My previous vehicle was an E63 AMG S Wagon, before that a 6 speed 911 Carrera S. The uberwagon was completely in character as a 600hp brute, it was correct. The 911 was completely in character as a refined scalpel, 350 hp, quick, light, incredible handling and connection with the road.

A fast Defender just feels wrong to me. Even with 500 HP I would still feel like it's kinda huge and slow with bad handling. Completely agree these cars are more suited to lower (but adequate!) horsepower numbers and a demeanor of sort of "lumbering".

I drive mine slowly because it feels right. But to each their own. We truly live in a golden age of vehicles where people are "disappointed" in 300hp, 20mpg, incredible off-road capability (air suspension!!!), etc.

 

Truthfully, when I drove the 110 First edition with the 6-cyl, I found myself going far too fast in corners, forgetting the stance of the car. That kind of thing can get you in trouble, especially when your mind is programmed to think its a zippy little sports car.

 

Hey to each his own, I don't think anyone who has experienced a car that handles aggressively thinks that a Defender with more power is a canyon carver. But be it for effortless acceleration, passing on the highway, towing, or even effortless dispensing with off-road situations that can benefit from a little more power the P400 is a pleasure.

I mean, I'm sure the P300 is great, but like my JKU Wrangler it's going to be a much more laid-back ride largely on-road as I noted above.

I get it, our last WK2 Grand Cherokee was a V6 instead of the Hemi for that reason, just didn't need/want it at the time.

But again, it sure is nice having the P400 on road trips and what not.

 

You're probably right across the board. I may be trying to convince myself that I love the steelies and the cheaper price point more than the additional power. ;-)

 

Don't get me wrong. The thought has crossed my mind to replace my Wrangler with a D90 (6-seater) with steelies and the P300. Then I would likely have the best of both worlds for most usage (though I'd lose the open top in the summer. But I'm sure the power would be enough for my uses.

So I get both sides of this.

Sorry, I don't mean to complicate things.

 

I was lucky enough to test drive the P400 and P300 and thought while the P300 had good pick up off the line, the turbo 4 lost quite a bit while accelerating past 45-50 mph.
That surge you sometimes need to get from onramp -> highway speed+ means you will most likely be taking very cautious freeway entrances.

Having spent only a hundred or so miles on my P400 I found myself driving 7-10 mph slower than the tesla and 911 in the same spots on the freeway just because it doesn't feel like it need to move any quicker.
Took the car to the hills for a shakedown run after pick up and was happy enough but realized quickly that the brakes which are already too big for serious off roading, are too small for a car of this girth.
I can't imagine how the p300 with the smaller brakes solves the weight issue.

Where you will most likely miss the power of the p400 is if you ever plan on towing, or carrying a heavier load.
Similarly I've grown numb to flat out acceleration thanks to the Tesla, so my expectation is that my vehicle can pick up and choose to pass just about anything with relative ease.

As far as the rest of your build.. on the HUD - i had a HUD in my previous M4 that was rarely used because if you wore polarized sunglasses while driving it would blank out the screen.
I'd also think about moving up to the SE to get cooling seats since you're already paying for the comfort and convenience pack and paying for the premium LEDs with fog lights.
if you wanna save yourself even more money skip the wood veneer unless you love the look.. my guess is the aftermarket will make those pieces cheap and they're super easy to self install.
I also believe you can now add the rear recovery hooks to the SE which i recommend if you go off roading, as well as the front undershield protector to expose the front recovery hook.

 

Unless you just like the cool look of the rear recovery hooks, if you have a 2” receiver you can avoid the hassle of pulling the back of the truck off to install them and just get a hitch-mount bow-shackle.