New Defenders to be built but not from where you'd expect.

Started by RossM, October 26, 2016, 06:50 PM

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Red90

Quote from: Red90 on June 25, 2019, 10:09 AM
Quote from: Red90 on March 16, 2019, 05:07 PMThe Jimny is a lot better.  Live axle, multi-link coil springs front and rear. 36:1 in low range, 88" wheelbase, 1100 kg curb weight.

Had a look over one in Iceland.  It really is a proper modern vision of an original Land Rover.  Light, small, durable and simple with a nice modern drivetrain and interior and looks nice.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Life/The-Suzuki-Jimny-a-tiny-SUV-with-a-big-cult-following
QuoteHiroyuki Yonezawa - Chief engineer

Tasked to develop a new Jimny, he traveled through Japan, Europe and Africa to get feedback from users to understand the demands the next-generation vehicle would need to meet.

Jimny is a car of function more than design; trends don't affect us. No other car in the world is this compact and has this unique four-wheel-drive system. We often call it "the one and only."

Everyone shares our unwavering vision: to maintain real four-wheel-drive capacity and functional beauty. We succeeded in keeping the four-wheel-drive performance and small size, while improving the safety standards for use on paved roads and off-road trails.

We saw three tiers. At the top of the pyramid are professional users: those who need this car to do their work in the field of forestry, for example. In the middle sit the daily users: again, those who need it in the mountainous and snowy regions. Last but not least we have regular customers. These are the people who admire simple, functional equipment used by professionals, such as a dive watch or down jacket. They may not dive or climb Everest but they enjoy these tools. By targeting the professionals, we thought ordinary customers might appreciate the Jimny's value.

The car is simple and functional -- you can't get bored with it. And the more you use it, the better it ages. If you look at the model from two decades ago, it is still cool -- even with some rust and scratches
on the body.

binch

I've seen a few of them playing at the regular Trials with the Raiders 4x4 club, at the Herrington Woods offroad area

https://www.google.com/maps/place/East+Herrington,+Sunderland,+UK/@54.8663607,-1.4627694,308m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m8!1m2!2m1!1sherrington+wood+sunderland!3m4!1s0x487e646e4479d97b:0x831a6c21a0cbfad0!8m2!3d54.8687489!4d-1.4384931



There are two minds sets with their owners...."drive them like you stole them!"   or   "spend a couple of quid, modify them and work slow and steady."
Either way ...the seem to do pretty good all the same and they are cheap in comparison.
Cheers, Bill

Red90

Why can't they find someone, anyone to do these reviews that has experience off road? Every person on their first trip off road thinks it is the most amazing thing ever.


binch

Yup....his eyes were brown.   

Test it with a camel trophy..then we'll talk.   8)
Cheers, Bill

Chad M

Quote from: Red90 on March 25, 2020, 12:22 PM
Why can't they find someone, anyone to do these reviews that has experience off road? Every person on their first trip off road thinks it is the most amazing thing ever.



This has probably all been said before and your comment was probably more rhetorical, but I suppose JLR wants the vast majority of people who will actually buy the truck, to see themselves when they watch the video.  I would guess 1:10000 might drive a new Defender anywhere close to it's limits.   I'd be very surprised to find this type of truck in the hands of an actual off-road enthusiast.

Red90

The point being is that he can't provide any useful comment on whether it is good or bad without experience.  And then how can he compare it to the previous model if he has never driven one off road. Grab a 2016 model and drive it back to back over the same terrain.

headdamage

They can't risk having the review say it is not as good as the old one.

Matt H

So, I just watched the top gear review of the new Defender. Advertised as 'really' going off road in Africa.

The presenter starts by admitting that this is a Land Rover organized press demo and that he doesn't really get the "off road" thing.

We then watch as he gets more and more excited as the vehicle drives about on dirt roads and mild trails that frankly any Freelander or Series Land Rover in 2wd could do. Most of it could be done in a Buick for crying out loud!

The fascinating thing is the more he drives around the more he is convinced that only the new Defender with its suite of off road gizmos is capable of surviving such a trip.

He makes a meal of the in car off road display that I personally have found totally useless in the real world..
Much amazement and wonder was displayed when the chief engineer pointed out the rather unimpressive suspension travel. To a point where they are stopped on a down hill, opposite wheels hanging in the air unable to touch the ground and they get out and tip the vehicle back and forth like a toy. As if this was some sort of off road kudos?

For such an expensive unit that has been billed as the "Best off road ever made" this demonstration leaves a little to be desired.  :-\

https://youtu.be/-_qGCzGR-74
No Road Except For Land-Rover.

binch

Not much different then the last review was it...?    It's almost the same thing from both presenters.

Boy...I wish I had a TV to tell me where am, how deep the water I can go through, what mode I'm in, etc.   I wonder if it will tell you how to fix the car when one of the 83 ECMs fail...or worse yet...the TV fails itself.   The old disco two had two issues for me.    Airbag/pump failures and the 3 amigos.    My rear airbags went up and down most of the time just fine.  But as it turned out the went down far more often then they went up.   Solution?  I finally converted the airbags to springs so don't have that problem any more.   And the three amigos.....well, let's just say we get along okay now.    But I have to wonder....what kind of xmas tree you will get when the sensors start packing it in on this new defender?   Must be a brillian light show eh?   ;D

Did you notice how little stuff they put on that roof rack?   But it sure looks sporty.   The roof ladder on one side of the vehicle and that cargo box on the other side.....   Has anyone looked at the sides of my 110?   I'd have to have someone behind me picking up the litter I'm peeling off the truck.

Cheers, Bill

JohnnyO

Here's an Overland Journal podcast with some cred from what appears to be the same Land Rover sponsored Namibia trip.  Settle in with your favourite beverage, it's 54 min. long but a good listen...

https://overlandjournal.com/podcast/

Matt H

Quote from: binch on March 27, 2020, 12:15 AM
Did you notice how little stuff they put on that roof rack?   But it sure looks sporty.   The roof ladder on one side of the vehicle and that cargo box on the other side.....   Has anyone looked at the sides of my 110?   I'd have to have someone behind me picking up the litter I'm peeling off the truck.

I must admit I'm confused about those side accessories as well. For a start, if you don't have anything attached to them the vehicle looks like it has an awkward blind spot? And I have no idea why a person would need  tiny suitcase looking thingy and umpalumpa ladder strapped to the side of an off roader? The suitcase will get torn off and the ladder? It's right over the rear tyre so......why wouldn't you step on the rear tyre? Unless of course you really are an umpalumpa.
No Road Except For Land-Rover.


binch

Now that's a bit more like it!!!!     If anyone will be merciless and honest on a 4x4.....I'd very much like to hear what he has to say about the new Upender ;D
Cheers, Bill

Matt H

This guy.........

(Puts on best Winston Churchill voice) Never in field of unaccredited journalism, has anyone taken so long, to say so little, to so many!

Let me give you the abbreviated version.

1, Land Rover sell Land Rover branded cool aid at press events. (Gee, who would have thought).
2, His favourite word is phenomenal. As in "Pheeee-nom-enal, phenomenal".
::)

No Road Except For Land-Rover.

binch

True...but I do want to see what he has to say about it.  Especially the side storage compartment and ladder ::)
Cheers, Bill