"What's so outdated about this??"

I'm going with the half wood steering wheel and bright silver plastic from an 80's boombox.

 

Once my Defender build was over $80K I considered the SQ7 as well. I drove Audi wagons for years including original A6 allroads that were awesome. But I could not get past the SQ7 having regular (non-runflat) tires and no spare tire.

 

...and that's before you drive it which was the bad part.. it doesn't look "bad" it just doesnt look nearly as nice as it's competition of SUVs at this price point.

 

I traded in my LC200 that I have had since 2010 for the new Defender. I have had multiple JLR products and multiple Land Cruisers over the years. I really, really wanted to buy a brand new Cruiser so I went in the dealership last year with the intent of buying and of course as usual the dealership has one, maybe two at most. This time their allotment was a white one, not my favorite but OK and it was nearing $90K. So I hopped in and my first thought was that the car is basically the same as my 2010 model that has 175K miles (yeah, that's a plus you get with the Cruiser). Thought about the Lexus version which has nicer appointments but very much the same to me and I don't like the Lexus front grill...just wrong. So I decided to wait and I could probably get another 75k miles out of my 2010 and see if the 300 series comes out and what that will be. I heard it was going with a 6 turbo, but who knows and even more reason to keep my 200. But then I saw the new Defender and I went to the dealership and gave them the deposit. Not a doubt in my mind.

 

Lol. LCs keep their value for a reason. They are built to last 25 years or 250,000 miles with normal maintenance.

Look at their engines and drivetrain components: they use beefier forged parts. If you buy an LC, you can also add front and rear heavy duty bumper bars with winches, heavy duty coil springs, auxiliary gas tank, underbody protection, front and rear lockers, all from multiple off-road companies that YOU CANNOT DO on any LR product after the LR4.

Land Rover should strive to beat the LC in everything...instead they settle for upper class suburban house wives going to Whole Foods and music videos.

They are more luxurious, but I would much MUCH rather pay for a Land Rover that I know won’t break or a sensor go bad or a tech laughing at me because I just wasted money on something that will lose extreme value.

 

Wait until your $80k Nintendo short circuits three weeks into owning it and the dealer tells you to go pound sand.

Look around this site and around the web. The new Defender is riddled with problems. I just don’t get it. I’ve been a LR enthusiast for two decades and seem to be the only one who will come out and say that JLR dropped the ball big time. I’d drive a dated LC any day over a electronic nightmare that’s impossible to modify.

 

Too many folks are looking at this comparison in too stark / binary of ways. I love the Land Cruisers and aside from our Defender we have a 2019 4Runner in the garage. I briefly considered aside from the Defender but like many others have said, it's simply a horrible value proposition in the LC compared to nearly every other vehicle out there.

There is no doubting Toyota's superior reliability, but just because you design the LC and the 4R for longevity does not mean that we can't also call out Toyota for simply not innovating. Their vehicle interiors and tech are a joke by even 5 year ago standards. This doesn't mean they need to go the path of trendy/unproven tech in their cars (my Defender has absolutely been flawed with several weeks in the shop over 6,000 miles!) but it also doesn't mean that we also let them slide for notably dated vehicles.

We need a marriage between a Land Cruiser's longevity and the Defender's better stock capabilities!

 

I have this nice new TV right here... and it cost the same as a nice 65" flat panel smartTV. But it will last forever lemme tell ya...



I've had plenty of vehicles both old and new go 250k. We used to beat on poor broncos well in to 200k and then use them as offroad platforms.... this isn't exclussive to toyota (our lexus was clapped out at 220k). Frankly, i don't worry about whether our Rover does as I don't keep cars for my wife that long... if I get 7 out of this one I will be fine... I certainly didn't want her to drive a 2009 design in 2020... much less until 2035 and 250k while spending more (for the record she didn't either... she thought she liked the LC derived Lexus until the test drive though). As far as a rover being unmodifiable.. lol. Plenty can be done... it has rear locker and superb traction control, I'm good. Hidden winch... yep, rock sliders, yes, liftable to accommodate tires to 33 inches yep. Metal bumpers would be a chore and I'm not doing it. I get a superior on road experience with better working nav and adaptive cruise, smoother, faster, quieter, and better fuel mileage. The LC doesnt suck when it stands by itself. But you back to back it with a rover and it isn't even close. If you love LCs... go get one.

 

This sums it up really..

”Frankly, i don't worry about whether our Rover does as I don't keep cars for my wife that long...”

Todays cars/ SUV’s are merely appliances. Just like the tv, buy and replace every few years and get a new one. That’s what the new Defender is, a new flat screen tv with an interior designed by women zero thought about easy mods. Sold by most in five years and replaced with another. The old Defenders and the LC are long term investments, because they are built and designed with a rugged pedigree and a ton of character . This conversation could go on forever but at the end of the day it all comes down to this, you are either buying an appliance or an investment.

 

To be fair... i buy some appliances to last forever... my washing machine and dryer are dial switch units from way back... lol. I may replace a switch or belt every five years... but i don't have 600 dollar modules go out and brick them. Having these also doesn't affect my daily comfort like a vehicle can. I don't look at daily use vehicles as an investment at all but as a depreciating asset. I do factor in depreciation, repair, and fuel costs to a certain degree. These don't weigh in anywhere as much as my perosonal comfort. My personal comfort includes not paying too much for old tech... especially when I am going to get something else after 6 or 7 years... whether it be wanting newer/better or the untimely demise from the hazards of Houston motorist... haven't had anything make it much past 100k in a while on wife's daily drivers.