Hi all!

I love cars. I have not owned a current Land Rover. My last was a Disco II that i wish i still had.

Ive decided I want to spec a new Defender 110 and have little to no idea where to start. I am not interested in a super-nice super-fast super-expensive version, so the question starts with how "base" is enough and what options are not to be overlooked and which are to be avoided?

My intention will be to keep this LR for as long as it lasts with the potential to be driven by one of my kids at some point. In true suburban SUV fashion, it will likely rarely if ever see off-road use although as a previous Jeep owner, its fun to know I can go wherever I want.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated. I look forward to participating in this forum in the future.

TIA!

UNB

 

I ran into this when I did my order back in June. I went with the SE for the following reasons:

1) White Roof - I was unable to spec a white roof on anything above the SE, the white roof to me was what made the Defender look so great, why it's not above the SE is beyond me.
2) Color choice. I hate black/white/silver cars. Every press photo of the 110 was Pangea Green, yet it's not available on the higher spec models.
3) Seat Look - X-Dynamic and above adds a black border around the seat regardless of what color you chose for the interior - see above and my dislike of black, I prefer a tan interior and was able to get that in leather without spending too much money and it be a single color.


Short of a few things like Clearsight rear view camera, and a power steering wheel adjust, and the 11.4" LCD vs the 10" that were all dropped in 2023.5 models I was able to option anything else I wanted. I have probably one of the most expensive versions of the SE but I got exactly what I wanted from my configuration on the rest of the options.

 

Spot on! Same thing here...Personal opinion (of course), but tired of the black-out trim and wheel packages. Ordered (wifes DD) lautau bronze, white roof and 22" silver wheels. Moderate equipment level, I think it was just about $79k msrp...

 

With those pieces of info, I'd start building a P300 (2.0L i4 engine).

A question that my help you with the build:
1.) Does a needle-gauge style dash bother you, or would you prefer a more modern Driver Display on the dash? Answer to that question will help you decide DEFENDER vs. DEFENDER S.

Personal Opinion Options worth getting:
1.) Premium Headlights with Signature DRL - I think better/best headlights are always a worthwhile vehicle investment; I don't think anyone regrets better headlights lol
2.) Heated Steering Wheel - it's very nice if you live in a cold climate (see below)
3.) Cold Climate Pack - great deal for $700 USD; heated washer jets, headlight washers, heated wheel, and heated windshield*
4.) Adaptive Cruise Control - $1,200 USD, but I find it nice to be able to set the distances or turn off the adaptive function completely while using

*my advice is go drive a LR with a heated windshield before you buy this option. It drives some people insane and can sort of mess with your eyes, because of the fine wires running throughout the windshield. I have it on mine, and it sort of pixelates other cars headlights at night. Just be sure you're okay with not staring through perfectly clean, uninhibited glass.

Personal Opinion "Skips" with your preferences in mind:
1.) Off-Road Tires - most find them not very good for the purpose anyway
2.) Sliding Panoramic Roof - at $1,800 USD, you may find yourself driving with it closed most of the time anyway; less future leak or cracking potential?
3.) Front Console Refrigerator
4.) Off-Road Pack or Advanced Off-Road Pack
5.) Towing Pack - from the "S" model, it will require $3,500+ USD because it will require air suspension as well

Hope this helps!

 

Dude buy the cheapest used new defender on the market and drive it in the ground. Why pay the new car premium? Seriously. These vehicles are so off road capable in base spec you don’t need to do anything to them.

 

UN-Blank:

Thought I might reply with a starting point thought, which is to consider the point that the New Defender, along with the Discovery and the Range Rover, are all top-of-model-line LR vehicles. This means they can all tow 7500+ lbs, (necessary to tow a two horse trailer), utilize air suspension, and be specified with true 4WD capability (defined for our purposes as possessing a transfer case with LO range). There are less than a handful of non-pickup truck vehicles which can offer these capabilities. The comparable Jeep, as a comparison, is the Grand Cherokee (or Grand Wagoneer for the 130), I suppose.

The New Defender carries within its design an additional capability to the Range Rover or Discovery, which is to carry a heavy roof load (for overlanding) and be robust enough to survive repeated rutted-road driving. Adding these two capabilities costs the owner about 600 pounds or so extra weight, less useable space, and additional purchasing cost.

These design boundaries are more than is necessary for suburban SUV driving. So, to be most effective, the challenge of specifying the vehicle might begin with testing your desire to purchase and use the designed-in capabilities of the vehicle. It's a task we have all been through, so it's doable.

Enjoy !!

 

I think you're going to get many different opinions on this, but I'll give mine.
I got the x-dynamic SE trim level and I'm happy with that.
Options that I like:
- offroad package with air suspension, for when I need it
- offroad tires - they do not have excessive noise
- towing package - I use it for trailering
- clearsight mirror - helps when back is loaded up, also the spare tire is blocking visibility
- V6 engine which provides good power for towing and acceleration
- larger display screen
- rubber mats all around
options I wish had
- automatic cruise control
options I have that I could take or leave
- sunroof
- rear section cage
- portable water container
options I have that I don't like
- roof rack - too much noise so I took it off
options I'm glad I don't have
- 3rd row seat - I like the extra storage space plus I like being able to lay the 2nd row seats flat
- side ladder or snorkel - they probably add noise and they don't look good in my opinion

 

What's your typical usage? Highway cruising or around town? Driving alone or with passengers? Do you offroad? Do you tow? Do you care about extra thrust when you put the hammer down?

Without context, it's difficult to make any informed suggestions.

 

That's the best piece of advise I have seen here IMHO. Exactly what I did. If you have the required patience you can find sweet mall crawler Defenders (in a multitude of configurations - including a bunch of off-road goodies) barely used by suburban moms/wives AND reasonably priced now that the Defender-hype sorta passed.

 

I'm also going to reply to myself (I know, a forum no-no).

I'd suggest test driving a P300 and P400 - if you're based in the states. If you're elsewhere you have more engine options including, I believe, one or two diesels and even a plug-in hybrid. I wish we had the plug-in option in the US, but no such luck.

My "base" spec would probably start with a SE - because power. If that doesn't matter as much to you then I'd look at an S. I do like the bigger nav screen, the smaller one looks a bit antiquated but is perfectly functional. As for gauges, I typically run the two-dial display so really not much different if it's full digital gauges or the two physical dials with a smaller digital screen in between. Really a personal choice.

I recommend exploring the air suspension, as it's quite good in this package. I like the sunroof, but if you go with a light-colored headliner I doubt you'll notice much of a difference as the driver since it's a relatively small sunroof and feels like it starts a bit further back from the front windscreen as opposed to other cars so less noticeable from the front seats. Also no sunroof = less chance of leaks.

Honestly, the base car comes pretty well-equipped. The S is just that much better for less than a 10% step up in price (at least in the US) and the SE gets you the bigger engine, cooled front seats and some extras.