H1Tad wrote:

I'm pretty sure the de-badging is in relation to JLR essentially dropping the "Land Rover" brand in lieu of individual nameplates like Defender, Range Rover, Discovery, etc... https://www.motortrend.com/news/jaguar-lan...-defender/

Not saying I agree with it - in fact I find it quite ... pig-headed. Remember that in order to explain the behavior of any large organization, just assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its worst enemies - then it makes sense.

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These buyers aren't interested in the off road capabilities or whether you can lock the differentials manually (although l bet that option was ticked on the configurator) or the fact that the V8 is now slightly de-tuned.
They want a vehicle that's good to be seen in, and better than next door's generic SUV.

I'm still new around here, so I don't know if I'm touching a 3rd rail here, but the new Defender was never about offroad prowess. Sure its capable - it has a proud heritage to live up to after all. But much like what GM did with my beloved H1 when they introduced the H2 - the masses want "just enough" offroad prowess for what the consumers dream about doing when they buy the car... which is re-enact those dramatic slow-motion action shots from the advertisements they see on TV where the vehicle is going over a bunch of rocks, through deep snow, or submerging itself under water.

In reality though, it's going to be on pavement 99.99% and that 0.01% is going to be the soccer field where the kids get dropped off.

That being said - JLR did miss an opportunity - at least over here in the states. It started right before the pandemic but there has been a huge, massive offroad vehicle market explosion over here in the US. You can't go anywhere without seeing dozens of not hundreds of Jeep Wranglers, Ford Broncos and Toyota 4Runners now. A Defender with a hard plastic interior, cloth seats, 17" wheels, manual transmission and a removable top in the sub $50k price point would have sold like wildfire - and during the height of the pandemic, people would have been buying them for $150k like they were Broncos when they first came out. (By comparison, over here in my neck of the US, which is admittedly very rural, you can go days at a time without seeing another L663 on the road).

But much like Toyota found out when the Land Cruiser was a $100k vehicle - luxury vehicle buyers do not like mixing with the plebs in the dealership service waiting room. Its a real thing and I suspect JLR knew that when they decided to release the L663 as an upmarket luxury vehicle.