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Thoughts and musings on the new defender


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21 hours ago, Happyoldgit said:

Sorry I am hardly new to the history and ethos behind the various models so you are lecturing the wrong person.

I'm too tired to dance around on the head of a pin though, therefore I  will thank you for your comments will let my pearl's of wisdom can stand.

 

Sorry about that tiredness.  Wishing you good rest and good days ahead.

Edited by deep
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  • 3 weeks later...

I saw one for only the second time yesterday.  However, this time I got a close look and got to sit in it (the owner had just bought my lovely old 110 - buckets of tears - and he was feeling benevolent).  After spending forever looking at pictures and reading about them, it did look and almost feel familiar, which was bizarre.  The exterior is fatter than I expected, and "imbalanced" as the fat is mostly low down.  The interior looked and felt neater than in the pictures but that television instrument panel looks like a joke.  Yuk yuk.  They say you can get used to anything (loss of job, kin, limbs etc.) but I couldn't imagine ever getting used to that.  Those two points aside, I do get how people who bought station wagon versions of the old Defender would like the new one.  I might give it five years and see how they go...

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That's the one. I just wasn't prepared for how horrible it is.  I think it's because it's just two dimensional, like a gaudy picture instead of the real thing.  It might be more fun when people start hacking them though!

That's not to deny other people the right to like them, of course.  Each to his own!

37 degrees Fahrenheit?  Blow that for a joke!  Allegedly mid-summer here.

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49 minutes ago, deep said:

That's the one. I just wasn't prepared for how horrible it is.  I think it's because it's just two dimensional, like a gaudy picture instead of the real thing.

Exactly, like something from an old computer game. I'll take bouncy old school dials all day long. 🙂

Unfortunately, these are probably cheaper and/or people are willing to pay for the novelty, as almost all modern cars seem to have them...

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21 minutes ago, Escape said:

Exactly, like something from an old computer game. I'll take bouncy old school dials all day long. 🙂

Unfortunately, these are probably cheaper and/or people are willing to pay for the novelty, as almost all modern cars seem to have them...

Bet they’re cheaper these days. Haven’t got to have two different speedos for different markets etc

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I find the digital dash is excellent. A very clear and crisp picture. You can choose several gauge layouts, and display various different things in the other areas - maps/navigation, media, 4x4 info etc. plus as alluded to above I could change the speedo to km/h if driving in Europe for example.

A fixed analog dash is available on the base model too.

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I have no problems with a digital dash. Have had one in the Merc for 4 years now. It's also much more flexible in what it shows, and very useful when crossing into the UK: at the touch of a menu setting the speed/odometer/everything goes from km to miles.

I'd prefer the fully digital dash over the abomination that is the half-digital half-analog thing the base spec Defender has.

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On 2/2/2021 at 11:14 AM, elbekko said:

I have no problems with a digital dash. Have had one in the Merc for 4 years now. It's also much more flexible in what it shows, and very useful when crossing into the UK: at the touch of a menu setting the speed/odometer/everything goes from km to miles.

I'd prefer the fully digital dash over the abomination that is the half-digital half-analog thing the base spec Defender has.

I think a digital dash is great, as long as the controls for it are mechanical rather than touch screen.  The ability to change from mph to kmh, add or remove other gauges and information displays and customise the information the driver needs in specific conditions is very useful.  It’s only the touch screen controls for all the systems that I oppose, lacking tactile feed back, a good grip or tactile reference in bumpy conditions and where you can’t afford to look at the screen, and disabling a multitude of systems should that one interface develop a fault.

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/british/check-out-new-ps100k-v8-powered-land-rover-defender

 

" ... Land Rover has stuck its tried and tested 5.0-litre supercharged V8 in the new Defender. Available as either a two-door short-wheelbase ‘90’ or four-door long-wheelbase ‘110’, the V8 Defender makes 518bhp, accelerates to 60mph in a shade under five seconds and tops out at 149mph. Fuel economy is predictably shocking – just 19.5mpg and 327g/km of CO2.

Happily the Defender’s chassis and suspension have been beefed-up to cope with the added power, though not, says Land Rover, to the detriment of its off-road ability. Larger diameter solid anti-roll bars aim to reduce, erm, roll. Then there’s the new “Electronic Active Rear Differential”, the stiffer suspension bushes, bespoke spring and damper rates and new ‘Dynamic’ mode for the Terrain Response system that helps drivers “exploit the more dynamic character” of the V8 “on tarmac and loose surfaces”. ..."

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1 hour ago, rusty_wingnut said:

So the V8 edition is marginally better performance wise than a 4.4 TDV8 L322......  

Marginally, more like significantly. Just as the Supercharged L322 is also a lot quicker than the TDV8. I'm not knocking the diesel, it is a fab engine. Parkers say 8.6 sec 0-60 for the 3.6 and 7.5 sec 0-60mph for the 4.4 TDV8.

parkers.co.uk/land-rover/range-rover/estate-2002/specs/

If the Defender is under 5 sec 0-60mph that is a HUGE difference.

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Thinking about this, the P400, as its name suggests, has 400 hp, is the V8 such an upgrade?

In 110 form it has a 0-60 of 6.4s, so assume the 90 would edge close to, if not under 6 seconds, the V8 just a bit faster than that, but you are paying 20-30K more for it, and massive, massive tax and fuel bills to add to that.

I guess what I am saying, is what is the point?

But then personally, I guess that is how I feel about most modern cars, but more so with the Pretender.

 

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