Congrats @wkcwkc

Will look even better with some mud. Love the rubber mats.

 

Looks awesome!

 

Congratulations and thanks for all those pictures. Is there any badging in the interior?

 

OMG! You got the first one! Will be worth a fortune at Pebble in 30 years.

 

Where is the “white crossbar” am I missing it?

 

congrats on the new truck.

im waiting to accept delivery of mine, and am growing more and more reluctant to do so. the more i learn (and have now seen), the more it seems they are parts bin trucks to make up for lost sales opportunities. to wit:

- the build sheets for these trucks state they are S models, however...
- due to chip shortages they have neither the interactive display or the 11.4" screen
- the seats are not ebony-faced with the robustec fabric, which i understand has been controversial, but is instead apparently very plain, flat, faux leather that looks akin to what you mind find in an audi a4
- the headrests appear to have been swapped to more downmarket materials and shape
- the badging appears small and not particularly interesting (i bet it isn't a plate, but plastic) compared to the originals

in general, it feels like we've taken all the option bits we had left over plus the accessories no one orders, put them on a plain white truck and called it "special." the corners being cut make one wonder about the completeness of the drivetrain, and off-road/suspension components as well.

can anyone chime in here and confirm or correct me? i want to be wrong here, and hope that when i pick mine up it's everything i want it to be, but everything i've seen in the last year or so here and elsewhere tells me that i'm in for some disappointment.

 

It's an S minus some options that used to be standard, minus some base features that used to be standard, with some optional easily installable extras and a badge for 7k. One of only 500.

If you decide you don't like it, there'll be folks lining up to buy it from you.

I wager you'll love it, trick it out to your liking and be glad you had the sense to pick her up.

 

She is a beauty! Enjoy !!!

Matt

 

Thanks, I appreciate it! I replied to your comments above in the quote in Bold. I definitely like it, and the stuff that I was surprised by is not really bugging me, except the stereo. Your comments dead-on. This 30th Edition is absolutely a parts-bin Defender to satisfy immediate demand. The fact that the marketing materials for it are extremely lacking (including no interior shots), and the fact that this release seemed to surprise the dealers definitely feels like they wanted people in the cars and not ask too many questions. I am one of those people lol. And even now after sorting through the "surprises", I am still very happy I picked up this Defender. To your point on the options and corner cutting, I uploaded a pic of the sticker so everyone can see exactly what it has. I hope my thoughts on this help your decision and others considering this 30th Edition.

I recently had a 2022 HSE X-Dynamic P400 and it was really nice, so that is my basis for comparison on this one. I sold that Defender because it was not optioned at all how I wanted it, and it honestly felt too nice for how I use it (had upgraded windsor leather, open pore wood, gloss black everywhere, etc).

. This one feels just right for me. So after a drive and getting everything setup, I have some observations:

- TThe P300 has plenty of power for me. I am very happy with it compared to the P400 I had before. Once I get some miles on it, I will report back on some real world MPG.
- I like my music, and was disappointed to learn that this one only has the 400W Meridian audio system. My last Defender (and the one I had on order) had the Meridian surround (800W I think). It was spectacular in my previous Defender and do wish it was in this one. My dealer that offered me the car told me it had Meridian, so I assumed (yea yea I know) I was getting the same system that was in my HSE, but not the case. It's plenty loud, but I honestly don't think it sounds that good.
- I expected full power seats in the front, which it does not have. The steering column is also manual. The seats have manual forward/backward and up/down, and are heated with power lumbar and power recline. Not a big deal as the seats have plenty of adjustment. Again, no big deal at all, just an assumption that I made.
- I assumed that being a MY23 that it would have the larger infotainment screen, but it has the same one that my 22 had.
- The gauge cluster is half analog/half digital. It's kind of weird, but if gives me all the info I would want so I'm good there.

I will chime in with any additional observations that I find over the next few days, but overall, I am really happy with this one. As mentioned in a previous post, I have Johnson Rods ready to go on, I am going to with some larger tires, powdercoat the wheels black, and putting on the 110 hood blackout. I will post some pics when its done. If anyone has any specific questions that remain unanswered on it, let me know and I will try to answer as best I can.

Cheers all!

 

Hahaha!

Thanks! I have not seen any but honestly haven't crawled through the interior. On first blush it seems lacking, which is a bit disappointing.

BINGO!

My last one was grey, this seems much whiter. Maybe I am missing it too lol?