@NoGaBiker - Glad you survived the "cross-armed wife"!! I've seen that on many "adventures"....

 

I'm 5 months and about 2600 miles in on my D90 with no real issues. I "lost" the Connected Apps function from Pivi Pro about a week ago (so no Spotify or Weather), but it was fixed with a reset. I'm not sure if that warrants classification as an issue, but in the spirit of full disclosure. Overall, this has been one of my favorite Land Rovers and reminds me of my 98 Discovery in terms of size and driving experience.

 

OP,

I am a new forum member here, have never owned a JLR product, and am considering ordering a 2022 Defender. Like many of the members here, I am a red blooded car enthusiast who doesn't want to be severely inconvenienced/financially set back with poor reliability or breakdowns. I have driven the Landcruiser 200 and the GX460, and have owned an Isuzu Trooper, a Gen5 Toyota 4runner, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, as well as multiple full sized trucks and many cars. I have carefully reviewed all the Facebook Group posts and most of the Forum posts, and have personally concluded, for what little it is worth, that: 1) a 2022 Defender is likely to be pretty reliable; 2) the new Defender is unlikely to leave me stranded; 3) many of the notable bugs (A pillar rattle, etc...) seem to be resolved by the 2022 model year; 4) OTA updates will help to limit dealer visits; 5) the Defender is way, way nicer/more modern than the antiquated GX460 and Landcruiser 200 platforms; 6) I'll trade out of it if it causes me too much grief; and 7) I have always wanted a Land Rover, so I'd best get on with it.

I think if you want to solve the equation for most reliable vehicle in this larger size class with serious offroad capability, there is only one: the now discontinued Landcruiser 200 series (or an LX570). I drove an LC200 and hoped I would love it, but I found it to be an antiquated, lumbering beast that did not engage me in any way other than to satisfy my internal accountant (although it gets docked for abysmal fuel efficiency). Glad I didn't buy the Landcruiser.

Buy the Defender, you know you want one!

 

Like many of us, my wife and I have bought many new cars over the last 20 years. We’ve bought maybe close to 15 or so between us with many if not most of them from brands known for supposedly great reliability.

Every single car we’ve ever bought has been back to the dealer to address warranty issues.

In our case, our three prior JLR vehicles, two Jags and a Range Rover, were no worse than our cars from Lexus, Porsche and others. The only car that ever left us stranded was a Lexus. So far our new Defender seems pretty solid.

 

I used to work with a national automotive dealership network. We tracked a lot of stuff in "Data Science" before it was called that. One of the things I remember was the "bring back" rate. For a given make/model, how many times does a new purchaser come back with an issue. Squeak, sound, something not working, full on warranty issue, recall, you name it. Every time a new car was brought in. If a car was brought in multiple times, it counted. For every 100 cars sold what was the "bring back" rate. There was a report for every make / model that was sold. I don't recall who put together the report, but it was reliable. It was 10 years ago, so who knows what the rates are today. But what I distinctly remember was how SHOCKED I was. The BEST vehicle had 110 bring backs for every 100 cars sold. Obviously some came in multiple times, but the point is - you are almost statistically guaranteed that something is going to need to be brought in to the Dealer's attention. Once I read that report (I have NO idea where Land Rover fits - I've burned all those brain cells long ago), I realized that the perfect new car doesn't exist. Just get it addressed ASAP with the Dealer and move on.

 

I think people willing to do that is one of the bests part about off-roading!

 

Amen! I gave them all my cash ($160) when we got back, and they were very appreciative, but there was no mention of that when they accepted the job.

 

Please define what exactly are your concerns ? Or ... define the reliability in your view (for a car)... then an answer may be more meaningful.

 

When I needed reliability I couldn't afford it. Now that I'm older I can certainly afford it, but getting into something that makes me smile every day is worth its weight in gold at this point.