Redesigned Defender

[Winemark]

the only upside to that design is that it will make older Defenders far more valuable and make me appreciate my Series that much more

[RoverDover]

I dont even want to know what kind of mechanicals are under this yuppie mall cruiser POS. No one is gonna want one of these in a 130 work truck. I am going to keep my 90 forever because the will never make anything worth owning again.

[crankin]

Nissan already did it...

[amcordo]

C'mon folks - you should have seen this coming. How many ownerships ago was the Defender designed in? It was a completely different company back then. Their market just isn't the same anymore, so why would they create a machine even similar to the Defender? They're not the working people's vehicles - they're luxury so of course the new model reaches for that rather than practicality. Sad, but makes sense.

[amcordo]

Oh. And if I was going to spend whatever assinine amount they're going to charge for it I would just buy a Grand Cherokee or a nice Cadi and drive in more luxury/reliability. AND look good while doing it. Fools.

[mongoswede]

Looks suspiciously like a Kia

[rickv100]

The roof looks like it is from the Toyota FJ55 and the window angle reminds me of a Mini.

I think Toyota trucks pretty much have the utility market sewed up anymore.

Might want to see if the new Defender is even a 4x4.

Rick

[jac04]

We can only hope that the designers come to their senses, as someone already mentioned. I would hate to see the day when I am embarrassed to own a Land Rover.

[SafeAirOne]

The roof looks like it is from the Toyota FJ55 and the window angle reminds me of a Mini.

Is it any wonder? Have a look at the website of Tata (this week's owner of Rover). You'll see nothing but uninspired knock-offs of existing vehicles for the worldwide market and microscopic go-karts for their home market.

[Cutter]

C'mon folks - you should have seen this coming. How many ownerships ago was the Defender designed in? It was a completely different company back then. Their market just isn't the same anymore, so why would they create a machine even similar to the Defender? They're not the working people's vehicles - they're luxury so of course the new model reaches for that rather than practicality. Sad, but makes sense.

I agree with you to a point- Land Rover's currently has nothing to do with the market that the series/defender was catering to. In fact the simplicity, reliability and utility demand by that market means the current land rover is the last company that should be making a defender, and Toyota rightfully has taken that market from them. The land rover rep said that this was an exercise to find a "relevant" design for the defender- I tend to think the defender market isn't "relevant" to Land Rover anymore despite being the foundation of the company...

That said, the Defender has some serious brand value, and incredible recognition around the world (if you drove up in this no one would associate it with a defender, thats the problem). The Defender still has a market, same as the the G-Wagon. Spartan, functionally driven and intensely capable are still sought after (even if people don't use those capabilities), and when you have an iconic design with that much mind share, why throw it away. The thing that makes the Defender so great is the design is so unchanged since the S I, simply because it was so austere, timeless and driven by function. Just because this anomaly in the car world doesn't mean to toss that aside and inject the "style juice" that is the antithesis of the defender to conform with the brand. That isn't what the people who want a defender are after, they are after authenticity and performance. And yes, they will pay a lot for it, but it doesn't have to be that way.

Don't want to ramble so I'll stop.

[I Leak Oil]

It's not my cup of tea either and I think I just puked in my mouth a little. Not surprised by it either. As a company they are going to do what they need to in order to survive.

With that said, series trucks weren't wildly popular when they were being built either, they weren't for everyone. Who knows, maybe in 40+ years my kids will be restoring one for their kids......For now, I'll stick with my series.

[TedW]

Looks suspiciously like a Kia

With those headlights it's a shoe-in for a role in Cars 3.................

[amcordo]

I agree with you to a point- Land Rover's currently has nothing to do with the market that the series/defender was catering to. In fact the simplicity, reliability and utility demand by that market means the current land rover is the last company that should be making a defender, and Toyota rightfully has taken that market from them. The land rover rep said that this was an exercise to find a "relevant" design for the defender- I tend to think the defender market isn't "relevant" to Land Rover anymore despite being the foundation of the company...

That said, the Defender has some serious brand value, and incredible recognition around the world (if you drove up in this no one would associate it with a defender, thats the problem). The Defender still has a market, same as the the G-Wagon. Spartan, functionally driven and intensely capable are still sought after (even if people don't use those capabilities), and when you have an iconic design with that much mind share, why throw it away. The thing that makes the Defender so great is the design is so unchanged since the S I, simply because it was so austere, timeless and driven by function. Just because this anomaly in the car world doesn't mean to toss that aside and inject the "style juice" that is the antithesis of the defender to conform with the brand. That isn't what the people who want a defender are after, they are after authenticity and performance. And yes, they will pay a lot for it, but it doesn't have to be that way.

Don't want to ramble so I'll stop.

I couldn't agree with you more in wishing that they'd rethink this. But I just don't see it likely that they'll do anything but a uni-body luxury box.

Look at it in terms of the North American market: if they bring the Defender here they're going to be introducing it as an entirely new product line (barely anyone outside of loyalist circles know about the existing Defender). So they've got a few options in that regard.

1. They can introduce the Defender as an offroad vehicle similar to a Jeep. Great. They'll have to hit a pricepoint that is reasonable when compared to a Jeep, or show that it's WAY better. In any case, Toyota tried exactly this with the FJ and the results are them discontinuing it.
2. They can introduce it as another great Land Rover luxury car and ride off the public's feelings towards the existing Land Rover line. In which case it's not going to be a super-functional utility vehicle. Or even if it is, it'll have to priced high enough not to devalue their existing product offerings - putting it out of reach of all but the most wealthy off-roaders.

[Cutter]

I couldn't agree with you more in wishing that they'd rethink this. But I just don't see it likely that they'll do anything but a uni-body luxury box.

I agree, there may be a small market for what we all want but not enough to justify it. And they aren't the company to do it.

[amcordo]

I agree, there may be a small market for what we all want but not enough to justify it. And they aren't the company to do it.

:'(