Agree w/ @TrioLRowner . I own a P400 but I have a dedicated heavy duty pickup for my towing needs. I love my P400, but if I were to do it over again I would do exactly what TrioLRowner is advocating. I would have gone with the P300 for all the other pro's it comes with.

 

I can't speak to mountain driving because as a daily driver in western NY we don't have a ton of mountains in the immediate vicinity however I do find the p300 to be a joy to drive day in and day out, and haven't found it to be underpowered in any situation. The torque is strong. If I lived in a state like West Virginia and had to tow especially where there's a ton of high speed passing going uphill and what not then I'd definitely buy the p400, certain places and situations that extra HP is bound to come in handy. I don't think many people who have purchased the p300 regret it, I haven't heard one yet out here. The business about p300 reliability is something I've heard once or twice recently out here and have been surprised to hear it, is there a rumor going around? because I don't know anyone out here who owns one that has had engine issues yet.

 

These are the same people who work at Denver airport car rental counters and tell all the European tourists they need the V6 or V8 vehicles to drive in the mountains - while my 4 cylinder Toyota truck with 109hp (at sea level) managed to negotiate trails at 8-10,000 feet regularly.

The P300 was the first new Defender I drove and it's the one I ordered. The dealer wants you to order the P400 because it costs $10,000 more and therefore they make more money. Don't listen to them.

Remember that the "old" defender that everyone gets so misty-eyed about had a 2.25l 4 cylinder that made 74hp for most of its life. When the later Diesel engines were introduced in the late 1980s the 200 Tdi made109 hp and the later 300Tdi made 111-122hp (depending on transmission). The last Td5 made 122hp.

So even the least powerful engine in the (US) range makes almost 3X the power of the most powerful engine of the previous generation. Even allowing for more weight in the newer vehicle you will be absolutely fine.
​​​​​​​

 

Land Rover dealers have ongoing order allocations in queue, and until the build is finalized anything can be changed in the config. Anything, that is, except for the model type (P300 or P400). Back about 9 months ago (when I ordered mine, and before the chip shortage was getting crazy), when you placed an order your dealer would put you into one of their allocations. Assuming they had enough P300 and P400s slots, it was easy to put you into one, and then they would change all the other order details to your spec. So for me, they had a P300 slot available and I was able to easily change all the features to what I wanted.

I suspect what may be the case for user "algae" is that the dealer doesn't have any P300 slots and P400 would be the easiest/fastest model to deliver. Instead of simply stating this, they are downplaying the P300 in hopes of getting algae's business on a P400.

My $0.02 -- I drove both the P300 and P400 and bought the P300. It is smooth and plenty fast. The engine and transmission seem perfectly matched. I have almost 4,000 miles on it now, and zero regrets about not getting the P400.

RedAustinIX