I'm close to ordering a new Defender. My only issue is the rear cargo space. It seems Land Rover gave the new Defender generous space in the front and second row including leg room to the new Defender vs Old but gave up the space in the rear cargo area to get a good departure angle.

I currently have an older Range Rover and a D2. Both of these are fun second cars but the Defender would take over daily driving as well as a weekend camping/trails vehicle.

I wanted to get get some feedback from current owners.

I'm looking at the 110 with no 3rd row.

Thanks

 

Hi,

I'm not sure I saw a question in there other than you just asking for feedback...

Here is my take on the cargo area:

• It seems a bit narrow compared to my D5.
• I think that it is just a bit taller than my D5 cargo area and I like the mirror that will show me the view outback even if I load up the cargo area.
• I like the extra storage in the cargo area: under floor storage, and small bungee loops to hold flashlights and fire extinguishers.
• I also really like the floor being a hard material that can be cleaned up easily, no carpet.

Not sure if that helps or not. I'm still not quite sure what info you needed.

Rob

 

You can look at my previous post showing cargo dimensions here: https://landroverforums.com/forum/20...ements-101363/

We have spent several nights in the back of Rovid, use an Exped mattress and then bring our pillows and sleeping bags, sleep really well. For reference I'm 6' she is 5'6". Very vertical cargo area helps with the space inside, certainly longer than the D2 I used to have.

 

Thanks for the feedback. No real question. Just wanted to get some real life feedback on how big it feels when packing up for a weekend camping trip.

Thanks again

 

I am also debating placing an order (the price seems to get so expensive the more I go back and forth on certain options). The clearsight rear mirror would be awesome as literally every family trip I have the cargo space is always fully packed with a rear view completely obstructed.

Currently using a 14 ML350 which has about 4 more cubic feet than the new defender. Its only about 1 more cubic foot larger when the seats are down relative to the defender. From a quick feel and look at the dealership the defenders cargo area seemed relatively smaller, but I am thinking some of that space might be made up in the ceiling height. The specs listed show both have a similar front headroom but the defender seemed to be higher which typically suits my preference due to being on the tall side myself.

 

There is plenty of cargo space in the new Defender. I also have the Discovery and it has more cargo space (but I believe it is 4 inches longer). My piece of advice: do not get the 3rd row in the Defender. The seats do not go fully flat if you get the 3rd row in the 110--that frustrated me a bit. The 3rd row is really not practical in the Defender; the Discovery 5 has a true 3rd row.

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2020 Defender 110 First Edition Indus Silver (Current)
2020 Discovery HSE Luxury Si6 Fuji White (Current)
2015 RRS Autobiography Fuji White (Former)
2011 RRS Supercharged Fuji White (Former)
2008 LR2 Fuji White (Former)

 

If you are traveling with 4-5 people on vacation the cargo space may be small unless you pile the bags up to the roof. Then you get the roof rack and problem solved.

 

My two cents on the Defender 110 cargo area space ...

The aluminum rear frame of the vehicle is rather imposing --- as compared to my LR4. I seem to bump into the the rear pillars loading most things, as I use the vehicle as a farm truck.

The structure was designed to support the heavy roof load and the heavy (with the rear mounted tire) rear hatch, as well as to give the torsional stiffness to the vehicle which is such a well-discussed feature. And yes, moving the spare to the outside gives a much better departure angle and swinging it out with the rear hatch creates a lot of need to beef up the pillars.

One pays a measurable price in space and overall vehicle weight with the structure, but I have seen it pay off handsomely off-road and I am enjoying daily what the JLR engineers have done to make the Defender really, really effective in that arena.


If a person is not going to go off-road seriously and / or often, maybe there are likely more effective overall JLR product selections available?

 

Sorry to dig up an old thread, @merrion13 . Do you mind sharing with Exped you're using? When I'm looking at the dimensions, it seems like it's ~64" to where the seats bump up. The smallest Exped MegaMat is ~72" long. Do you just have it go over the bump and not bother you because it's the pillow area?

Thanks!

 

Not really what you asked, but I assume it's a 2 person trip, worst case you could always remove the seat bottoms for the trip and then that 72" looks like it'd fit. that would also get you some extra length for sleeping too.