 | Home > General & Technical (L663) > D250 v D300 |
 
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| Retroanaconda Member Since: 04 Jan 2012 Location: Scotland Posts: 2640  
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My D200 is fantastic. Horsepower is just for bragging rights, it’s all about torque and all the diesels have plenty. I couldn’t see any justification for paying all that extra money for the higher powered models, and my engine effectively has a huge safety margin built into its engineering.
The L663 interior is far more practical and useable than the old model which was basically still a 1970s approach, with a transit dashboard bodged in for the last few years. I love the dash in my old 90 - it’s classic Land Rover - but there’s no denying that the new one is more ergonomic, better laid out, has more useful features, more storage and is easier to clean. |
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16th Aug 2023 6:54pm |
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| Chicken Drumstick Member Since: 17 Aug 2020 Location: Near MK Posts: 716 
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There is a difference between rugged and old. 
Take a look at the Bronco, Wrangler or Grenadier interiors. Or even something like a Unimog or the 4wd Iveco Daily. The new Defender is luxury car by comparison. |
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16th Aug 2023 7:50pm |
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| Chicken Drumstick Member Since: 17 Aug 2020 Location: Near MK Posts: 716
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Basically you could insert; Range Rover classic/Discovery/Discovery 2 etc etc into your comment and it would be just as true.  |
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16th Aug 2023 7:52pm |
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| Retroanaconda Member Since: 04 Jan 2012 Location: Scotland Posts: 2640
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I am not sure what your point is. You are the one who made the comparison to the older defender interior.
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16th Aug 2023 8:13pm |
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| Nicofender Member Since: 16 Jan 2023 Location: Southern Posts: 51 
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Exactly. In my opinion the D200 is a good choice to drive the car till they don’t sell Diesel anymore and we have to eat those plastic steaks. Having 300HP at 3L could be a bit much. Even in 2023 but I guess time will tell. All that said I’d love to see a fully „hosable“ version of the Defender but I‘d rather buy a truck for that kind of transport goods. Unluckily I just don’t think LR will bring a pick up anytime soon. |
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17th Aug 2023 10:03am |
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| Chicken Drumstick Member Since: 17 Aug 2020 Location: Near MK Posts: 716
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Only that you seem to be saying new is better than old, because new is newer. Which isn't really a shocker tbh.... As for practical though. The original Ninety/One Ten Interior is about as practical as you get. Very basic yes. But the interior is maximised for space given the dimensions of the inside of the cabin and offers fantastic storage that very few other vehicles have ever been able to rival. The new one included. For example, you could keep a large D cell torch, ice scrapper, rags, sunglasses and a 2 litre bottle of drink in the old dash and still have room to spare. You could also seat 3 people across in moderate comfort, yet have a vehicle body width hardly bigger than a car. I know the new one can have 3 seats too (although I'm yet to actually see one that has the middle seat), but I'd guess the middle seat is less spacious in the new one than the old one and the new Defender has a body width that is nearly 15" wider! The old model for most of its production run had no carpets or vinyl coverings, allowing the interior to be easily wiped out and cleaned. There is also no lip on the door opening, so any mud or debris can be easily brushed out. |
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17th Aug 2023 10:43am |
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| lightning Member Since: 23 Apr 2009 Location: High Peak, Derbyshire Posts: 2749
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l ordered the D200 but Land Rover said l had to have the D250
An extra £3,000 for different software. That's an expensive factory remap !! Although the dealer insisted that the engine in the D250 was different and it wasn't just software. When l asked what the difference was, nobody knew. But l guess they wouldn't. The dealer did admit that the D250 cost "no more to manufacture" than the D200 |
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18th Aug 2023 3:02pm |
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| Retroanaconda Member Since: 04 Jan 2012 Location: Scotland Posts: 2640
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No I’m saying new is better than old because of all the things I listed, not because it is newer. The newer dash has far more storage than the old one, a proper glove box, better heater vents, better dials, the list goes on. The only thing I miss is the old bulkhead vents, but proper working A/C goes some way to making up for that. |
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18th Aug 2023 5:04pm |
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| Retroanaconda Member Since: 04 Jan 2012 Location: Scotland Posts: 2640
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Just to clarify this misleading statement: Old defender 1,785mm New defender 1,996mm Difference of 211 mm or 8.3 inches. |
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18th Aug 2023 5:10pm |
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| lightning Member Since: 23 Apr 2009 Location: High Peak, Derbyshire Posts: 2749
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The new Defender is quite wide, too wide for some of the narrow roads and dark tracks l have to negotiate.
Land Rover knew what they were doing when they designed the old Defender. l also miss the bulkhead vents. They were great because you could open them in any weather (including rain) and get fresh air, and it made you feel more at one with your surroundings. |
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18th Aug 2023 7:42pm |
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| 914PAW Member Since: 01 Feb 2021 Location: Wiltshire Posts: 14 
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Thanks everyone for the input, I hadn’t meant it to get into another old v new defender debate😉 to put my cards on the table I also run a TD5 and a Puma 2.4 which is why I was originally on these forums. So I know how good (and bad the old Defender is)! In old Defender I’m in the 90 camp, as it’s perfect for two and throwing smelly dogs, garden waste etc in the back, trips down narrow lanes etc etc. but in “new defender” I’m in the 110 camp only as it’s the family motor. The RRS is the current family car but it is primarily my wife’s. We moved in February to a more remote location and we always planned to swap the RRS for something more suited but the unmade track leading to our new house is accelerating that need. We don’t need to tow as that is done by my “old” Defender and is limited to a light trailer. My wife is very loyal to the JLR range having had several Discovery’s and in fact we test drove a nearly new Discovery as a potential replacement, but it felt too much like the RRS and a bit “same old”. The dealer near us is Dick Lovett in Melksham and they’ve been very patient with our deliberations, but they don’t get many second hand Defender 110’s and their demonstrator seems to be permanently unavailable so test drives are not easy. We did drive a highly spec’d petrol 110 just to compare with the Discovery we drove as above, we expected not to like it but actually it was really good. Unfortunately we prevaricated too long and someone paid the full sticker price for it which surprised me. The market is so bizarre that it seems more sensible to order new than buy nearly used as JLR seem to be holding up second hand prices very effectively. I have though seen a few 250’s at prices which are sufficiently different to new to make me ask whether we should consider them. We drive about 15k miles per annum, do several long runs down to Devon from Wiltshire, up to Bucks and Manchester on occasion. We have dogs and three kids one of which is still doing the uni thing so we need space for a while longer! Hope this clarifies and it does look as if the only answer is to test drive both if we can. Incidentally we did test drive a Grenadier as part of our search. Our impression was that it was great if your need was primarily off roading but it wasn’t nearly as good at the day to day as the new Defender. Their sales guy was also terrible, failing to understand that my wife was as much the decision maker as me thereby alienating her by telling me when we swapped drivers that “now you can put your foot down and test the performance properly”, he also knew very little about the product and there was zero follow up. It had a couple of niggly faults and the bmw petrol lump was surprisingly coarse. We really wanted to like it but it’s not for us. I have tried to persuade my wife to look at other marques but no joy…… hope this background helps and again thanks for your views and advice it really is appreciated.
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19th Aug 2023 12:15pm |
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| Chicken Drumstick Member Since: 17 Aug 2020 Location: Near MK Posts: 716
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Lol, your are correct your statement is misleading....
I said across the body. The traditional Defender is 64.5" (1638mm). This was pertinent as I was saying you could fit 3 across. Obviously the body width dictates the interior space, not the overall width. The New Defender is according to Wiki 79.1" (2009mm) excluding the mirrors. 79.1 - 64.5 = 14.6" or as near as damn it 15 inches if you round to a whole figure! |
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19th Aug 2023 1:15pm |
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| Chicken Drumstick Member Since: 17 Aug 2020 Location: Near MK Posts: 716
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That has to be man maths working overtime.... Either that or your drive is more akin to a CCV trials section.
I can't image anything you'd regular drive couldn't be easily conquered by a Range Rover Sport though. The new Defender is only very mildly more off road capable, mostly due to smaller overhangs on more extreme terrain. |
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19th Aug 2023 1:21pm |
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| Moo Member Since: 01 Oct 2021 Location: UK Posts: 1359 
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Depends what wheels and tyres. 22 inch RRS wheels with a smear of rubber would be a lot more uncomfortable than a Defender with 18inch and chunky rubber. Eiger Grey MY23 D250 SE with bits. Known as Noddy.
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19th Aug 2023 5:34pm |
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