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goodtimes

Member Since: 04 Jan 2020
Location: Greenwich, CT
Posts: 29

lohr500 wrote:
Hi goodtimes. I don't have any details of the rubber used. And it could be perfectly OK and give years of faultless service.
But I have had bad experiences with "tactile" rubber like coatings on a couple of products. A very expensive Bang & Olufsen music centre and an Eton world band radio. Both had a soft touch coating that was very durable when new, but after about 10 years the coating on both started to feel sticky to the touch and any dust that settled on them would be glued to the surface.
Same thing happened to a British Army sleeping bag I had which had a waterproof base.
I am perhaps worried over nothing and have no evidence that the coating will be a problem. I guess only time will tell.

I did a test drive this afternoon with a First Edition and asked about the tactile rubber, which the dealer (Southampton NY) thought was the same material used in the Discovery since 2017 for the center console lid, but my main dealer (Darien CT) didn't think it was quite the same. Their thoughts are (i) the rubber material is durable and should offer years of service, (ii) the UV protective glass on the vehicle will cut down on sun damage and then (iii) using a windshield sun shield when parked can mitigate the risk (not my favorite solution for appearance reasons).

As for the test drive itself, it was by and large a joy to drive, but here are my specific negative critiques (because everyone here loves to hate):

1. After the light turned green at an intersection, I lifted off the brake and the car shut down completely. It took me 2 seconds to realize so I reignited the engine, then it was in park so I had to put it in drive, let's just say I had some angry honking directed at the New Defender which was fun to have at my expense. We thought it might have been the seatbelt sensor thinking I had unhooked the seatbelt but this shouldn't happen especially when I had the vehicle in D.
2. The taillights blink red when signaling a turn vs. the two small lights blinking yellow like in the marketing videos. I thought this was one of the few areas of charm on the vehicle, and I was disappointed to see this after watching the Doug DeMuro review point this out. I suppose it could be changed aftermarket because I bet the amber LEDs are physically there, but that was a bummer. It also might be just a first edition thing but I doubt it... Darien CT dealer thinks it's a US spec certification thing
3. The cargo space has these two boxes on the left (larger) and right that take up 7-8 inches of precious space in the cargo area. My Greenwich dealer thinks they are there for good and likely was an engineering mistake when they realized they needed the space for some mechanics.

Otherwise - I really liked the truck. They nailed the interior, especially at the driver seat. The vehicle appears much more upright than online photos or the renderings characterize.

11th Jun 2020 7:59pm

Naks

Member Since: 27 Jan 2009
Location: Stellenbosch, ZA
Posts: 2637

2010 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 SW Alpine White

Lucky8 are already working on a front bumper!

Click image to enlarge --
2010 Defender Puma 90 + BAS remap + Alive IC + Slickshift + Ashcroft ATB rear
2015 Range Rover Sport V8 Supercharged

Defender Puma Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zZ1en9
Discovery 4 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zXrtKO
Range Rover/Sport L320/L322/L494 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zc58JQ

11th Jun 2020 8:28pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17351

2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey

The indicators flashing red is very strange, and on a post 1965 vehicle I'm pretty sure is illegal. I wonder if this is a fault or an incorrect setting on one of the programmable systems, perhaps the vehicle is in US configuration.

11th Jun 2020 8:32pm

goodtimes

Member Since: 04 Jan 2020
Location: Greenwich, CT
Posts: 29

In the US you can have flashing red indicate a turn, vs. UK it is illegal. My 2019 FFRR blinks amber, but this Defender blinked Red including the larger brake lights.

11th Jun 2020 8:34pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17351

Ah, sorry, I completely missed that you ARE in the USA, in which case it makes perfect sense. Not noticing this crucial detail, I thought you were reporting on a UK test drive. Oops!

11th Jun 2020 8:39pm

J77

Member Since: 04 Nov 2019
Location: Fife
Posts: 3388

One for the Italian speakers

11th Jun 2020 9:05pm

Caterham

Member Since: 06 Nov 2008
Location: Birmingham
Posts: 6298

2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 XS CSW Stornoway Grey

Ecco wrote:
..there is a psychological aspect embedded with new vehicle designs, and that is, level of comfort and whole noise isolation from outside, doesn't really give any feeling how fast vehicle goes, hence driver may have false feeling of, 'all is just normal', until physics takes its own course..so, driving safe is utmost imperative, everything else is a bonus..

I couldn't agree more

11th Jun 2020 10:03pm

Caterham

Member Since: 06 Nov 2008
Location: Birmingham
Posts: 6298

Ecco wrote:
..there is a psychological aspect embedded with new vehicle designs, and that is, level of comfort and whole noise isolation from outside, doesn't really give any feeling how fast vehicle goes, hence driver may have false feeling of, 'all is just normal', until physics takes its own course..so, driving safe is utmost imperative, everything else is a bonus..

I couldn't agree more

11th Jun 2020 10:04pm

BearCZ

Member Since: 03 Feb 2020
Location: Czech Republic
Posts: 15

[quote="lohr500 wrote:

3. The cargo space has these two boxes on the left (larger) and right that take up 7-8 inches of precious space in the cargo area. My Greenwich dealer thinks they are there for good and likely was an engineering mistake when they realized they needed the space for some mechanics.

Box on left is here when you opt for three-zone aircon, right box dont know - but my opinion is prep for socket or compressor.

12th Jun 2020 4:50am

Tim in Scotland

Member Since: 23 May 2007
Location: The Land that time forgot
Posts: 3753

A new type of owner’s review - not for the diehard classic Defender/ anti new Defender people to view.............especially not ECCO.

it will make you cringe..... but still a review that will appeal to a group of customers very important to JLR

And another useful one from PowerfulUK

Another nice puddle light icon from LR too - screen grab from Annie’s review linked above

Click image to enlarge Pangea Green D250 90 HSE with Air Suspension, Off-road Pack, Towing Pack, Black Contrast roof , rear recovery eyes, Front bash plate, Classic flaps all round, extended wheel arch kit and a few bits from PowerfulUK Expel Clear Gloss PPF to come
2020 D240 1st Edition in Pangea Green with Acorn interior. Now gone - old faithful, no mechanical issues whatsoever ever but the leaks and rattles all over the place won’t be missed!

12th Jun 2020 7:49am

RDR

Member Since: 27 Apr 2018
Location: Derbyshire
Posts: 592

The dreaded scissor jack

There needs to more female overviews like that, as much as forum members may cringe this car has a huge amount of potential appeal to families and they will be key its success. Bit like the D3 which had a lot of female fans including MRS RDR who made me buy her one when I got mine!

@Tim good luck with collection later! 110 MY23.5 X Dynamic HSE
RR MY23 HSE PHEV
D5 MY19 HSE - Now Sold
D4 MY16 HSE Luxury - Now Sold
D4 MY12 HSE - Gone
D3 MY06 S - Gone but not forgotten

12th Jun 2020 8:47am

zilch

Member Since: 11 Sep 2019
Location: Whitsundays & Sydney
Posts: 815

Tim I hope we see your walk round review of your new Defender later today, remember to post the link to your YouTube /instagram channel here

yet another pommie bar steward down under

MY20 110 P400 SE Defender
MY10 3.0 RR Sport

12th Jun 2020 8:52am

Tim in Scotland

Member Since: 23 May 2007
Location: The Land that time forgot
Posts: 3753

Judging by the lack of controls on the steering wheel Annie’s Defender might be an S or base model 7 seater.

Zilch, what’s Instagram? .......... I don’t do social media at all other than Linked-In but I rarely post anything there and now I’m retired I’m not so interested in “networking” although I’ve been amazed how many approaches I’ve received on there from companies looking for experienced seafarers who have held command posts to advise in Nautical cases, hardly a week goes by without an approach. My attitude is I worked hard for 47 years, I had good salary and excellent pension (enough to buy a new Defender with that I thought I might not get) and my attitude is I didn’t retire to go back to work again, even for some very nice pocket money. It is nice though to be asked if I’m interested! Pangea Green D250 90 HSE with Air Suspension, Off-road Pack, Towing Pack, Black Contrast roof , rear recovery eyes, Front bash plate, Classic flaps all round, extended wheel arch kit and a few bits from PowerfulUK Expel Clear Gloss PPF to come
2020 D240 1st Edition in Pangea Green with Acorn interior. Now gone - old faithful, no mechanical issues whatsoever ever but the leaks and rattles all over the place won’t be missed!

12th Jun 2020 9:02am

lohr500

Member Since: 14 Sep 2014
Location: Skipton
Posts: 1315

2013 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Santorini Black

RDR wrote:

There needs to more female overviews like that, as much as forum members may cringe this car has a huge amount of potential appeal to families and they will be key its success. Bit like the D3 which had a lot of female fans including MRS RDR who made me buy her one when I got mine!

I hear what you are saying RDR and I agree it will take that customer base to make it successful. But isn't that same customer base well served already with the D5, DS and other JLR products? I still think new Defender should have been designed to appeal to the utilitarian market, with fewer bells & whistles to make it less appealing to the D5 customer. With lower specifications and complexity, the price point could have been lower and made it a viable vehicle for the utilitarian and volume export markets. A clear differentiation in specification and equipment levels would also help to prevent potential D5/DS customers switch buying to Defender. It would seem as though the experts at JLR think differently.

12th Jun 2020 10:04am

RDR

Member Since: 27 Apr 2018
Location: Derbyshire
Posts: 592

Its a tricky one, for us the D5 is rubbish as a family car but that's because we are messy and smelly. It's trashed on the inside with only 7k miles on the clock and being full of mud and crud all the time. The D3 was much better in this respect the D4 was still a little too posh for us. Land Rover needs something that looks and feels like you won't mind sticky fingers, sick, muddy dogs or the tip run going inside it and from spending time in the Defender it feels like it won't bat an eyelid at it. No shiny piano surfaces to scratch and no carpets that hang onto smells. Price point wise its bang where the D4 was so should hopefully tempt some back to LR. I can see they have left that lower end/simpler design and can understand the upset its caused, they had to make a choice and I hope this decision appeals to a wide enough customer base to make it a sales success. The Defender will impact the D5 sales but that will hopefully give them the kick up the backside sort out where they are heading with it. 110 MY23.5 X Dynamic HSE
RR MY23 HSE PHEV
D5 MY19 HSE - Now Sold
D4 MY16 HSE Luxury - Now Sold
D4 MY12 HSE - Gone
D3 MY06 S - Gone but not forgotten

12th Jun 2020 10:20am

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