Naks

nice podcast by Scott & co from Expedition Portal:

I'm probably the closest, it's only 2400 km away. But there's a total lockdown in ZA, so no chance of going 🤣 I'm sure I've shared this photo before, but it's not that difficult to get wheels off the ground in a standard Puma: compared to a D4 at the same spot:

The most comprehensive/detailed review so far: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/2020-land-rover-defender---the-long-review/42091 warning: it's a long read!

IOL's review: https://www.iol.co.za/motoring/latest-launches/we-put-the-new-land-rover-defender-through-its-paces-in-namibia-45527502"Some of the Namibian dirt roads are better than locally previously tarred roads, so using a heavy right foot when you’re behind the wheel in a vehicle loaded with electronic safety features becomes almost obligatory. On the long stretches of hard, smooth dirt, the Defender couldn’t get enough, and on long sweeping bends, a gentle drift had us asking for more.The reality of driving like that though is that things get a bit hectic at the petrol pump, and after a day’s hard driving in low range in soft sand, mud, quicksand and hard and fast playing that saw the cars covered in plumes of water, consumption was almost touching on 30L/100km.The previous day in the 240 diesel, consumption showed 23L/100km, slightly better considering again there was a lot of sand driving in low range.When we pulled back to Opuwo Country Lodge, we had done almost 800km, the third rotation to have done so and another one 24 hours behind us.Land Rover had built a full workshop with the latest equipment, including diagnostic equipment and a hoist to properly clean and service each vehicle. On their return to the UK, this would become the lodge’s laundry room.What made this trip different is that because the Defenders were still pre-production units, technicians and engineers were constantly monitoring real-time live data and feeding it back to HQ in England where it would be analysed and changes made to the soft and hardware where necessary. There was nothing hidden from us or sanitised. That’s difficult when you’re up to your knees in mud and clay.As an example: the tyre pressure monitor keeps blipping under a certain pressure, way more than you would normally drive on in sandy conditions, and this will be updated when production starts.The engineers also picked up a small issue with gear changing when in sand mode, nothing noticeable when you drive, but a minor software tweak will improve it.They also found that constant hard water driving would shorten the lifespan of the wheel arch protection material, so the guys in the workshop designed and built something on site which will end up on the finished product."

first reviews are out! https://youtu.be/-_qGCzGR-74 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gI_Qbc5Kds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sCR9l38yik https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCPs2flOkZg https://youtu.be/rg9inpnrWkI

Top Gear Trailer: driving the new Defender in Africa: https://www.topgear.com/videos/trailer-driving-new-defender-africa

lol, Van Zyl's Pass a 'mildy bumpy road'? Now I've heard it all 🤣🤣🤣

Completely missing the point: the Namibian tour drove on PUBLIC roads, not hardcore 4x4 trails. You break down or have an accident on Van Zyl's Pass unprepared, you could DIE waiting for another vehicle to come by. You lot in 'first world' countries really don't have a clue sometimes... Could the new Defender do the Wheeny Creek trail? I'm willing to bet it can, obviously with the correct mods, as the heavily-modded Defender demonstrates in that video.

Video of Van Zyl's Pass:

Video of the Defenders pulling out a stuck truck in Namibia: : the tweet reads: "International Rescue 1x 400PS 3.0 i6 MHEV with 550NM e-Superchaged & turbocharged 1x 240PS 2.0 4cyl with 430NM turbocharged 💪Each recovery point can take 10t load (2x on each car) Traction helped by @goodyear #Duratrac #newdefender #namibia @DamianBlakemore"

Indeed, but that is very fine clay dust that gets sucked into every space inside the car. So I'll be sneezing for the next few months 🤧

Our club's first points event was this past Sunday, and this time I took the 90 instead of the RRS 🙂

A video of the water crossing in Namibia: https://www.facebook.com/CarAdvice/videos/1511513768998279/

via @theragers: There’s been a drought in Namibia for about 6 years. Until today. It all got a bit camel trophy trying to reach camp. #NewDefender

Video of the Namibia trip from Leisure Wheels:

Compared to the pricing in ZA, it really is!!! This is the 110 pricelist:

The 90 is now available to order: https://media.landrover.com/news/2020/02/new-land-rover-defender-90-goes-sale-following-unprecedented-demand-defender-110

"800km done and dusted in Namibia in Land Rover’s new Defender. Land Rover didn’t hold back on the difficulty of the terrain either - there were some gnarly 4x4 tracks along the way. No worries for the Defender" By @leisurewheels_4x4mag

rescuing a truck in Namibia:

from Leisure Wheels magazine "Defender adventure in Namibia, done and dusted. We piloted the new Land Rover Defender for 800km through Namibia's tough as nails Kaokoland. This was no la-de-da gravel road drive - we traversed some really tough 4x4 terrain. Full adventure and a comprehensive Defender 4x4 driving report in the upcoming May issue"