New Defender News

[A.J.M]

Can’t say for towing at elevation but my D3 happily sits at 60 with 3.5 tons on the hitch as that’s what it’s rated to.
That’s loaded trailer with another car and spares on it, I’ve towed boats, camping trailers, broken down defenders and all sorts.

it will sit there happily and not worry about it, sits in 5th gear for hills and 6th for level ground.

the new defender has that same 3.5 ton rating here. Which it will handle perfectly fine.

I can’t say for elevation as technically the highest place in the UK is only 4411ft and that’s Ben Nevis...

 

[DieselRanger]

You want a tow rig go buy Dodge Ram 3500,
new defender will not be able to tow more than 3500lb
word (Rated) in America means 50% inflated marketing gimmick.
Just like when they advertise ( military grade ) that means it’s absolutely not, it just looks military.

Perfect example my 2017 Tacoma trd off road , (( rated )) tow capacity 6400lb, I call it BS, I towed 4500lb land cruiser behind the Tacoma and it was struggling,
forget about going up 6% grade.

you professors here who believe in a word, rated, will have a nice surprise when you try to tow with the new defender.

by the way that’s not a deal breaker to say it’s bad or anything, it’s just not made for towing.
but one thing I know for sure, my Tacoma would love to tow it stuck new defender regardless of defenders fat ass weight ??

We should do tug a war see how lies more, Toyota of Land Rover.

Land Rover Discovery Tows 110 Tonne Road Train

The Land Rover Discovery has demonstrated its market leading towing capability by taking on a 110 tonne ‘road train’ convoy in the Australian Outback. The Di...

bit.ly

 

[TexasTJ]

I can't wait for those lease returns. I CANNOT WAIT. The first editions are almost perfectly optioned provided I can find one with the locker checked. I just wish they chose a higher end audio system. I'll deal.

and ditch the 20" for some of those sexy white wheels!

 

[mpinco]

People, the work profile is 4WD trails, moving 10K lbs over long 2 lane high altitude (8K to 12K ft) mountain grades / passes efficiently and at pace and a reasonable price point. Sorry but a 2.0L doesn't fit the work profile, period. Neither does a Ram 3500 diesel as it too big for trail work.

I also suspect that every one of you will upgrade the factory tires to larger size, changing the overall ratio to even less ideal for small displacement / 2.0L engines.

My comment was not about the Defender. It was about 2.0L and my work profile. The MHEV alternative is too complex and expensive. Again, maybe the global depression will help LR fix that issue.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Your Disco didn't have a 300hp turbocharged engine. It had a 190hp NA motor and half the gears of the new defender.

I cannot believe that somebody is trying to tell me that their eyeballed data is better than a freakin-SAE test. Seriously man. Why even trust power ratings? You know those are also SAE right?

I almost started to explain the mathematics behind vehicle dynamics to determine tow ratings for the US vs europe, but it doesn't matter. This guy knows better than any of the engineers. He's got data in his pants!

I can understand mpinco’s point. My 2014 Cherokee was rated to tow 5,000 lbs. we towed a tent trailer with a loaded weight of approx 3,500 lbs. We towed with it one summer. While it was rated to tow that weight, the vehicle really struggled with it.

We traded for a truck with a 10,900 lbs rating, have since bought a 23’ ft 3,500 lbs hardwall. I think loaded about 5,000 lbs. I personally wouldn’t want to tow a bigger trailer with this truck even though the specs say it can.

 

[mpinco]

Specs are one thing, common sense is another.

Forgot to note that while a vehicle may be rated to tow 8K lbs you definitely don't want to exceed the common sense ratio between tow vehicle weight and trailer weight. Derating 8K by 20% brings you down to 6400 lbs. I would derate that even further for mountainous country. Rule of thumb the trailer should never exceed the tow vehicle weight.

 

[Victory_Overland]

by the way that’s not a deal breaker to say it’s bad or anything, it’s just not made for towing.
but one thing I know for sure, my Tacoma would love to tow it stuck new defender regardless of defenders fat ass weight ??

We should do tug a war see how lies more, Toyota of Land Rover.

Agreed on the design for towing and................

I'll take that bet anytime you want.....I already have three Tacos and a JK; snatched two Tacos and the JK out with my bone stock LR3 in the Hawaii mud after I parked next to them and then drove circles around them to see if they were okay; the third Taco in Imperial Dunes after the 17" KM2 mod. It sucked getting out and hooking up the snatch rope and getting my feet muddy but hey, it's what good people do when others in need. Jumped back in, drove circles around them to check the ground for the a good and safe spot and then hooked them up for a snatch. Now I have actual traction tires with the KM2 so anytime you want to play "bigger d!ck" games I'd be happy to put my LR3 up; I'll even let you hold the camera so you can't claim fake news. After I twist up your frame I'll be happy to tow it to the nearest shop so you can get it sorted out.

Power to weight Amigo; your math is so far off its unbelievable if you think that baby Taco is going to out pull my Landy. And again, you are making assessments off something you have not seen pull or been in it to tow (new Defender). But, I'll take one or ten for the team so we don't need manufacturer numbers to settle the bet; $1 and you get to pick the cameraman or woman for all of us to see.

I could put my Landy in PARK and your Taco wouldn't pull it....thing is like a boat anchor for the USS Missouri. Oh and empty weight too, no trying to put weight in the back to compensate for your lack of traction......not for the first 2 out of 3 that is and then I'll let you try and level the field through compensation and witch-craftery!

All seriousness, you just made yourself sound like the "Professor" comment you just projected on others........but hey, keep digging holes!

 

[Victory_Overland]

Specs are one thing, common sense is another.

Forgot to note that while a vehicle may be rated to tow 8K lbs you definitely don't want to exceed the common sense ratio between tow vehicle weight and trailer weight. Derating 8K by 20% brings you down to 6400 lbs. I would derate that even further for mountainous country. Rule of thumb the trailer should never exceed the tow vehicle weight.

Can't and won't deviate from that; I had a trailer brake controller failure with my 26' behind the Excursion once and it was downright scary slowing it down. Don't blame you one bit for that thought process.

 

[mpinco]

My unibody on full frame LR4 is as close to a tank as I want to get.

 

[Victory_Overland]

@REDROVER Meanwhile in the archives of "******** that actually happened".

Notice the Raptor loads up the rope and the torque converter in the beginning and on "GO" it doesn't even matter. And then you see the Rangie apply the brakes at the end of the first pull and is off the brakes and the throttle when the Raptor decides to stomp on it and slowly drags the Range back and at nowhere near the same pace as the first and only actual legit start. Raptor is a few thousand pounds heavier and 2 x the ponies and torque as a Taco but might be close.

Found these two sites called Google and YouTube; absolutely amazing place to do some fact checking, research, and well let's be honest, entertainment during these hard time. Get your popcorn, the internet is full of crazy debunking things.

Rangie vs. Raptor

Wait, is this an UNLOCKED D110 Dinosaur dragging a Prado; maybe a Protuner Nahhhhhh, can't be cuz that D110 makes like just a couple hundred ponies less than the Yota and half the ponies.

D110 vs. Prado

And when you really get tired.........

LC vs. D130

I did a search for any Toyota Tacoma Official testing videos and release promotional videos and got a big fat goose-egg (0)! Jeep has a ton of official videos and so does JLR on the Defender AND every other vehicle release but I have not seen one Tacoma official Toyota towing test video or evidence of attempt and the same goes for Jeep. That guy in the Disco video actually had a title related to towing and JLR pays him for it; no wonder they actually have towing tests they release to the world. Almost like what full-size truck towing videos look like........like they actually took it into consideration as a selling point for some of their buyers.

Hmmmmmmmm, COVID has me reaching the end of the internet these days making it so easy to help fill in those holes you keep digging.

All in good fun my friend, all in good fun!

 

[REDROVER]

Haha I hope you know that I was joking about Tacoma pulling Land Rover, my Tacoma is gutless POS, I am serious,

It was struggling to tow land cruiser, I had to be on second or 3rd gear at all times.

This is why I don’t believe in ratings or fake tow capacity numbers.
In a real world things are totally different.

Moving the trailer weight and actually safely towing it are absolutely not the same
.but who cares anyway, 99% of defenders will not be used for towing the weight supposedly it can tow.

 

[Victory_Overland]

I did drive a 2015 Taco in the dunes and I'll be honest, the traction control is quite nice and I'm honestly not sure how the hell they got it stuck cuz I have to actually force the one I drove into the frame rails so we could do sand recovery drills with it.

Joking or not, all in good fun. I'm still considering a Diesel Gladiator if it makes to market at a decent price. I've also considered buying a Taco for for daily driving cuz they double my LR3 mileage and it would be nice to have a truck in the house again.

I really can't justify the $12k upcharge on the Defender so it'll be a 4 banger if I buy new and a wait if I wait for a lease turn over with a. 6 in it. I just need more evidence of operations on the 4 banger and just can't seem to find any legit info anywhere to cover all the basis.

 

[naks]

 

[nickw]

5K lbs for truck, 5K lbs for a trailer. Pretty standard total load, even a little light.

2.0L is too small.

Why do you keep saying this? Again - the exact same thing was said about the 2.7 EB in the F150 which has turned out to be more capable than V8's of just a few years back. Not only is it more capable, its just as reliable, can handle more power when it comes to modifications and gets much better fuel economy.

Do you know something the rest of us dont?

 

[nickw]

My Disco I with a 4.0 small block Buick is rated to tow ...... 7700 lbs. ...... LOL

It worked, slowly, for a small mid-80s popup of roughly 1500 lbs. I was ALWAYS downshifting.

My seat of the pants data over-rules any manicured ski slope report.

The new 2.0 has 50% more peak power and a much broader power curve than the old 4.0....apples and tangerines