I agree with nashvegas review of his Defender, except that I've virtually no problems with mine. I did have a fun glitch on the touch screen and reluctantly reset it to factory settings, and everything went fine, didn't loose anything either.
Been 99.9 % right on.
BTW, it's a 2020 HSE P400 delivered Oct 31, 2020 with 28k miles
And I've added auxiliary back up lights, brighter rear cargo area lights, overhead rear cargo light, classic mud flaps, extended wheel arch protectors, roof rack cross bars and other interior enchantments. And got rid of the dumb GY Wrangler tires.

 

I have a 2023 V8 4 door and only have 2k miles on it. I did not buy it as an off roader - but as my every day driver. I do/have, however, taken it on muddy woods roads and snow covered woods roads. It is not a mall queen - I do use it off road.

I am coming out of a 2011 Land Cruiser which was my third Land Cruiser. I have driven them for 25 years and many hundreds of thousands of miles - and never had a check engine light - or any other problem. With 175K miles it ran like a top - looked great, and never had a squeak or rattle and with locking diffs - it was pretty capable off road. Unfortunately, the brine and salt that they put on Pennsylvania roads - was taking a toll on the frame and it was time to let it go.

I was really upset that they quit making Land Cruisers - and the bar is high for a replacement. I held on to the Cruiser for so long because there was nothing I wanted to replace it with. Late model Cruisers didn't have modern tech like Apple Car play and all the safety features and I was waiting for an upgrade which never came to the US. I cant see my self in an LX Lexus, I thought about a new Grand Wagoneer - but its too big and I couldn't see myself as a Jeep guy, Tahoe AT4 was a possibility, G class fit the bill but SO expensive and too "showy" for me - same with the RR - just not me.

Then I saw the V8 defender and loved it. Fast on road, capable off road, comfortable, and looks pretty sweet. It is the right size - not to big and not too small. It was the first thing that got me excited in a long time. I will also say that I have an '85 original RH drive Defender and an '04 Disco - so it fit in with the stable.

My initial impressions thoughts after a couple of months.

I love the look inside and out - and everyone else does too

Drives great. Fast, quiet, and handles well.

Not a huge fan of the "lane keeping". It sort of jerks at the wheel and does not have "Self Driving". I have used much better systems that will keep the car centered in the lane and make long highway trips much easier

Seats and driving position are very comfortable for me - although I'm surprises that at this cost there is not a massage function (I know - I know - just sayin). A plus is that the heated seats and steering wheel get HOT.

I like the screens, stereo and tech. Works well - although there is a lot there and takes a while to figure out and to get it all set up the way you want it.

Why the hell did they leave the open space in the center console? I had to buy the $20 tray that fits in there - but now I like having the top and bottom storage. And, I like the under floor storage in the cargo area. Its great for storing emergency supplies, jumpers, etc.

I was/am skeptical of the 22" rims - and will probably get a set of 20" for winter. BUT - the 22" Conties lock up surprisingly well in the snow and the AUTO traction mode seems to work well in the mud and snow I have been in so far..

I talked to the dealer techs about reliability and problems. They said there were initially some problems - especially with computer updates - but newer ones have been pretty reliable. Its unibody vs body on frame for the Land Cruiser, (G class Etc.) so we will see about squeaks and longevity

All in all - I am very impressed. So far I really like it.

 

Thanks for the heads up — just ordered mine. If they work as they appear to in the video, that’s a great upgrade. I added a set of LED backups to my Wrangler and it was transformative. That thing didn’t even have a backup camera, so the lights were really imperative, particularly on the trail on a pitch-black night.

You can see them bolted onto the bumper here:





Oh, and OP… My 2022 P400 110 has 21,000 miles on it (17 months) without a single failure of any description that wasn’t my fault. It’s mostly been on-road during that time, but I did drive it from Atlanta out to SW Colorado this summer for 2 weeks of playing in the San Juans and the Defender made the experience sort of ho-hum; it demanded virtually nothing of me and did all the thinking for both of us.

 

My 2 cents:

Pros:
- good power, especially at high altitude where the turbo/super chargers compensate for the thin air.
- unstoppable computer controlled 4 wheel drive system. Just point and shoot (with “proper” off-road tires)
- over the air software updates have fixed several bugs. Anytime you can avoid going to the dealer is a win.

Cons:
- the random squeaks, pops, rattles, and clicks. So annoying. (And dealer-service who “cannot reproduce the sound”)
- the stubbornness of JLR with large wheel sizes. 18” wheels should be an option on every model. And use a proper SUV bolt pattern (6x5.5, 5x5, etc) for more aftermarket wheel options
- the ridiculous winch install procedure. It’s almost as if the engineers didn’t design the front-end for a winch. Right, because they didn’t.
- the horrible dealer experience, both sales and service. Luxury brand with economy-class service (I’ve visited 3 different dealers in S. California with similar results).

 

We have a 2023.5 SE with about 2k miles on it. Have owned it since October, and have taken 1/2 a road trip (1100 miles so far, another 1100 or so to get back) in the winter mess across the middle of the USA. I gave up on Tesla and got tired of waiting for Rivian and switched from an EV to this, so my views might be unusual.

Pros: Great Vehicle, if you're new to 4x4s the electronic system takes the guess work out, roomy interior for short wheelbase. Interior is great. Works great with CarPlay, First car that automatically opened/closed sunshade if you left it open. I drive it rather mildly so far, as I was waiting for the 1500 mile break in period to pass, and I'm still not used to paying for gas and 'letting it rip' isn't high on my list with this high off the ground of an SUV with off-road wheels on a city street.

Meh: While the 4x4 system is impressive, it doesn't get explained well. Some videos on YouTube showing how each works, and what the thought process was would be good. I've deduced from my obsessive YouTube spelunking that you can learn that in the class and we're fortunate in that one is 3 hr drive and I plan to take, but for the rest of the USA that sucks. Adaptive Cruise works, but is an expensive add-on. I'd have bought an X model if they let me get Pangea green and white roof. If you really plan on anything that really would benefit from a 35" wheel expect to spend a small fortune to get it with extensive under wheel well modification. Clearsight was dropped from low end models at the year change, with that big 20" rear wheel hanging on back of the car it would have been preferred more than not on my big roadtrip. Seems 'everything' is blamed on the chip shortage but if USB-C ports were in short supply the whole computer industry would be screwed.

Cons: It's an expensive SUV, it needs premium gas, add-ons are few and far between and expensive just like the vehicle. They call it a 'mlid' hybrid. It is missing things that were promised (USB-C ports, Sunglass holder) and there is no rhymee or reason to it. I bought my own parts to fix, found out later there is bulletin that whenever USB-C parts appear again they'll put them in. Dealer had no clue about that. Communication is key, and doesn't seem to be done even handedly. Doesn't have decent ADAS, lane keeping is abrupt and unreliable.

That's all I really have so far with a few months of ownership, maybe more will come, but I'm pleased with my result and after the driving in -9 degree weather thinking I accidentally made the right call to get the gas powered thing to replace our Model X. I had the 75 kWh model X so it's range was pretty limited (~ 180 miles in the winter, 220 in the summer), getting to go 300+ miles without stopping is great, and with it so cold it'd been a bit white knuckled in a few areas I drive through (KY/IL/MO segment) as there is a single charger in-between there and any change in wh/mi would have been potentially deadly due to the cold.

 

*Everyone*

Thanks so much for the super reviews, I have an appointment to head into my local dealer next Friday to place an order. In my case, my salesmen is a friend of mine, and I already bought a Velar from him, so I am hoping to bypass the dealer issues mentioned. As I will be placing an order, I will have some time to think about an Extended Warranty. I prefer to self-insure, but if I can find one at the right price point, I might exercise that option. With that in mind, does anyone know if I am able to buy an Extended Warranty from Land Rover and, if so, if I can buy it from any dealer, i.e. not necessarily just my selling dealer? If so, does anyone have a recommendation on a dealer that sells them for more competitive prices? The last time I bought a Benz, I bought the Extended Warranty from a dealer in KY, which was 20% of the cost that my NJ dealer was quoting, 33% after the 'friends and family' discount (with friends like that...).

Thanks!

 

I got my 2023 P400 X Dynamic in Mid November 2022 and have around 4k miles on it. I use it to go to the ski condo in VT (was unbelievable up there when we got 30 inches of snow about 2 weeks ago). If you're looking for an extremely versatile SUV, from a daily driver to ripping it on the beach or in the snow... This is it. You will not regret it!

 

This has been discussed quite a bit on the forum and there are threads dedicated to the question. I don't recall anyone saying you can buy it at a discount from other dealers like other manufacturers. It doesn't get brought up a lot for whatever reason but I use Geico's Mechanical Breakdown Insurance. It cost me less than $150/year for coverage of everything that's not wear and tear minus a $250 deductible. There's also no Extended coverage that comes from Land Rover. They may help sell it and put their logo on it but it's administered by someone else.

 

Hi, how do you like the 22 inch wheels? I think I want 22 inch with Air Suspension, but wanted some owner feedback. Thanks

 

How do you like the tires? How noisy on the paved roads at higher speed?