I went with the gas/petrol I6 P400. Yes, sticker price. Glad to hear there was no noticeable lag. Dealer has not had one for me to drive here yet. The dealer allocations are sold before they come off the truck. Thanks again.

 

I just drove to and from the Bay Area (from Southern California) on business with my P40O 110. Between highway driving (the bulk of it) and a bit of city driving in and around San Francisco, I drove it 1200+ miles in 5 days. The engine is amazing. Turbo lag? Not even a hint (the electric supercharger obviously picks up that slack), it's a rocket from a standstill. I was used to the V8 on the LR4 which was no slouch, but this one is way peppier. It feels faster than the advertised 5.8 seconds to 60 mph. Very responsive and strong when punching it to pass on a highway, too. The transmission up and downshifts perfectly and smoothly. The seats are as comfortable as the LR4 (which were perfect for my liking, firm but not squishy), and they are cooled as well, which was a huge plus during my trip under constant 95+ degree temperatures and blazing sun along Interstate 5. AC vents are strategically placed and cool the cabin very quickly. You can even pre-cool the interior remotely - to a set temperature - from your hotel room with the remote app on your phone, that's awesome tech.

Fuel consumption is.. ok for a mild hybrid. Driving at an average of 75/85 mph on the freeway - no traffic anywhere courtesy of COVID I guess - I averaged about 20/21 mpg. In the city, about 13/15. In a mix, it's probably going to be close to the EPA advertised figures, 16/17 mpg or so combined. Not spectacular, but definitely better than the LR4 I had. And the 2 extra gallon of fuel tank capacity help a bit with the range as well.

Engine noise is a higher pitch than the V8 I was used to in the LR4, but it's a pleasant, dare I say aggressive, growl under hard acceleration. Once you get to cruising speed, it turns into a tomb. Can't hear anything in there but a little wind noise at 80+ mph, that's all. Even the tires (I currently have the stock GY Wrangler Adventure A/Ts, 19") are basically silent on pavement. Great long distance cruiser.

No experience off-road yet, but a trip on the dirt is just around the corner. I'll have to take it easy until I can get some underbody protection (working on it), and better wheels/tires (waiting for a miracle, 18" with no need to downsize brakes or add spacers.)

If the P300 engine - which I never test drove - is 3/4 the capabilities of the P400 as it should be at least on paper, it will be more than adequate.

My only problems during the trip were electronic / infotainment system related, of the mildly annoying variety. Nothing catastrophic, but they will need lots of software updates to get this system stable. It feels like a beta release.. Overall the system is a quanum leap better than what was on the LR4, but bugs are still too recurring. Maps don't always get dark themed at night, speed sign cameras turn "European" for no good reason, Android Auto wasn't detected several times until I unplugged and plugged the phone back in, icons disappear or become unresponsive... Stupid stuff like that. A system reset usually - not always - fixes these bugs, but that gets old in a hurry.

I never liked the stop/start system on earlier Land Rovers. Still don't like it. The system actually stalled on me a couple of times in the city during a couple of "false starts", I had to press the engine start button to fire up the engine again. Luckily you can disable it. It may need fine tuning as well.

Overall, it's a wonderful car. Can't wait for more of you to experience it.

Umberto

 

Took delivery of my Tasman Blue P300 S last week. Upgrading from a 2016 Volvo T6 Inscription, which has a 315HP super/turbo 4 2.0 4-cylinder. I drove both the p300 and p400, and the 400 definitely felt more like my Land Cruiser in terms of 'V8' level power. But the P300 was very comparable to my Volvo. The lack of the supercharger on the front end means it's a tad more sluggish off the line, but feel very similar after that.

I'm extremely happy with it, and even more happy with the $64k price tag, which is where I think a Defender should land, price-wise. If I was ordering custom, I would have deleted the pano and a couple of other frills, and gone with the steel wheels, but still gotten the digital dash, etc at the S trim level. Once you get up to $80k, there are lots of other very interesting options on the market, including within the Land Rover family, the new Land Cruiser Heritage Edition, a one/two-year old LX570, 3-year-old G Wagen, etc.

I've had lots of 'big engine' SUVs over the years, but also have been more than content with my 2.0L Audi A6 diesel with a stick as a company car while in England, the Volvo, and now the Defender.

If you are someone who has always driven v8 american SUV's, you may prefer the bigger engine. But I'm perfectly happy with my P300. She was clipping along at 85mph yesterday.

Can't speak to offroading with the two engines as of yet.

Not super scientific, but my $.02.

 

Thank you all for your comments! Please keep them all coming! It helps with decisions! I agree with the deletion of the pano, it was on my not necessary list. I am waiting to speak to the salesman this week on my thoughts. Just trying to get the best deal at the best time whenever that will be.

 

I just got my p300 on Thursday. I am really pleased with the engine. Took it up to 8500 feet on the weekend and it had no issues at all. Coming from a sports coupe, I don't really have anything to compare it to, but it seems adequate to me, If you don't plan on towing as stated, I'd recommend that you give the 4 cylinder serious consideration. I haven't driven the 6, but I am more than happy with the 4 so far.

 

Drove both engines in the US and decided to go with the P400 mainly for extra torque for towing an off road camping trailer. P300 is fine, but I currently have a Volvo wagon with roughly the same hp and torque as the P300 but 1,000 lbs less weight, and I just didn’t want to step down in highway passing or towing power. For me, the P300 felt adequate, but if you’re going to tow a lot, or just like a bit of a kick in the pants, the P400 seems like the ticket.

 

Great information and feedback everyone! It’s much appreciated! I spoke to my sales person today, we spoke in-depth about the P300 VS P400, they are seeing people buying more P300. So now I am back in the middle on which way I should go. My biggest concern is, will the engine be over worked over time for the size and weight of the vehicle? I am an engineer and we over analyze and over kill everything in design! they are getting more in, so I am probably going to go back and retest drive them again for a longer period of time.

I also asked about ordering a 2021, I was told the dealer has no allocations for any at this point? Not sure if this is BS? I asked for the salesman to recheck and let me know when one will be available.

thoights??

 

Here she is. Originally ordered 11-14-19 and picking up tomorrow. Custom ordered and only came out to about $57K. Everything on the lots around here are $75K minimum. Really hoping the P300 is worthy. This thread has made me feel less anxious and I will also provide update after I drive a couple of days. I drove the P400 and I found it to be a strong motor. My trade in is a Jeep Grand Cherokee and the HP is about the same so I'm not expecting to be racing.

 

My dealer on the East coast has sold out their ‘21 allocation for now. Got my order in last week and it was one of the last available. They have some 20’s on the lot but none fit my spec and they are almost gone.

 

I personally went with the P400 solely for the bigger faster engine. I will never be towing a single pound. Unless you’re towing frequently, P300 should be adequate. I can’t imagine reliability or longevity being much different between the two, but I’m not an expert by any means. A majority of engines I’ve looked at for full to mid size suvs in this class fall under the p300 specs. My dealer finally has enough in inventory for me to test drive the P400 this week.

I was told the same in the beginning. I persisted and the time line went from “we don’t even know when you can order a 2021. Maybe in November” to securing a 2021 order within days with delivery date of Jan2021. They did already have my deposit for a 2020 so don’t know if that made a difference. I think some of it is BS.