather than do this to it.
They had to do something - new emissions standards, pedestrian safety tests etc etc... I like the folding centre seat in the front, perfect for when it’s just you and the missus ;0)
Thanks! We believe that with the New Land Rover Defender your off-road adventuring has just got more adventurous, taking you to places that previous 4x4 vehicles would not have been able to take you.
We need the real DEFENDER , very ICONIC, kindly never lose the original DEFENDER shape, this is just like any ordinary SUV , for real rough terrain and African roads it's the old shape. Pls, I'M DISAPPOINTED
In the past 35 years I've owned and operated a significant number of Land Rovers all over the world so I'll reserve my full opinion on this new Defender until I've had chance to get underneath it and into the engine bay see how it's put together and what with (something most of these car reviews never do). However some first thoughts are; the fact that it is no longer based on a chassis will make it a lot less versatile and all that gadgetry and 85 ECUs threaten to make this a maintenance nightmare .... two things that will fail to make it attractive to the extensive military markets of the world. Those pretty one-piece body parts look like they will be expensive to repair when used fully off-road. Nevertheless this looks to be a fantastic development .............. because it will make my current collection of Land Rovers even more desirable and their prices will continue to hold and quite possibly rise! If I'm wrong they'll sell like hot cakes ...........
100% correct. I would only add that LR has a very, very long way to go to match Toyo, Nissan and Isuzu in terms of reliability - a word that I have not heard once in all the marketing bumph associated with the new Defender. What warranty are LR offering on the new Defender to back up all the claims?
Jon H I too will reserve my full opinion but even with the current information we can make some concrete comments. The biggest being Land Rovers abandonment of core philosophies. These being versatility (as you mentioned), simplicity and the ability to easily modify. I loved being able to service and modify my Land Rovers and was hoping this new iteration would be the same. There is no single or double cab Ute (yes, I’m Australian) option which means it loses out on a massive, popular market here. It is abundantly clear that Land Rover has abandoned its original bread and butter market, the very philosophy they promote in advertising, and that is very disappointing!
I think it looks like a nice car and I hope Landrover sells buckets of them. I just wish it didn't have the "Defender" badge on it, and that it wasn't, therefore, occupying a spot in the lineup now that we know will never be filled by a work horse / military / mining / farming / drive-around-Africa kind of vehicle. So I am very disappointed about that. The cool crowd already has a million different options, spoilt for choice, on the Landrover side alone they've had Discovery's, Freelanders, Range Rovers offered up to them for decades. But no, that wasn't enough, they had to take *our* badge and cannibalize that and offer it up to these people as well. They will listen to no ciriticism, I'm sure, we'll all be written off as "resistant to change" and "purists", but it's not the point. As I said, I like this vehicle. It looks super cool. It just isn't a Defender.
@@FJUH There's not enough space on this sort of forum to really take this issue to task but you've made some very solid observations here. There are a number of other options for people who want soft roading SUVs but Land Rover now offer nothing for the true 'utilitarian' (and that's the word that Land Rover have failed to understand) work vehicle market.
@@nnoddy8161 I'm not sure what supports the claims of unreliability, I currently have two series and two Defender Land Rovers and they only owe me some very reasonably priced brakes, tyres and servicing parts on vehicles ranging from 8 to 35 years old . They do need to be well maintained but no major issues there.
I’ve seen this new car take more flak than a WW2 bomber but credit where credit is due, I think the designers did a cracking job at the design of this and I would *love* to have one so er if you want to send me, I won’t stop you hint hint
This reads more like a high end grocery shopping SUV than an off road machine. Why couldn't you guys just upgrade the original Defender like Mercedes has done with the G Class? That would have been pretty cool.
Literally no farmers buy Land Rover anymore. Stop pretending they ever had them in mind for this vehicle because those farmers never had LR in mind either.
razrv3lc they don’t buy them anymore because LR stopped making them. If they still made a utilitarian vehicle they would buy them along with many people for commercial purposes.
I'm happy Land Rover only listened A BIT to what Die Hards wanted cause if they just made the same vehicle they would be stuck in a bankrupt pit like Harley Davidson is.
Have you seen JLR's latest financial performance? You might want to compare that with the manufacturers (Toyo, FCA, MB) who still produce ladder chassis, live axle products. Really silly comment because it is not back by any actual facts.
@@nnoddy8161 You're right my friend :) TATA is really giving their all to make sure Jaguar and Land Rover are profitable which I can see in this new defender line but time will tell and with Harley well... they had revamp aloooot of their bikes to hopefully get a new younger customer base cause the baby boomers are dying off😅
I think this is what the Disco 5 should have been, but JLR already launched the Disco 5 making it more mainstream lifestyle vehicle. Anyways, no one was buying the old Defender, while the Disco 4 sold well all the way until it’s replacement, so it’s certainly a good decision.
Excellent!! I can see the purists are crying fowl, but for me this machine looks stunning!! As for the utalitarian comments........farmers and workers dont buy them for that anymore, its all Rangers and L200's etc. I love the simplicity of the true Defender, but lets face it, with emissions, mpg, pedestrian protection etc this was always going to happen!! I do worry whether you would be able to repair it in the middle of a forest in Patagonia when the electrics go tits up!!! It looks like it could make an awesome expedition vehicle.......now all I need is thos 6 magic numbers to come up........especially with all those possible extras!!!
"emissions, mpg, pedestrian protection etc this was always going to happen" Yeah Sure, look ate Mercedes G... This changes to chassis, suspension and the addition of so much electronics doesn't solve so much those problems. It was possible to solve all these problems with the old Defender concept and the Mercedes G is an excellent example of that. And regarding the farmers and so on, well, I guess you have to get out more and visit other countries. Where I live Defenders Pickups are quite common and very used to work on the land. Plus, you should see in which shape they are... quite often very abused but still going... Obviously is not the farmer who doesn't want more Defenders... Is the Land Rover that doesn't want more farmers. They want the people from the city that wants to show off like they are adventurous just because they have a Defender (even though, they just use it to go to work and shopping, while using all the IT that the car offers and which doesn't bring anything to the table while offroading in Africa or so). What will I think when I see a person with this Defender!? That the guy is too soft for the old one but still wants to give the idea that is going on hardcore trips lol. Sorry, but it is how it is.
"emissions, mpg, pedestrian protection etc this was always going to happen" Yeah Sure, look ate Mercedes G... This changes to chassis, suspension and the addition of so much electronics doesn't solve so much those problems. It was possible to solve all these problems with the old Defender concept and the Mercedes G is an excellent example of that. And regarding the farmers and so on, well, I guess you have to get out more and visit other countries. Where I live Defenders Pickups are quite common and very used to work on the land. Plus, you should see in which shape they are... quite often very abused but still going... Obviously is not the farmer who doesn't want more Defenders... Is the Land Rover that doesn't want more farmers. They want the people from the city that wants to show off like they are adventurous just because they have a Defender (even though, they just use it to go to work and shopping, while using all the IT that the car offers and which doesn't bring anything to the table while offroading in Africa or so). What will I think when I see a person with this Defender!? That the guy is too soft for the old one but still wants to give the idea that is going on hardcore trips lol. Sorry, but it is how it is.
@@luisclaro3386 there are thousands of defenders left on the road and farms in the UK, but when it come to new vehicles ford and Mitsubishi's are the new farm vehicle. I would also hazard a guess that the g wagon has a miniscule amount of sales in the UK!! Having literally just spoken to a land rover salesman and he predicts it will take over from the discovery!!!
The "Go Anywhere" game is going to be easy now.. The vehicle durability and features are something to look for.... Perfect blend of machine and technology... Couldn't be better than this....
I'll hold full judgement until i get my hands on one. But i think it looks like a good truck, the design is growing on me. The tech all looks very impressive. The killer is the 40k starting price, so 50k for something you probably want. Like everyone else said this is more a Discovery than Defender, which is no bad thing as i really don't like the disco 5 over the 3 /4, i know a few guys who didn't upgrade because of that. I think this should fill that gap. Hopefully the commercial version has a tailgate option.
@@LandRoverUK if you have any Eastnor castle launch tickets going spare I'd be happy to offer my opinion :-) I was at the puma defender launch and that was great. Honestly i hope its a success, i saw it at Goodwood revival last week and I'm still not sure.
I've owned a Range Rover Sport, which was by far the best overall driving experience I've had out of every car I've ever owned, so when I heard the Defender was coming to the U.S. I was absolutely thrilled. But thrilled I am not. Not only does this not seem characteristic of the ever-famous Defender, it looks like people at Land Rover are trying to fit too many market niches into the new Defender. This sort just makes me want to buy a pre-owned LR4. Not a new Discovery, but an LR4, because the Discovery looks like it was never meant to be seen off road, but at the grocery store.
Looks awesome Land Rover, finally it will be able to be sold in North America thru a dealership network. For those that live elsewhere buying the old Defender is almost impossible to buy almost the cost of a small house. This looks great and will sell like crazy over here. The old ones I drove in the military were terrible on the highway, and gutless on and off road. Looks like the 90 will allow a top mounted 7.62mm GPMG so it will be fine for military service :-)..... Good Job Land Rover.
Somewhat surprised that the control panel is not directly fastened to a suspended seat as used on so many off road vehicles nowadays - maybe that will feature in the Mk 2 ?
As a 90 inch wheelbase Disco it's a corker, but it's not a utility vehicle. And with all those electronics good luck fixing it i the middle of nowhere. The better off farmers where I live are all going to Toyotas now.
It has air suspension that can be lifted to increase articulation off road? But will still articulate less than a solid axle..... it’s kind of a down-grade...
It looks great, but the beauty of the old one was you could fix it anywhere. This new one will need computer specialists to fix it, not something you usually think to take on an expedition. I guess Toyota sales will go up.
Love the design although I am somewhat disappointed w/ the front fascia. I wished it was more pronounced, blunt and followed the same lighting as on the legendary Defender with the headlamp and 2 indicators. Much like what was done in the rear of the vehicle. I am excited with the introduction to the new Defender and improvements across other models but what is up w/ the Full Size Range Rover? It is time to trade in my 2017 and from what I see, little change from 2018 to 2020. The pinnacle of the lineup and I don't see much change from 2018 to 2019. Sure I am aware of the seats being wider, etc. Bad enough we lost the door storage area which I use very often for the seat controls. End of somewhat rant.
Would love to see a side-by-side comparison with the original 110 and 90. I"m not 100% sold yet, since it looks a bit too prissy to go storming around the woodlands or across the farmland. The optional satin paint coating is definitely a great idea (no dobt borrowed from petroheads who love to "plasti-dip" their vehicles). While it might not be the prehistoric full ladder chassis + body construction I (and other Defender lovers) were expecting (demanding), at first look, the new Defender seems to have choices and levels to choose from. Perhaps there will be a "rugged pseudo-milspec" version available with a hose-out interior so that you can "throw you dead sheep in the back of"..... Ok JLR, I'll stay tuned.....
Looks more like a icecream tub Then a defender can’t imagine that doing 20 years on a Farm or in the forestry. I guess we we’ll see more Toyota hi Lux and nissan navara and the isuzu d'max out on the farm actually working. So I guess the new land Rover defender will be doing the School run in Chelsea now they should’ve called it the defender sport.
Wirklich ein tolles Auto, aber wo ist jetzt der Unterschied zu den Range Rover Modellen? Das Alleinstellungsmerkmal des Defenders war seine Einfachheit und seine mechanische Technologie. Diese fehlt jetzt komplett und es sind die gleichen Systeme wie in den Range Rover Modellen verbaut.
That's a lot of software for a supposedly rugged off road vehicle....I hope it's designed to run normally when some of the electronic system goes down because it will, especially the eas system if so then I believe it's worth it....
Its lovely but not what it should be for the working force it once was Is there a pickup being thought of? Soft top even? It's a lovely car and no doubt great off road It just hasn't the usage the old one had But there are lots of old ones still out there It will make sense in overlanding of today. Just not something you can fix yourself in the field and if you bend a panel.. well you are stuck for a home done replacement It's a Range Rover .. what the Range Rover should be I love it but it's not the use of a true Defender.. but not as many people use them for their true use and they are in the business of making money Well done for making such a cool looking and amazing LR But times have changed and this is what we have If you want a new 4x4 that is like the old LRD.. buy a Rubicon Jeep
I love my 109 sw. But this! It's lost its adventurous soul. It's just a kind of Range Rover. full of electronic gadgets. A 4x4 for wealthy city dwellers who want to drive in puddles on rainy Sundays. If that's the way Land Rover goes, I'd rather buy the new 5-door lada niva... sorry.
were they thinking in the saudis when they decided this was a defender and not a discovery??? I really don't know what the indians were thinking but we defender lovers are still waiting for a real Defender to come. Meanwhile toyota is taking notes on how not to commit sacrilege on their landcruiser 70 series.
@Woody W EXACTLY!! the same marvelous and uncomparable landcruiser...the toughest 4x4 in the world and I've had 8 of them but only 1 defender. I wanted the new Defender to be better than the very unrelliable but beautiful old one in able to buy but.....that is not what we 4x4 riders would ever want. That beautiful but very complicated thing will break down in no time and for sure once you take it into the rough to do what landcruisers do. Perfect as a discovery? yes.. But a dissapointment as a defender.
When your old school but wouldn’t say no if a little bit of electrical entertainment was added, just hope the electric side doesn’t fail before it’s mechanical actual purpose it’s made for, if you know what I’m trying to say.
Now give some of the problems you get with the Land Rover products the 4x4, CPU, Suspension, and then give the prices to repair just those problems which is just a few to mention
Regarding the exterior design, they could learn a bit from JEEP Wrangler... or Mercedes G... This Defender is really amazing in terms of High Tech and I guess you couldn't expect anything else from Land Rover... However, people were buying Defenders for their simplicity and low "electronics". Land Rover simply lost these clients. Expeditions in the middle of nowhere didn't change that much. You still need a vehicle that is easy to put hands-on and that doesn't rely on a computer. Even the Td5 version was seen as a bad Defender because of its electronic engine management... In fact, I know some people that carry an extra ECU during their expeditions... I guess it's not such a big compromising but what about this new Defender that is more like a robot than a pure 4x4!? And don't tell me that it won't "break"... It will..sooner or later Especially with dust, mud, water and low maintenance (yes, cars sofer in expeditions) Additionally, the independent suspension and monocoque chassis is just killing anything that this Defender could still have to give to those who search for a pure 4x4. Those days when you could modify the Defender to suit your needs are over. This Defender is built to stay as it comes from the factory. You will still be able to put all that standard off-road equipment (snorkel, off-road bumper and so on), just like any other SUV but the Defender was not SUV if you have forgotten. Give this car to a farmer, to the military or to an explorer and they will be LIMITED, for sure.
Had a 109, 88 ,90 and a discovery 3 ( lookalike this one ) and now again a 90 i have to say i love it ,but my wallet :) does not allow . miss a bit the rough but its 2019 :) i would take this one straight out into the mountains..... great . made in the EU ......
This is the best vehicle for Mumbai Monsoons. The amount of offroad, on road we have is worse than Namibia. Some flooded areas would require the wade sensor for sure...😂😂😂😂
You'll also be able to meet the New Defender on the UK tour starting October 13th. Check our website for more details of when and where New Defender will appear.
@Woody W The full reply to this question is much longer than a simple reply to a YT comment, thus I tried to sum up my opinion in the original simple statement of 'missed the point', hoping that people could work the rest out for themselves. That being said, very briefly, I'll try help you out a bit: Defender was the name given to Land Rover's multipurpose utility vehicle line. The key word being utility, it could be utilized and adapted to fulfill a many number of tasks or challenges. In simple terms, an off-road vehicle was just one of many strings to its bow and it was in fact even compromised at this so it could do many other things a side. Now this video only shows it basically doing one thing, something any other SUV could do. The video is even titled 'features and benefits'. Defender was never an SUV, no Sport about it, it was a utility vehicle. There are plenty of SUVs, but very few pure UVs left. Which is why the death of the 'proper' Land Rover is such a shame to people like myself. Again, why I put, missed the point. - hope this helps
Woody W Okay well first off it’s actually the same wheel base. They’re just calling it the 130 after that dam older version. That silly old useless flawed thing that Tata uses to built hype, nostalgia and an identity to sell its current line up of rubbish with a green oval on. I’m not one of these people who thinks the real Land Rover didn’t need an update or even a replacement. But the point is this new thing does not replace it. It merely adds to the endless see of SUVs produced by JLR and other car makers a like.
Woody W It was leaked ages ago. Just spouting facts and figures like that means nearly nothing. Like I said before, Land Rover was never just about that. It was compromised as an off road vehicle so it could do plenty more besides. Showing a brand new car in picturesque staged environments like in these promos is nothing like what real off road expeditions are like. It’s much more dynamic. No matter how well made or prepared your vehicle is, you will run into problems. How would I even begin to trace simple problems in something like this? I carry out maintenance, repairs and general tinkering on my 110 near every other weekend, namely because I enjoy it. The thing is beautifully simple and I have carried out emergency repairs in a whole manner of environments. In engineering in general, if there’s a more simple solution to a problem, it is always a better one. Even if I succumb to only arguing Land Rovers off road ability, again, there’s way more to it than just fact sheet data on departure angles. I reiterate, Land Rover needed to evolve yes but not in this way.
U make it Look like a discovery series 2-3 with horrible rounded edges, what a mess, it’s meant to be a defender, u bolloxed the discovery to make it Looked like it’s had a stroke, wtf r u on
