same power through all the trims since there was only one motor available for US (nonROW) disco's and defenders land rovers in the mid 90's. i've never seen P38 or later range rovers in serious offload trim
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Grumblings from the Land Rover "Defender" community, they want a Bronco
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I brought the wife and kids to look at a defender on Saturday and take a test drive. Something about a white roof and white steelies with a middle seat that really makes it feel special. Love the durable and yet luxurious interior materials, washout floor, design, etc. it also comes in green and brown...
When I saw the TFL video, I just shook my head. The last thing in the world I want in a car (esp one that goes off-road) is to live in constant fear of repairs.
Just want something special and I’m honestly getting over the hype of this Bronco, bored with no meaningful updates or B&P. Want to be able to build this thing to make it my own. Want it to be green. Want to get some meaningful sense of what I’m going to get after forgoing having a second vehicle in the family until June.
for the day, those old NA engines were fine, and much less likely break off-road.
don't forget, the old rovers were farm tools, not race cars, so a something that could
be fixed in subsaharan africa or deep southern united states by a shade tree mechanic
without a dedicated electronic test book was a good thing.
(the high output turbo gasoline engines were notoriously finicky and required a testbook to trouble shoot. if you ever watch the old camel trophy videos, all those used defenders or discos with td5 engines which had virtually no electronics and could practically run underwater. not high output but bulletproof)
don't forget, the old rovers were farm tools, not race cars, so a something that could
be fixed in subsaharan africa or deep southern united states by a shade tree mechanic
without a dedicated electronic test book was a good thing.
(the high output turbo gasoline engines were notoriously finicky and required a testbook to trouble shoot. if you ever watch the old camel trophy videos, all those used defenders or discos with td5 engines which had virtually no electronics and could practically run underwater. not high output but bulletproof)
The reputation of LR reliability/repair cost precedes itself. Certainly with similar features the Bronco is a better value and the Defender doesn’t have a removable top. I spent two hours off road driving a Defender 110 with A/T tired a few days ago in NC and I was impressed. I had it cross-articulated a couple times with two wheels off the ground and there was no flex in the body. Foot deep sticky, wet clay going around a tight corner uphill was no problem. It rode smooth and quiet and this vehicle is driven off road every day. I still wouldn’t buy it due to lack of removal top and cost as compared to the Bronco but I think this might be another situation of people dogging it like people wanting a V8 because that’s what they’re used to. Times and technology change.
not sure what tangent you've segued to, but the land rover V8 never got into the multihundred horsepower realm
directly from wikipedia:
3.9/4.0
The 3.9 L Rover V8, a bored-out version of the original 3.5 L engine, was used in several Land Rover vehicles, TVRs, and the MG RV8.
2003 Morgan Plus 8 4.0 litre V8 engine
Land Rover used a 3,946 cc (3.9 L; 240.8 cu in) version of the Rover V8 throughout the 1990s. Bore was increased to 94 mm (3.7 in) and stroke remained the same at 71 mm (2.80 in). The engine was revised in 1995 and thereafter referred to as a 4.0 to differentiate it from the earlier version, although displacement was unchanged. The revisions consisted of a new intake and exhaust system, extra block ribbing, revised pistons, and larger cross-bolted main bearings. The 1995 4.0 produced 190 hp (142 kW; 193 PS) and 236 lbâ‹…ft (320 Nâ‹…m).
Production of the 4.0 ended in 2003. The final version of the engine, used in the 2003 Land Rover Discovery, produced 188 hp (140 kW; 191 PS) at 4,750 rpm and 250 lbâ‹…ft (339 Nâ‹…m) at 2,600 rpm.
basically, single engine for the entire disco/defender line for the NA market
directly from wikipedia:
3.9/4.0
The 3.9 L Rover V8, a bored-out version of the original 3.5 L engine, was used in several Land Rover vehicles, TVRs, and the MG RV8.
2003 Morgan Plus 8 4.0 litre V8 engine
Land Rover used a 3,946 cc (3.9 L; 240.8 cu in) version of the Rover V8 throughout the 1990s. Bore was increased to 94 mm (3.7 in) and stroke remained the same at 71 mm (2.80 in). The engine was revised in 1995 and thereafter referred to as a 4.0 to differentiate it from the earlier version, although displacement was unchanged. The revisions consisted of a new intake and exhaust system, extra block ribbing, revised pistons, and larger cross-bolted main bearings. The 1995 4.0 produced 190 hp (142 kW; 193 PS) and 236 lbâ‹…ft (320 Nâ‹…m).
Production of the 4.0 ended in 2003. The final version of the engine, used in the 2003 Land Rover Discovery, produced 188 hp (140 kW; 191 PS) at 4,750 rpm and 250 lbâ‹…ft (339 Nâ‹…m) at 2,600 rpm.
basically, single engine for the entire disco/defender line for the NA market
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If that’s the case why are you on the Bronco forum rather than the sport forum. Since by all means the closer competitor to the Defender would be the Bronco sport.
I saw probably the second new defender I’ve seen in the wild today and I’m pretty sure the Subaru sitting next to it had it beat on ground clearance. As mentioned you can find plenty of videos of a Crown Vic traversing Moab, just because you can do certain obstacles doesn’t make it off-road capable.
I’ve taken my manual trans SS sedan over more off-road situations than 99% of crossovers with my limited slip engaging multiple times - it is far from an off-road vehicle.
Time and time again we have been shown that unibody vehicles are not capable of doing off-roading to the level of properly setup BOF vehicles.
Tata made a financial decision to go unibody and it appears that, globally, that decision has been a huge misstep for the Brand and the parent company.
Time and technology improve but basic principles still apply. We don’t build circular ships, coal is still the best power source by density, and cars still ride on rubber tires. Ship designs, turbine designs, and tire designs have all improved since their original concept but the basics are still very much the same. Body on frame is still the gold standard, the more solid axles the better, and simplicity is still king for reliability.
I’m not here to argue but I’d consider the Defender with air suspension, which I drove, to be a hybrid between the Bronco and Bronco Sport. The Bronco specs below are similar to the Defender with air suspension. The Badlands Sport specs are at the bottom.
400Ft Lbs(2.7L) vs 236 Ft lbs is going to be great. Haha, I still drive my Defender everyday, well when I'm not driving the RRC with the 300Tdi (210 Ft Lbs)..
I've driven both versions of the Defender2, its nice, but does nothing for me.. They have a bunch just sitting on the lot here in Raleigh. All in the high 60's to low 80's.
After F-ing with Land Rover air suspension and its failures for 20+ years I'm out. unless they cost 1/2 as much.. which in 18-24 months I'm sure they will, then the trick is going to be finding one with the rear locker.
I've driven both versions of the Defender2, its nice, but does nothing for me.. They have a bunch just sitting on the lot here in Raleigh. All in the high 60's to low 80's.
After F-ing with Land Rover air suspension and its failures for 20+ years I'm out. unless they cost 1/2 as much.. which in 18-24 months I'm sure they will, then the trick is going to be finding one with the rear locker.
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Anyone that has worked on cars as a profession knows the ills of british autos back in the day they all used lucas lighting and instruments it was known as "lucas the prince of darkness"?‍
I had really hoped the Defender would stay true to the roots of the old 90 and have a solid front axle. Disappointed me. I saw one at the LR dealer the other day and was surprised at how big it is too. The thing is huge.
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