Jarred - Sad, she will be no more. RIP Land Rover Defender

[Michael Dalton]

I'm sad and broken today as many wildlife filmmakers will be (and people with good taste). Land Rover announced it will stop producing the Defender. (mind you most the ones in Africa will live on for another 100 years)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/motoring/8654/land-rover-the-end-of-a-legend.html

I'd rather push a Land Rover then drive a Toyota land Cruiser! Ok, I'd drive a VX.

 

[Sam Barnett]

That's devastating.

 

[Jim Collins]

I owned a big 110 model for four years while I lived in England. It was like a throwback to the '50s. Everything else these days is a luxury vehicle. You have to be a really good driver to take one of these on the highway or a major road though. The gear ratios are optimized more for off road use than on and the brakes can be really treacherous at high speed if you don't know what you are doing. The way a lot of Americans drive SUVs like they are sports cars they would end up dead real quick in a Defender. But if you have the skill and discipline it is a great drive. Lots of cargo room. I drove it the length of Great Britain and back six times with all my SCUBA gear to dive in Scapa Flow. Without the Defender Land Rover will not be a cool company any more.

 

[Björn Benckert]

I was planing to buy one a few years ago. found a really nice one down in germany. But luckily my wife convinced me to go and test drive one at the dealer ship here in stockholm. To put it mildly, that test drive changed my mind completly.
The car can not turn. to the point where a small roundabout or a narrow garage cause big problems.
It hardly has any engine and as mentiond here its pretty much only low gears.
The seats are like in a buss and can not be put into a comfortably position
The original comes with aout a heater, the optional heater might work in england but not scandinavia.
The breaks really do not work so well when wet.
Driving it feels like driving my fathers 100 year old tracktor but worse.

Still that car has something and its sad if they do not make a new defender. As i like the concept of a rough tracktor like car with a aluminum body and its size is good for transporting gear.

But for me it did not fly as it was, they should remake it with the best of todays standards but keep the tracktor like concept.

I the mean time i drive my baby hummer

 

[Stephen Williams]

Still that car has something and its sad if they do not make a new defender. As i like the concept of a rough tracktor like car with a aluminum body and its size is good for transporting gear.

But for me it did not fly as it was, they should remake it with the best of todays standards but keep the tracktor like concept.

I the mean time i drive my baby hummer

That was the concept of the Range Rover in 1969, plastic interior so you could hose it out! Of course the buyers wanted luxury so we got the modern Range Rover.
Nothing will beat a Land Rover.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=539478576121851

 

[David W. Jones]

Had a Defender 90 which I regret selling. Guys, don't listen to your wife! Then had a Range Rover with a platform on top which I used for years as my shooting vehicle. Sadly it was totaled when a youngster ran a light

 

[Louis Maddalena]

I was planing to buy one a few years ago. found a really nice one down in germany. But luckily my wife convinced me to go and test drive one at the dealer ship here in stockholm. To put it mildly, that test drive changed my mind completly.
The car can not turn. to the point where a small roundabout or a narrow garage cause big problems.
It hardly has any engine and as mentiond here its pretty much only low gears.
The seats are like in a buss and can not be put into a comfortably position
The original comes with aout a heater, the optional heater might work in england but not scandinavia.
The breaks really do not work so well when wet.
Driving it feels like driving my fathers 100 year old tracktor but worse.

Still that car has something and its sad if they do not make a new defender. As i like the concept of a rough tracktor like car with a aluminum body and its size is good for transporting gear.

But for me it did not fly as it was, they should remake it with the best of todays standards but keep the tracktor like concept.

I the mean time i drive my baby hummer

You might like a older model G Wagon if you're looking to get a different car. There are good deals to be had.

 

[Robert Hart]

One would hope that they make the new vehicle as useful as the old one. That is, capable of being drowned, dragged out, drained, oiled and got going again for the remainder of the journey without need of a long and expensive transport to a long and expensive rehabilitation. The older vehicles like the Landrover Series Two and Toyota Landcruiser FJ45 series had their vices and let's face it are hard put to match today's 4WDs and SUVs for performance without a lot of extra work going into them. Their payback was that you could pull one apart in your shed, rebuild it almost from scratch, very few compound curves in structures, therefore much of them you can remake if need be. The Landover would surely have to hold the record for the most diversely engined vehicle ever in Australia. Engines, cut down Rover 90 six-cylinder f-head 4 cylinder in the Series 1 ( I may have the "f-head" definition wrong ) later engine - genuine Landrover Four ( derived or closely aligned to the design principles of the Standard Vanguard ), Rover 90 six cylinder f-head engine ( not such a delightful success story ), Holden GM-Australia 186 and 202 six-cylinder, also 253/308 V8, Falcon Ford-Australia six cylinder, Chrysler-Australia Hemi six-cylinder, Isuzu 4 cylinder diesel - which was also an official option that I understand went into the military madmax 6WD variant, BMW five-cylinder factory option, - are those that I know of. They were challenged on the highway but a Toyota Landcruiser FJ40 - 45 took no prisoners either and that was not counting the number of times the left-side wheels unfastened their wheelnuts and fell off.

 

[Robert Hart]

This website might be of a little interest - http://www.remlr.com/perentie-civilian6x6.htm

 

[David Kuhn]

IMO the D90 was one of the finest stock off-roaders ever sold in the US - these days they're hard to find and command quite a premium over other comparable age vehicles. They sold for ~$35k in 97 and today you can get well over $20k for a 97 in good condition, that's less than a grand a year in depreciation... not too shabby.

 

[Mike P.]

I don't understand: They aren't stopping because sales aren't good. They're not stopping because they can't get it up to modern safety and emissions specs. They ARE stopping because 'In a world of connected, hybrid cars in whatever shape or size you want them, the Defender just no longer fits'? Shouldn't that be dictated entirely by sales? Clearly there is still a want for the vehicle... and as more and more "connected, hybrid, customized" vehicles come out, there'll likely be even more desire for a niche/specialty ride like the Defender.

 

[Ivan Agerton]

Man! Super bummed.. I had the privilege of spending a couple weeks with one of these rigs in its native habitat. Super uncomfortable and loud but I new it would take us out and back with no issues.. Posting a few pics.. hope you dont mind.. I think its the only vehicle that I wanted to have my picture taken with..

 

[Rob Gardner]

I spent about two weeks banging around on the fabulous roads of northern Ethiopia in one of these, for the National Geographic. It was hands down the most uncomfortable truck I have ever spent time in. For those who are really sorry to see these go, however, there is still a Land Rover factory working in Iran (long ago nationalized by the government, after the revolution) stamping out the old-style aluminum bodies, and fitting them out with nifty Chinese engines and Spanish transmissions. Even the Iranians avoid using them if they possibly can...

 

[Michael Dalton]

I spent about two weeks banging around on the fabulous roads of northern Ethiopia in one of these, for the National Geographic. It was hands down the most uncomfortable truck I have ever spent time in.

I've used a lot of different ones, from old series 3 over last 10 years. Old ones are uncomfortable, but the news ones are incredible. I had a TDI for a while, they still drive great. Really a great piece of filming kit!!! I find Range Rovers are REALLY hit an miss. You get a bad one, and it's REALLY bad. I must say the VX I've been using lately has been nice.

 

[Jarred Land]

very sad indeed... although they never made it over to the US in recent years it was surely a workhouse for many.