I found the seats comfortable and supportive. Good wheel. Solid steering, too.
Despite the vehicle’s size and stance (and my shortness), pretty easy to get in and out of.
(And, yes, I vacuumed out the dirt before handing it over to JG.)
I found the seats comfortable and supportive. Good wheel. Solid steering, too.
Despite the vehicle’s size and stance (and my shortness), pretty easy to get in and out of.
(And, yes, I vacuumed out the dirt before handing it over to JG.)
Colin Wood said:In reply to David S. Wallens :
So-called "soft roading" is definitely huge right now. I think an SUV like this Defender fits in that niche perfectly. Think of it as the kind of vehicle people buy not to conquer Moab, but rather drive a few miles on something that isn't pavement and spend a few nights in Joshua Tree.
Soft roading seemed to have caught on around the pandemic, when everyone suddenly wanted to live off the grid. I think it's peaked (see also: Subaru Wilderness, Ford Timberline and Honda Trailsport trims), but I expect to see more vehicles fitting this niche in the near future.
I can totally see that and don’t hate it.
I think I really like that grab handle and storage compartment to the left of the steering wheel.
More vehicles in this class should have this: household power right there. (This is in the back corner of the way-back.)
David S. Wallens said:Do we like the exposed fasteners on the door panels?
At least when you inevitably have to fix something in the door on this, you won't be breaking plastic covers to get to the fasteners (that is if they are realy fasteners and not just there for show).
And, for Colin and the rest of the class, a soft roading photo from our time with the Land Rover Defender.
wae said:I think I really like that grab handle and storage compartment to the left of the steering wheel.
Lots and lots of storage–chilled storage, too, between the front seats!
Keith Tanner said:You get the weirdest press fleet vehicles.
Later today we’re getting something a bit more mainstream: Chevy 1500 Silverado.
I love the 110, except for price.
there are quite a few of these around here and look great in dark colors. Not a fan of the outside storage or ladder.
What's the off-road capability like? I've been unable to find whether this has a proper rear locker or some sort of e-diff. It's been rare that I've used the rear locker on my Cherokee Trailhawk, but it's been nice to have when I've wanted it.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
How many diet cokes could I fit in there? Might be a game changer
David S. Wallens said:More vehicles in this class should have this: household power right there. (This is in the back corner of the way-back.)
While it's a good location, 180W isn't going to power much more than a USB charger. The power brick for my laptop is exactly 180W.
The inverter outlets in my wife's F150 is good for 400W, and that won't run a shop vac.
Trying to think what would be especially Defender-ish to want to power in the back...
brandonsmash said:What's the off-road capability like? I've been unable to find whether this has a proper rear locker or some sort of e-diff. It's been rare that I've used the rear locker on my Cherokee Trailhawk, but it's been nice to have when I've wanted it.
David should go take it out on some of the trails in the Ocala National Forest.
As for the 180w power supply. Perfect for the kids to charge their ipads or nintendo switchs on long trips. The F-150 400w/2000w systems aren't that great because it's not a true sine wave inverter. I was able to make frozen margs with a blender with my 2000w inverter during a tailgate and it's good at charging Milwaukee batteries.
David S. Wallens said:Speaking of your passenger, when they get out, the heated seats don’t turn off–even after you turn the car off and back on.
That is a huge plus for those of us in cold climates.
My Grand Cherokee has remote start and auto climate control, but the heated seats and rear defrost turn off when the car shuts off. It would be nice if they stayed on when restarting the car so I could hit the remote starter and be able to go out to a defrosted windows all around and pre-warmed seats in sub-freezing temps.
In reply to No Time :
Agreed. Our Volvo restores the driver settings to their previous configuration, but forgets the passenger. I find myself turning the passenger seat heat back on much more often than I would turn it off.
In reply to No Time :
Interesting, I seem to remember my jeep rental i had a year or two ago doing that. Was super nice in the cold
I'm thinking: "Oh, look at those weird protrusions and those vents and stuff. It must be cool because it's so expensive".
In reply to gixxeropa :
They may have addressed it in newer models, mines a 2007, so plenty of opportunities for change since mine was new.
We rented one of these last month on vacation. It was pretty cramped with 6 people and their luggage. Like all posh soft-roader crossovers, it's smaller inside than it looks. The electronic nannies were intrusive and downright distracting. I had to navigate through layers and layers of options menus to bring up a normal 2 gauge display instead of the stupid blank center screen with nothing but useless driver assist visuals (shouldn't I be looking at the road?). Even still, many of the screen fonts were so small that they robbed your attention away from the road and I'm my eyes aren't even old. No one who drove it could get used to the pedal response tuning. You had to mash it down what felt like half-throttle until it decided to move after a few seconds of thinking, then it was too much power at once. It was exceptionally difficult to drive smoothly without inducing motion sickness. Riding in the 3rd row, there was an obnoxious whistling noise near the windows. Overall it seemed like a worse Lexus GX overpriced by $25k and likely with less reliability. We wished they had something normal like a Tahoe available, but unfortunately we were stuck with the privilege of this "upgrade". It handled snow fine I guess.
Colin Wood said:In reply to David S. Wallens :
So-called "soft roading" is definitely huge right now. I think an SUV like this Defender fits in that niche perfectly. Think of it as the kind of vehicle people buy not to conquer Moab, but rather drive a few miles on something that isn't pavement and spend a few nights in Joshua Tree.
Soft roading seemed to have caught on around the pandemic, when everyone suddenly wanted to live off the grid. I think it's peaked (see also: Subaru Wilderness, Ford Timberline and Honda Trailsport trims), but I expect to see more vehicles fitting this niche in the near future.
Softroading also brought us the Subaru Outback in 1996 or so. It's been mainstream for a while :) And yes, I know that there were niche softroaders before that such as the AMC Eagle, but the Outback was a massive sales success that prompted a bunch of imitators that still persist.
I think a Defender should be a real offroader, though, like a Wranger. They started at the same place. Let the Disco be the softroader and the Rangie be the luxo option and let the Defender be an aluminum box with serious capabilities. But my opinion won't matter because my Land Rover is nearly 60 years old so I'm obviously well out of touch :)
David S. Wallens said:Keith Tanner said:You get the weirdest press fleet vehicles.
Later today we’re getting something a bit more mainstream: Chevy 1500 Silverado.
Silverado vs Lightning will be an interesting read.
Fueled by Caffeine said:whats the odd wart coming out of the pass side of the rover?
It would have been perfect for ADS (Auxiliary Duck Storage) but we couldn't find the key for it.
My question is, how good is it off-road, while operating within it's design specs, and compared to other similar use case vehicles...say for example, is a Tahoe Denali specced up as much as possible from the dealer, any worse than this Euro competitor? It's like the old Corvette vs. Porsche thing right? Does the Rover tech actually provide a significant physical advantage? Again, real world cases: camping and caught in the rain, massive mud, other trucks getting stuck but the Defender pulling thru? Big snow and ice day after hitting the slopes, other suvs stuck in the parking lot, the Defender getting you home with superior lockers and suspension? Dropping your boat into the lake but the ramp is slippery, eats other trucks but the Defender finds traction?
I watched a video comparing a Cayenne to a Range Rover, the Cayenne mostly beats it except one notable place: a race up a super slick grassy hill, no mud, not torn up, just crazy slippery...the Cayenne couldn't pull as well as the Rover, and was beaten handily. The Cayenne is the only other luxo SUV that is considered actually capable off road, but the lockers and setup on the Rover was totally superior for this very realistic situation for an upscale owner to "need" their SUV for.
Does it get you further down the trail/out of more trouble than say, a Wagoneer? Does it get that Xmas tree on the roof home or leave you stuck in the "cut it yourself" parking lot? There are LOTS of places rich people go that do indeed test the chops of these rediculous machines. That doesn't include what I think the true market for super capable SUVs is: the resale market. Once someone blings around in one of these for a few years, NOTHING makes a better overlander/soft-road super luxury camping machine than one of these things, after depreciation has taken it's toll.
The current frenzy around older Cayennes is just the tip of the iceberg. Some of these luxo barges shall show their true powers while in the hands of 3rd and 4th owners, who don't care about the paint, get parts from ebay, and have the guts to drive these things the way they were meant to. They will REALLY rock and roll down the trail, and provide TONS of off-road fun, WITHOUT having to bend a rod or control arm, or pop an air shock.
You'll need to log in to post.
