I think the respective tires on either vehicle plays a bigger role than the platform itself, which probably is a big part of the disagreement. Who had what tires on which truck when they did the comparison?
Stock for stock, the D3 has more ground clearance, better approach and departure angles, more suspension travel, better traction control, and an available rear locker from the factory.
But, the D3 is, to a large extent... it is what it is. It's pretty hard to make improvements. Harder to lift, harder to run big tires, the body is harder to armor up, the black-box electronics are taken to the nth degree...
IMO, if the D3 out-of-the-box offers the capability you want, it's the better truck. Just factor in the price of a BBS Faultmate into your purchase price and go for it.
If, however, you want to make a hardcore off-roader, a D2, D1 or Defender is obviously the better platform. It really is that simple. The D3 is not going to be a hardcore offroader, but not everybody wants one.
Stock for stock, the D3 has more ground clearance, better approach and departure angles, more suspension travel, better traction control, and an available rear locker from the factory.
But, the D3 is, to a large extent... it is what it is. It's pretty hard to make improvements. Harder to lift, harder to run big tires, the body is harder to armor up, the black-box electronics are taken to the nth degree...
IMO, if the D3 out-of-the-box offers the capability you want, it's the better truck. Just factor in the price of a BBS Faultmate into your purchase price and go for it.
If, however, you want to make a hardcore off-roader, a D2, D1 or Defender is obviously the better platform. It really is that simple. The D3 is not going to be a hardcore offroader, but not everybody wants one.
and for snow I was really hoping to get a center and rear locker on my next vehicle.
