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I read plans have been changed and they are not using discovery platform chassis, any other news <_< So how would you want it to look we have all seen the bronco based picture which looks great ,should defender retain meccanno like build? A nicer front end say discovery 3 or 4 more rounded lines centre mounted winch option thoughts please cheers chris

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I read plans have been changed and they are not using discovery platform chassis, any other news <_< So how would you want it to look we have all seen the bronco based picture which looks great ,should defender retain meccanno like build? A nicer front end say discovery 3 or 4 more rounded lines centre mounted winch option thoughts please cheers chris

NO they should keep the chiseled look but make it more wider than the D4 and have 3.6 TDV8 or 3.0 TDV6, and not make it too expensive!!!

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I think the styling should be kept, I like the house brick design although I know the new euro safety rules for people stupid enough to walk in front of it will prevent the square ish edges. Macano style suits me which will be a shame if it's lost, ladder chassis good as most people tend to hang onto their Defenders.

What would I like to see:

  • Doors that don't leak
  • Elbow room
  • A bit more power
  • A bit less noise
  • Blowers that clear the screen!!
  • More adjustable seat
  • Better security
  • better quality paint/finishings galv cappings etc.

I have nearly traided my Defender in a couple of times for a new one, but have always been stopped by the feeling that I have spent a small fortune on bits for mine I wouldn't get that back, and am happy with mine so why bother having to fix all of Land Rovers issues again....... do I realy need a new one, which is Land Rover's problem..

But at the end of the day Land Rover are a business who need to sell cars, they make them in such a way that they won't last and will need replacing, however then we all fix them and they last keep their value and we hang onto them, resulting in less sales of new ones and as Land Rover don't make that much off bits as not many people buy OE..... and they don't make thoses bits anyway.

European laws are going to effect us further with more and more about what we can and can't do to cars to take them away from the original spec, we see the posts from France and Spain where in the name of "Safety" people need anything added approved by Land Rover.......

As a business plan the defender sucks, when you take into account how many are still on the road compaired to Disco's etc it does not pull through new sales, I know thats not what we want to hear but it's life....

Jason.

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i put money on the new defender having IFS and possibly a beam axle at the back and bearing a striking resemblance in size and contruction to the l200, yota hilux, ford explorer thingy etc.

who is the defender and hilux etc marketed at - builders, farmers and tradesmen. Most buy jap pickups because they offer all the 4x4 potential required and have comfy(ish) car like cabins and handling and much more powerful engines.

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Not sure it matters how it comes out, as most of us will add/take off bits change everything and any thing we can until we are satisfied it's fit for purpose or we think it looks better than when we got it. :D

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They need to make a welded body to reduce cost and more importantly to fix the leaks (dust & water).

I would like to see a larger diesel engine option, but I disagree with others on the TDV6. The TDV6 is a good engine, but way too expensive. A good 3 litre, 4 cylinder engine is a better choice IMHO. Having less parts to reduce build/selling, repair/overhaul and running (efficiency reduction) costs, it could still have good torque and power, but not be as smooth as the TDV6.

An automatic transmission option will improve sales in many markets.

I hope they retain front and rear solid axles, but I don't care for weak Rover axles myself.

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NO they should keep the chiseled look but make it more wider than the D4 and have 3.6 TDV8 or 3.0 TDV6, and not make it too expensive!!!

I take it you never go offroad then.

Making it wider than a D4 will mean that it won't fit through most gates in this countryrolleyes.gif

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Having read an article in one of the landy mags, in which they've got one of the Land Rover designers to come up with some pictures of the new icon, but to their specs, it doesn't look too bad.

Thats in no way a guarantee it will come out anything like that of course, when i think of a replacement 'modern EU' defender i'm always drawn back to the Mini, it was a perfect meeting of form and function which did exactly what it was designed to, and was way ahead of it's time, then cue the BMW mini, really, if it hadn't had the mini badge and been so hyped to be a 'new' mini, it would probably not have done so well, and it wasn't anything like the original Issigonis idea that made the original great.

The 110/90/defender are the same, their anti-styling looks and function-over-everything-else traits are what make them so enduring and great. to repeat that, especially with the EU breathing down LR's necks is going to be impossible.

will the next defender look like a defender? yes most likely, in the same way the mini does, but will it be what it should be? -an improved version of the original with the faults we all love to hate cured and better safety, but retaining the go anywhere ability, meccano like construction (irrespective of the end shape) and maintainability?

i doubt it.

it will be a sad day for britain and every enthusiast when the last of that iconic shape runs off the production line. :(

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Just pondering, but i wonder what will happen to the machines and tooling used to make the defender? could we see them being sold on to a country such as China or India? with far less safety regulations? to be made under another brand but with the same ideas of usage as the originals? (Santana)

I wonder how we'd react to a brand new Indian/Chinese Defender? say to pre-1998 spec?

it's not like Jaguar/ Land Rovers Indian owner hasn't got the ability...

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