Hello all, I'm trying to finalize my build. I won't be rock crawling, but may be going overlanding with my son. Could be some snow, and some steeper dirty roads. Do you think the off road pack with the active differential would be helpful? Or save the cash??

 

I have it and can't say that I know for sure I have needed it when off-roading because a) I'm not sure exactly what all the elements are in the Offroad Pack vs. the Advanced Off-Road pack (I have Advanced), and b) I don't always know when something in the Off-Road pack has kicked in seamlessly and prevented me from bogging down. In other words, I bought every performance item offered on the 2022 P400, and I'm not certain how much better my truck fairs off-road than a similar D110 would without any of the goodies. It's waaaaay different than on an older mechanical 4x4 where you drive till you start spinning the right rear and left front tires and going nowhere, so you reach down and push the electric lockers buttons and crawl right out of your stuck and then you KNOW, by God, that without lockers you weren't going anywhere. The Defender just turns on momentarily whatever it needs to get free then turns it back off and you often don't even know it.

So all I can offer is this: I've never heard a Rubicon owner say he/she regretted getting the Rubicon rather than the Sport, but I've heard many (and been one myself) less-than-Rubicon Jeepers say they regret not getting the Rubicon. In fact, I spent well over $5000 (which was the price difference between a base, stripped 2014 Rubicon and my base, stripped 2014 ****** Wheeler) building a Rubicon out of the ******. This included replacing the rear axle half-shafts with beefier, replacing the entire front Dana 30 axle with a Dana 44, replacing the 2.72:1 transfer case with a 4.0:1 out of a Rubicon, and adding electric lockers front and rear and manual front swaybar disconnects. (I also regeared from 3.73 to 4.56 gearing, but probably would have done that with a 4.10 Rubicon also, to accomodate my 37" tires).

And in the end, my Jeep was worth basically what an unmodified ****** was worth, which was, you guessed it, at least $5000 less than a Rubicon.

So from where I sit, getting all the goodies up front is a good call if you take the truck into uncharted territory. One thing that seems to always happen: over time you wind up doing more aggressive adventuring than you pictured up front. You're on an Easy-to-Moderate trail outside of Moab or in the San Juans and up ahead, off to the right, an unmarked two-track branches off and heads up over the ridgeline. "Hmmm," you think, "I wonder where that leads..."

 

I think if you *know* what you are doing and can afford it, get it. But if you are casually going out, not needed.
I have the P300 S, and put very few options on it. I don't have the Off-Road Pack / Active Differential. I go 'overlanding' and baby rock crawling at least once a month, went to the LR Experience center, and can say, the car by itself knows what to do. Half the time I leave it in Comfort mode even on overlanding, and only got to Mud Ruts, etc if I really hit a downhill patch to use hill descent control or Rock Crawl if I want the car to be forced / stay at its tallest.

I say save the cash. I saved even more cash by sticking with the P300 (vs P400) and am so glad I did. Still has enough power even with all the added weight I've put on the car.

I think you'll be okay without it.

 

DEFINITELY get the Advanced and electronically locking rear diff if you plan to do any offroading. Yes, it is decent with traction control but the rear locker really works. In Death Valley going thru Steel Pass, the rear locker helped alopt and acted just like an air locker. It chirped the wheels and is the best electronic solution I have seen, a step above the LR3/4. The cost in minimal. Also, it includes a 120v in the rear which is helpful.

The first thing to change is those crappy tires! I blew 2 in less than 2000k miles. Totally worthless offrroad. If you are getting a P300, stick with 18 inch rims. If you are going P400 get 20s. Avoid 19s at all cost, no decent tire options.

 

Also, you can't add the elec diff after truck is built. It's totally worth it and makes the vehicle incredibly capable. Will also increase resale value.

 

Also important thing - the rear locking diff gives you torque vectoring as well, which will improve stability and traction on-road. I've never driven a defender without the rear locker so I can't comment on what it's like without, but mine handles extremely well around bends on the highway, way better than it should for how heavy and tall it is.

 

Off-Road pack. Get it for sure. Not must extra cost and it adds a lot of capabilities. The rear diff is the big item. A/T tires and rear plug socket are good too I guess.

Lockers are like barn-space. You can never have too much. Some very useful features TR2 that involve having a rear locker.

I see that rear diff getting getting locked up a lot.

 

I believe that JLR is NOT properly serving themselves, their brand, or their customers by NOT effectively explaining how their different drive trains function. Instead, they leave bread crumbs of information sufficient for only those who are really driven to understand to educate themselves, often through buying multiple vehicles in what can be disappointing mis-steps on the path of their learning journey. Or maybe they just view it as too difficult to appreciate and communicate the really insightful and effective manner Soihull has spent the last three decades evolving the tractive capability of their products?

In any case, if one plans to live in a manner which must rely on the off-road capability of the new Defender, and you can possibly afford to do so, you need to purchase the off-road capability which includes the eDifferential (torque vectoring differential). One never knows how much capability will be needed. No one ever has built a barn too large. Life (mostly in the form of BAD weather, unexpected and undesired) will provide all that is needed to consume whatever capability your vehicle possesses. Of course, if its about the cost, then all respect to that decision -- financial price is a reality with everything.

That all said, the eDifferential is NOT a "locking differential" by any former use of the term. Instead, it is a fully variable in power, dual-clutched, zero speed differential. It, combined with fast braking on each wheel capability, is able to distribute any portion of the auto-throttle controlled, auto-shifted power (0 to 100%) to any wheel and to do so without the necessity of variations in rotational speeds across a single axle or forward momentum existing. Thus the eDifferential can change the driving experience in ALL conditions on-road and off-road without the need of wheel spinning (in some conditions) OR with all wheels spinning in others (but miracously the vehicle moves steadly forward as the computer varies constantly the speeds and torques to use any small portions of grip available in any wheel at any time).

All previous off-road differentials required either hard splits of power between front and rear (50/50) or variations in rotational speed to exist between wheels on the same axle (which is what defines all "limited slip differentials") or the hard locking together of two wheels on the same axle to turn as though the axle is solid (the definition of a "locked differential").

I just wish JLR would share this with people. They (and the German and Nordic creators of the technology) have created a masterpiece -- if having the playing conducted by a computer works for the buyer.

In any case, enjoy !!

 

Def get it!! I also didn't plan to "rock crawl" really but I took a right down a road in Moab and all of a sudden! Jokes aside I would say that I overland and have been glad I had it multiple times when getting in tricky situations on trails and in the sand. My thing when ordering this car was having the confidence to go down any road that seemed interesting and knowing the car could handle most of what's out there.

 

What trail is this first shot on? Looks epic!!