The soft close rear door issue is an ongoing internal battle. Eliminating it for 2023 MY frees up some production and allows us to keep the assembly line moving. Expect to see it return in the future (especially if new owners start complaining and writing letters). For now, we have some constraints that don't allow us to consistently fit the soft close on the rear.

 

can you define "consistently fit"- is there a way to decode a VIN or after a certain production date for a given trim? For example, my D90X was built 2/18...

 

Is JLR going to make the customers whole? - I haven't seen any reduction is price yet key features are being removed from the trucks

Matt

 

My understanding was all 2023 MY production would halt the soft close on the rear.

 

ooof....

'assisted tailgate' doesn't show as an option on a build sheet, just a standard feature. is there a way to see know? (other than to actually close the door)...

 

What do you mean by make customers whole? Are you suggesting that we advertised the feature for 2023 and then took it away after orders were placed?

Generally, our strategy is to add features and content while maintaining competitive price levels with each passing year. This has been the approach in recent years, and in the case of certain models like the Jaguar XF we've cut prices dramatically while boosting standard equipment. We are even considering standardizing towing packages on all D7u/x platforms. However, the supply chain disaster and limited production have forced us to make odd and uneven decisions on random parts of the vehicle.

If we sent a notice to our customers saying production of their Defender will be delayed 8-10 months because we are missing a soft close latch motor (or other minor feature) that would not go over well.

We're an extremely customer oriented company and regularly hold meetings to address customer concerns. In fact, senior executives recently travelled to the US market just to sit down and meet with new Defender owners and ask for feedback and ideas for improvement. However, sometimes we have to do the best we can and continue moving forward even if things aren't ideal.

Arguably, as Defender is a utilitarian vehicle you could make the case that soft close latches have no place on it, but that's a separate discussion.

 

Well hello.

 

1.6 gang for life!!!! 😂😊

 

I'm here to say this was a HIGHLY underrated car!

We saw our first one in Monaco literally in front of the casino a month after it first went on sale. The valet had it up front parked with the most exotic supercars you'll ever see in one place. It held its own to the point where all the dorks were posing in front of it and, when my wife said, "I want one" I'm like you better put your ball gown on and win big in there. She says, "seriously, they're only $50k."

We ended up getting the 5 liter supercharged. The "lead sled" as it was know in our house. Such a fun car.

While we're beating the hell out of @The Insider, it's nice to stop and remember how f*cking amazing JLR products really are.

 

Insider - I'd love to see soft close passenger doors added to my Defender 90! Not necessary but is really annoying driving our L405 and then hopping back in my Defender. I will also say that the new pivi system and wireless CarPlay make the L405 really feel dated!