Hey all - Something a little different from the natural off-road lean Sharing the progress on the P400 SE I picked up back in May. I was hunting for an older, clean G-Wagen for a while and couldn't find what I was looking for. The Defender was always in my mind because I'd always wanted one - old and new, but LR's reliability track record and my previous experience with an '01 Disco II, kept me from going beyond the first test drive. In short, the morning I went to look at another G, I checked the LR CPO inventory one last time and found exactly what I was looking for. A couple of hours later, I was driving this home.

When I moved to a new city, my insurance rates skyrocketed because of my previous car. I was also annoyed with how uncomfortable the experience was becoming: constantly dodging potholes, cringing at the fender liner scrape, hoping my exhaust didn't scape, too, constantly turning the valved exhaust on/off when I'd come and go from my condo, and always chasing down interior rattles. I think I'm getting old. It was also annoying not having any space to open it up.

I had a highly modified C43; as fun as it was, it was time to change to something comfortable. I haven't been as happy with any other purchase in recent memory. My dogs love it, and it's like a soundproof tank. I found the ride quality to be much better than the G's, and in terms of price point comparison, I got a much newer, updated car and warranty coverage through 2027 that was a much cheaper than a ~2017 G.

It'll see some winter excursions for a few weeks later this year, going from Florida to New England and Quebec; it mostly spends its time running errands and going to the beach, ferrying my dogs around (they love the loadspace AC). Its only off-pavement credentials to date are some Miami flooding and rescuing a couple of cars. I can't wait to test the off-road capabilities up north, especially as someone who learned to drive on a farm with dirt, snow, and mud. The plan is to keep this until May/June 2025, return it to stock, and trade it for a V8 Defender.

Stock form, day one:

I bought a GAP tool the first night I owned it and did a ton of activations a few days later. Every new Defender owner should have this, but I also know the typical Defender owner wouldn't know what to do with it, probably get confused, and blame JLR for being complicated. Beyond the configurations, I've saved many trips to the dealer by clearing faults and resetting CCF files using it.




Benefits of a lowered car.

Phase I: Gear carrier, roof spoiler, side vents


Up at the weekly wash spot.

Phase II: Roof pod light, center grille (Hunters Prestige), aftermarket side steps



Night time illumination



Phase III: F/R gloss black bumper swap. Paint correction + ceramic coating (was much needed.)





Phase III.5: Updated rear end. OEM checker light protection (direct replacement, no cheap stick-on stuff here), OEM tow hooks, OEM finishers, aftermarket tails, and reverse lights (another requisite mod for any Defender owner.) I'm waiting on brushed chrome exhaust tips to come and will probably de-badge the driver's side to start and maybe the whole rear end.




Phase IV: Wheels! I'm torn between a few different styles. I like the new Octa wheels, but I feel that would be up-badging/imitation, like if I added an SV badge. I want to keep the 20s and have been leaning towards a couple of Kahn/Chelsea Truck's wheel styles - the heritage or mondials.

I'd love to add the roof rack and ladder—I would actually use them, too—but I can barely squeeze into some parking garages as it is already, even when fully aired down.