New defender concept - NOT DC100 - actually quite like it

[Pollywog]

I saw a DC100 Sport leaving Eastnor one day and putting practicality aside I must say I thought it looked really nice.

If I were a betting man my money would be on the replacement being a double cab pick up aimed at the L200 / Navara market.

[Chicken Drumstick]

Gents there are three instances of direct quoting in the article, albeit short. No, there's not much solid info on what it'll look like, but really who gives a ****. When I saw my first Defender I didn't think "that's awesome looking", I was just fairly sure it was a very capable vehicle.

So this is good enough for me:

The new Defender will be the most capable Land Rover ever built, according to Phil Popham, Jaguar Land Rover’s group marketing director.

Speaking at the recent Paris show, Popham said the long-awaited new model would have the biggest “breadth of capability” of any model to wear the Land Rover badge.

(So long as it doesn't look like a Ssang Yong)

I'd take that with a pinch of salt tbh, it's not as if they'd say it will be the least capable, or not as capable as the old one.

New stuff must always be perceived as being superior to the old, at least from a marketing perspective, even if it isn't actually true.

[Snagger]

What capability are they measuring? Adaptability? The ability to tow? The ability to lug heavy loads off road? The ability to operate in remote areas with minimal back up? Or the ability to drive around town and look interesting? Capability and the measure of it is highly subjective.

[dailysleaze]

Capability of generating shed loads of profit

[Exmoor Beast]

There is a strong case for making a small Land Rover to take on the mule market so beloved by farmers now. i'd like to see that, mules are damn expensive and I reckon the market is there for the taking by LR. series ones are mule sized so they had it right to start with ffs!

I quite like the Autocar version of Defender, still a bit fussy here and there for my tastes but it could be an awful lot worse. It needs to have a design life of 20+years to appeal to the fleet users, more important that cost I'd say, resale values will be strong if they make a point of this. This is something LR have let slip in the past, look how many D2s are turning to dust, I wonder how far behind D3s are? It'll be interesting to see how their more complicated chassis are for longevity...

Will :-)

[need4speed]

When all is said and done, no matter what the eventual replacement looks like, it isnt going to be modular. That alone means i wont be the slightest bit interested in it...

[wanger]

if you like the defender get one now and keep it.

what ever comes will be a variation on a theme running through JLR right now.

[deep]

if you like the defender get one now and keep it.

what ever comes will be a variation on a theme running through JLR right now.

Very likely true. I just bought a 110 from my favourite era and am putting it together with some thought to longevity, wondering how many decades I can get out of it? Not that we know what tomorrow may bring, etc. etc.!

I do feel that JLR will almost be forced to using high tech in the new design, so they are not trying to compete on "value for money". I think that is totally reasonable and they could do something functionally amazing if they don't compromise. I just wish they could do it without the current trend for eastern styling, which will date quickly and already looks pretty naff. Look at how the Series II Land Rover styling never dated. That's so rare and quite a fabulous thing for a factory to achieve. Form following function was the key, not compromising function by being trendy.

Actually, I have been thinking that, a few years ago, I used to suffer lust for new Land Rovers. Apart from (maybe) the Discovery 4, I just don't get that any longer. And I don't relish maintaining a Discovery 4.