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I dropped the Discovery off for its first service today and got the chance to see the new Defender for the first time.
It wasn’t long after I bought the D5 that they launched the new Defender and while it wouldn’t have mattered as first deliveries were some times away and I needed a vehicle right then, I did wonder if I’d look enviously at the Defender as in theory that’s my kind of vehicle, I love overlanding and so on.
My plan for the Discovery was to buy it at the end of the lease and keep it long term, but I wondered if the Defender would cause me to throw financial prudence to the wind, simply hand back the keys to the D5 and start again on the Defender. I’ve watched so many Defender reviews on YouTube, seen so many cool pictures and used the online build tool to spec them up in a way that appeals to me.
But...
Having seen a 110 (the one I would go for) for real, in some sort of silver grey (One of the colors I’d consider) I must say I’m very underwhelmed. The front looks much more bland than the photos suggested, and when I looked over at my parked up D5 I decided it was a far better looking vehicle, from every angle except maybe the rear 3/4. For the same money it looks more premium on the outside and much, much more premium on the inside. It’s also larger inside. I would forgo all that if there was a cool look to the Defender that would make it one of those “I have to have *that*” type purchases but it really didn’t do anything for me. And that surprised me greatly.
I thought there was a high chance I’d want to trade the D5 in for one, or at the very least would have bought the Defender over the D5 if they had both been sitting on the lot. But now... I don’t think I would have.
So that’s a nice positive thing for my mind and my bank balance!
Last edited by LoneStarLR; 07-02-2020 at 01:49 PM.
I actually love both vehicles--the Discovery 5 and the Defender. For those who miss the boxy look of the LR4, I think they will be very happy with the Defender.
---------------------------------------------------------- 2020 Defender 110 First Edition Indus Silver (Current)
2020 Discovery HSE Luxury Si6 Fuji White (Current)
2015 RRS Autobiography Fuji White (Former)
2011 RRS Supercharged Fuji White (Former)
2008 LR2 Fuji White (Former)
The interesting thing is that my Discovery is also white with silver accents like yours, although I have the white roof (which to my eyes helps the Discovery's lines a bit), and the Defender I saw was in the same color as yours so it's a good reminder for me, although mine vehicle was parked across the lot not side by side. Are they both sitting at entry height? I do notice how much higher the roof and wheel arch line is on your Defender vs the Discovery, something I didn't notice at the dealership, but again they weren't side by side there.
What is especially interesting is that in your photos the front of the Defender looks much better than it did in real life when I was walking around it, and the rear of it looks so much wider than the Discovery which wasn't my impression walking around, where I thought the vehicle looked narrower.
I think in your photos, as with other photos I've seen the Defender looks more appealing than the Discovery, but in real life, standing back and walking around I felt the complete opposite.
I do think the Defender photographs well, whereas the Discovery does not (unless the angle and focal length is very carefully chosen) but it looks good in real life.
Maybe that says a lot about the design and that the Defender is simply better executed, I don't know.
I think the closest I can get is to say that from front on or nearly front on the Defender front looks good, but the further you go towards the wisde, like in yoiur first photo, the less I like that blunt flat front whereas the Discovery front wraps around to the side and has more of a sculpted look. That's probable the best I can describe it.
But looking at your photos makes me want the Defender just as I did previously, whereas at the dealership yesterday I preferred the Discovery and I no longer even want to trade in.
It's a strange thing, and entirely subjective of course as we're talking about styling.
That said I was careful to get the color combo I found acceptable for my Discovery, no black pack, no black roof, but I wanted black roof bars, didn't want black wheels, didn't want dynamic lower front grille inserts etc. Maybe if I see a Defender with a particular color and with particular accessories that appeal to me I'll change my mind...
When I go back to pick up the Discovery I'll take another longer look and grab some pics for the forum.
(on a side not, I see you have and have had a lot of white LR products. Any reason you didn't go with white for the Defender too?)
Last edited by LoneStarLR; 07-03-2020 at 11:13 AM.
I believe that the Defender sits about 3 inches taller than the Discovery 5. Both are programmed to go to access height when parked. I believe the Defender is 4 1/2 inches more narrow than the Discovery 5--making it a bit more practical for off road trails (squeezing between trees and rocks and stuff). I think a lot of Land Rover fans love the boxy look, so I do think they score points for keeping this one more boxy and nostalgic to the original--I get tons of compliments and thumbs up signs when driving it or filling up with gas. I do love the Fuji white vehicles from Land Rover, but the dealership in Englewood only had 2 Defenders in stock--both in Indus Silver. So although I would have preferred Fuji white, I went for the Indus silver. There are only a few hundred Defenders in the U.S. right now, and the dealership in NJ is not even resuming taking order calls for another 60 days. The 2 door 90 Defender is also delayed in delivery due to COVID. So I got out of my comfort zone and got the silver; otherwise, I got the feeling it would be another 6 months or so to get a Fuji white in NJ. I will confess the silver hides the dirt a touch better than the Fuji white. What I love about the Fuji white though is that after you wash your vehicle, it looks showroom new.
---------------------------------------------------------- 2020 Defender 110 First Edition Indus Silver (Current)
2020 Discovery HSE Luxury Si6 Fuji White (Current)
2015 RRS Autobiography Fuji White (Former)
2011 RRS Supercharged Fuji White (Former)
2008 LR2 Fuji White (Former)
Originally Posted by LoneStarLR
They do look great!
The interesting thing is that my Discovery is also white with silver accents like yours, although I have the white roof (which to my eyes helps the Discovery's lines a bit), and the Defender I saw was in the same color as yours so it's a good reminder for me, although mine vehicle was parked across the lot not side by side. Are they both sitting at entry height? I do notice how much higher the roof and wheel arch line is on your Defender vs the Discovery, something I didn't notice at the dealership, but again they weren't side by side there.
What is especially interesting is that in your photos the front of the Defender looks much better than it did in real life when I was walking around it, and the rear of it looks so much wider than the Discovery which wasn't my impression walking around, where I thought the vehicle looked narrower.
I think in your photos, as with other photos I've seen the Defender looks more appealing than the Discovery, but in real life, standing back and walking around I felt the complete opposite.
I do think the Defender photographs well, whereas the Discovery does not (unless the angle and focal length is very carefully chosen) but it looks good in real life.
Maybe that says a lot about the design and that the Defender is simply better executed, I don't know.
I think the closest I can get is to say that from front on or nearly front on the Defender front looks good, but the further you go towards the wisde, like in yoiur first photo, the less I like that blunt flat front whereas the Discovery front wraps around to the side and has more of a sculpted look. That's probable the best I can describe it.
But looking at your photos makes me want the Defender just as I did previously, whereas at the dealership yesterday I preferred the Discovery and I no longer even want to trade in.
It's a strange thing, and entirely subjective of course as we're talking about styling.
That said I was careful to get the color combo I found acceptable for my Discovery, no black pack, no black roof, but I wanted black roof bars, didn't want black wheels, didn't want dynamic lower front grille inserts etc. Maybe if I see a Defender with a particular color and with particular accessories that appeal to me I'll change my mind...
When I go back to pick up the Discovery I'll take another longer look and grab some pics for the forum.
(on a side not, I see you have and have had a lot of white LR products. Any reason you didn't go with white for the Defender too?)
It is approved for up to 8,201 lbs maximum towing capacity. They do a diesel, but I don't think for the U.S. market. The square panel on the window is part of the design (you can order without it too) but is functional in that if you purchase an exterior ladder or exterior mounted gear carrier--those items rest against the square panel. The build quality seems good so far. They did hundreds of thousands of miles in testing with the development fleet before releasing and evidently completed more than 45,000 individual tests in some of the world’s most inhospitable places.
Originally Posted by ToiletDuck
Looks like a Future H4 hummer in a weird way but I’ve always taken a bit to get use to vehicles.
whats the max towing? Do they do a diesel? What’s the sticker looking thing on the window? How do you feel about the build quality?
07-02-2020, 01:18 PM
Finally checked out the new Defender. And I was..
