Anyone else on here contemplating trading in for the defender?
I am heading to an event in Los Angeles that I received an email for on the 19th. Anybody receive that as well to check out the new defender on the night of the 19th downtown.. This is before the debut at the LA auto show. I am assuming all Landrover owners received a email invitation.
I am really happy with our D5. My wife loves it and I enjoy driving it. It is not my primary car but I do enjoy having it with the family. But I just don’t feel like it fits our lifestyle. I find using my Old worn very capable LR3 more than the D5.
I have the light oyster interior and I’m constantly worried about getting it dirty with the children and beach toys and camping stuff. I understand these are first world problems but it seems like the defender maybe a little more geared toward outdoor family adventures.

 

I was thinking of trading for a 2016 or so full size RR. I was insulted by the dealer who offered 52,000 for my trade which I bought last Oct. It has 15,000 miles and pristine.. It was over 70,000 I paid for my Lux.
I think I will be waiting for the 3-4 year breakpoint....

 

Have to see a Defender in person, but don’t see a reason to trade the D5 for it. All the reports I have read seem to indicate the Defender will actually be smaller inside. The offroad enhancements seem rather marginal over the D5.

I can see your concern about the interior. We luckily got the vintage tan, which is very forgiving in terms of dirt. With the Weathertech mats I got in all 3 rows, Rhino roofrack and OEM cargo barrier and divider it hasn’t been an issue with kids, dogs and getting out.

The wndsor leather does seem pretty durable and easy to clean, also the back of the front seats are durable materials.

Maybe just go out and enjoy it!! Get some leather cleaner and treatment, and just clean as needed.

 

It seems like a very similar platform to me with the Discovery interior having more of a luxury finish to the plastics of the Defender. So I agree the Defender May be slightly more hardy than the rather luxury oriented Discovery but not by much.
The problem you have is the color of leather you chose as opposed to the Discovery itself. I also liked the look of the white but went with vintage tan due to concerns about the white getting dirty or stained even from the likes of wet blue jeans which I have seen on white interior Volvo’s. If I had a family I’d have gone with black probably.
i don’t think there is much lifestyle difference between the two, the Discovery will go anywhere your nerve will likely take you and the Defender a bit further again mainly due to departure angle. But if you consider cargo space as part of an active lifestyle I suspect the Defender has less of it due to lack of overhang.
The Defender does have a cool factor though...
If they were both on the lot I would probably have bought a Defender, but even if my Discovery wasn’t as new as it is, let’s say it was 2 or even 3 years old, I’m not sure I’d take the financial hit of the trade as there isn’t enough a compelling reason.

 

This seems like a pretty fair comparison of the two.

 

I looked at a CPO with the oyster interior and passed on it. Ended up with one with the Windsor Tan and really like that color.
One thing nobody seems to mention: The LR3 had a great tight turning circle (37.6 feet). Very easy to maneuver in parking lots and off-road.
The D5 is does not turn as tightly. (40.4 feet) . Just a little more hassle.
It appears the specs on the 4 door Defender are worse than the D5 (42.1 feet).
It makes a difference on the trail and in a tight parking lot.

 

I'm planning on trading my 18 for the Defender. Let us know what you think after the event.

 

Perhaps wait for the 2022 Defender, so JLR can work out some of the kinks ��. Then the the timing may be better to trade the D5, pending your vehicle replacement cycle. We waited till the 2019 model to get the D5 and it seems that they at least did address some fo the earlier issues in the MY19/20 D5s.

Hopefully they will have more options/engines and I suspect likely better pricing as well.