I don't plan on doing much off-roading at all, and I already have the Advanced Off-Road Capability Pack with towing pack as an option but I will be driving in snowy conditions in the winter. Is it worth it to add the Off-Road pack? It's only $1500 more on top of my $85,000 build. I'm more worried about annoying my dealer with these weekly updated builds lol.

 

The off-road pack gets you the locking rear diff and an electrical outlet in the cargo space. Oh and of course different tires.

If you aren't planning on being off-road much at all, the only real consideration at that point is resell value. And I am not sure it would really make a big difference on the secondary market.

My opinion, for whatever its worth, is to not worry about it. Why pay for stuff you really don't need. That outlet in the back is super handy, but it isn't worth 1500 bucks. And the electronic diff is awesome, but if you are on pavement 99.9 percent of the time, you wouldn't get much use out of it.

 

IMO you should definitely get the off road pack. I would not buy a used Defender without the Off Road pack, though I would buy one without the advanced off road pack. While there will be buyers who don’t care, many will, and for $1500 it’s a no brainer. Wish they sold just the rear locking diff, but the rear outlets are nice.

 

I live in the snow belt. And for my 130 order, I did the same as you. I don’t have the off road pack but the rest of the off road goodies.

Don’t feel like you’re bugging the dealer haha. My big thing is, while I like the idea of an additional diff lock, and the outlet, I hate the off road tires and wanna keep my order stock. I had them on my 90 and they’re garbage in snow imo. If you really want the pack though, add it and let your dealer know.

 

In addition to the valid and correct points noted by jusmax88, a person who might initially say they "do not plan to go off-road much" may be thinking and speaking based on either time spent or miles covered or some combination thereof; not by the tractive capability presented to the vehicle by a surface upon which one may find themselves.

The tractive capability which a surface can provide varies greatly by weather; for example, a grass field where it has not rained in weeks is entirely different than the spongy, muddy surface it becomes after 5 days of heavy rain. Keeping ones self on a high tractive surface depends on it being daytime, of driving on a road you know well, by not carrying a lot of weight or towing load, and by not finding yourself having to go up steep hills in non-dry conditions.

All places I have gotten stuck are within a cars length of a place where I was not getting stuck: mud of a different viscosity in part of the farm field than in another part, sand in a part of the beach as compared to the part I had been driving on minutes before, snow with a different water content and at a different temperature than snow driven on earlier. A boat launch with moss on the concrete instead of one clear of moss. Leaving home at dawn over a thin coat of snow over frozen gravel is a much more challenging task than driving over the same square meter of ground after lunch -- when the water within the gravel has turned to liquid.

Considering the price of a new Defender, $1500 for the rear e diff is very inexpensive insurance against situations that were not predicted; and the differential logic within the vehicle will use its capability on many surfaces and in many situations one would not initially expect.

In any case, enjoy !!

 

A must have feature for me.

I'd add it to the build, no question.

Idiots like me need all the traction aides going. It's very useful in many situations.

 

100% get it for the differential.

 

I'm a snow driver too and had a budget build for 60k, I left it off and haven't had any regrets. Last winter was brutal but I never got stuck on any snow or ice. The worse the weather got the more I took it out there. lol

For 85k though honestly I'd still throw it in. When you're spending that kind of money whether or not you're getting it back on resale value later probably isn't going to break your bank. I suspect you're doing fine if you can swing $1500 per month on payments. What's another $1500?

I've still yet to see a youtube video where the non-equipped Defender gets stuck and the one with the e-diff takes the same line and makes it. I'm not saying e-diff isn't better, I'm sure it is going to save someone's bacon in some rare situations but I think the vehicle is extremely capable without it.

 

Mine doesn’t have it and I’ve had no issues in snow or light off roading (lots of miles in forest service roads, getting to trailheads, etc). And like others have commented, there are tons of videos on YouTube of Defenders without doing much more aggressive off roading.

However, like others have said it is a relatively inexpensive addition that cannot be easily added after purchase. If I was ordering from the factory I would probably add it for that reason alone (mine was bought off the lot). A set of AT tires will cost you nearly $1,500 on their own.

I will say the Auto terrain setting that comes with the towing package is fantastic. Any time I’m off dry pavement, I just switch to that and don’t have to worry about it.

 

It is a MUST feature for me. But everyone has a different profile. You do you. If I were to magically try to get in your brain (heck, I'm trying to get out of my own!) then you are likely primarily concerned about snow and that's it. MOST folks buying a Defender these days don't know squat about the eDiff, don't care, and won't use it. Your resell won't suffer. If I had your described needs (snow, going to ski), I would skip the $1,500 option because you already have a GREAT vehicle. But I would get tire chains and learn/practice putting them on. Get a good set for a fraction of that cost.

Now if you got in my brain, you would cut throats to have the eDiff in there....

Good luck....

EDIT: One more thing. If snow is your adversary, not off-road conditions - then the tires that come with the Off-Road pack would NOT be what would be proscribed from Land Rover. Here's their spider chart on the various performance measures of the three tire options. Stick with what's on there. I learned long ago when backpacking that every choice is a compromise. Do you want weight or comfort? Same with any vehicle choice. What is your target and prepare reasonably for it. {Ok, go for it all my fellow off-road Houligans! I get that a lot of the first paragraph is marketing BS - 'more robust tire'. But their stats the engineers have to stand behind}