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Grumblings from the Land Rover "Defender" community, they want a Bronco

rlynch356

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Humm as a Defender 90 (1995) owner.. I have a Bronco on Reservation (2 door base), and a grenadier..

what I don't have is any desire for a Defender2 - 110 or 90 for that matter. what really throws it for me is A) Unibody construction and B) Fully Independent AIR suspension..
Land Rover has been putting Air suspension on trucks for almost 30 years and every one I have owned has had issues with it where I have replaced multiple sir springs, pumps, etc.

I do think the Defender2's interior is excellent and the dash.. they hit out of the park even with the stupid looking gear lever (it serves a purpose though)..

I'd consider one if it was cheap which I think they will be when the short initial leases come up. I am thinking a depreciation hit in the 40% range for 18-24 months. When the local dealer calls me weekly and wants me to come drive the new one that just showed up unallocated, you have a problem with demand.
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Wahoowa

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I showed interest in the defender a while back and had a deposit down as a (bronco) hedge. I cancelled and got my deposit back the day after bronco reveal. The LR dealer WILL NOT STOP contacting me over the last couple weeks. Seems like new Defender is a flop.
 

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Was into the new defender and considered putting a deposit down but my local dealer wants about 5-10k above MSRP and the defender itself isnt really what i was hoping for (i.e. body on frrame). I wish Wrangler/Bronco came with a 130" wheel base variant. Those old Defender 130s is what sucked me into the Overlanding scene
 

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I showed interest in the defender a while back and had a deposit down as a (bronco) hedge. I cancelled and got my deposit back the day after bronco reveal. The LR dealer WILL NOT STOP contacting me over the last couple weeks. Seems like new Defender is a flop.
Same here.
 

Cheshire

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For what its worth, I was talking to a friend who has been a lifelong Land Rover fan. His father owned them, he owns a Defender 90, they've owned them for a long time, restored them, etc... He interacts with others in the LR community as well. We were talking about the Bronco, and how much we liked them. He said that LR had a great opportunity to bring back the Defender and they totally dropped the ball. Then he said a lot of people that had Defenders reserved, cancelled when the Bronco was launched, and reserved a Bronco. ?
I bought the 1994 manual Defender 90 softtop new at the dealer when it first came out (green). I had fallen in love with it at the Boston auto show. The next year I bought the 1995 automatic Defender 90 hardtop (blue with white top). Those vehicles were magic to me at the time and I learned how to off-road on them.

For years, I heard the rumors that Defender was coming back. For years I was excited for the eventual return. Well, when I finally saw it I could not believe my eyes. They had the chance to keep the brand mojo with a new off-road beast and THEY BLEW IT. I've seen a few in person wearing street tires with big rims and YUCK! Land Rover had a chance at greatness. Luckily, the NEW BRONCO turned out better than my wildest dreams. I don't think you could get much closer to perfection than the new Bronco. I am more excited about getting my vehicle now than I was 25 years ago when I was young.

RIP Defender! At least the old ones will be worth huge money for a long, long time even if they're abominable on-road.
 

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NCOBX

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I bought the 1994 manual Defender 90 softtop new at the dealer when it first came out (green). I had fallen in love with it at the Boston auto show. The next year I bought the 1995 automatic Defender 90 hardtop (blue with white top). Those vehicles were magic to me at the time and I learned how to off-road on them.

For years, I heard the rumors that Defender was coming back. For years I was excited for the eventual return. Well, when I finally saw it I could not believe my eyes. They had the chance to keep the brand mojo with a new off-road beast and THEY BLEW IT. I've seen a few in person wearing street tires with big rims and YUCK! Land Rover had a chance at greatness. Luckily, the NEW BRONCO turned out better than my wildest dreams. I don't think you could get much closer to perfection than the new Bronco. I am more excited about getting my vehicle now than I was 25 years ago when I was young.

RIP Defender! At least the old ones will be worth huge money for a long, long time even if they're abominable on-road.
Unfortunately I was too young when the Defender was available in America I would have loved one.

As far as the new defender I don’t understand how anyone can stand next to one and not be thoroughly underwhelmed, it has the charisma of a Buick Rendezvous with similar performance.

I see they’re trying to fix it with a V8. As a through and through V8 guy it’s just lipstick on a pig, a great powertrain couldn’t save that pile.
 

Blitzinger

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Unfortunately I was too young when the Defender was available in America I would have loved one.

As far as the new defender I don’t understand how anyone can stand next to one and not be thoroughly underwhelmed, it has the charisma of a Buick Rendezvous with similar performance.

I see they’re trying to fix it with a V8. As a through and through V8 guy it’s just lipstick on a pig, a great powertrain couldn’t save that pile.
I think the biggest issue is the weight and power train. 4 cylinder for a 5500lb suv is asking for trouble if you’re going off-road. And to upgrade engine is $13000. JLR is out of their mind
 

Lcubed

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I think the biggest issue is the weight and power train. 4 cylinder for a 5500lb suv is asking for trouble if you’re going off-road. And to upgrade engine is $13000. JLR is out of their mind
why? the old rover V8 was used in a similar weight vehicle and had half the horsepower and torque. (former LR owner). the td5 motor was even heavier, less horsepower, but more torque.
 

Lcubed

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mine generated a hefty 182 bhp back in '96. the td5 may have produced 140 bhp in that era.

afaik, the defenders of that era never has gas turbos
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