New Defender Rage/Hate Thread

[T-Willy]

To be fair it could be worse. View attachment 600122

Yes, at least Land Rover did not deliver a new Blazer.

The new Blazer may be the most boring vehicle in the history of the auto industry. It is the stylistic mean of a crossover segment that is already an echo chamber of self imitation. It is severely uninteresting. It's so boring that I actually looked up its design team; I was morbidly curious to see the faces of the human beings responsible for such a thing.

When the ZR2 Colorado was released, I held some hope that Chevy might build a wagon platform atop it. That hope is dashed. The new Tahoe Z71 somewhat interests me. But they missed an opportunity to do something interesting in the mid-size wagon segment with Blazer.

 

[Paddler Ed]

When the ZR2 Colorado was released, I held some hope that Chevy might build a wagon platform atop it. That hope is dashed. The new Tahoe Z71 somewhat interests me. But they missed an opportunity to do something interesting in the mid-size wagon segment with Blazer.

It would have been quite easy for them to have done so, as the ZR2 Colorado is related to the Aussie and NZ Market Colorado.... which does have a wagon spin off (Colorado 7/Trailblazer) (clicky here: https://www.holden.com.au/cars/trailblazer#Gallery)


BUT

GM have decided to kill Holden off, so that idea isn't going to work, and they've fallen out of bed with Isuzu who shared the platform development of the Colorado and Colorado7/Trailblazer with the D-Max and MUX respectively (https://www.isuzuute.com.au/d-max/overview and https://www.isuzuute.com.au/mu-x/overview)

 

[TexasTJ]

This is a good one for Edmonds.

 

[mpinco]

Edmunds was a good overview. Nice to see them mention the International Scout. At least in Colorado Scouts were everywhere in the 70's and 80's.

Yes, the new Bronco highlighted the disconnect at Land Rover with its past and likely nearly killed the new Luxury Defender.

 

[JeepColorado]

This is a good one for Edmonds.

That was a really good overview! The Bronco has made it clear where LR went wrong.

 

[Carson G]

I don't speak Spanish but this video has some great off-road comparisons of the G-Wagon and the Defender- time and again, lockers win. 19:41 shows the G-Wagon pull the Defender up a hill and then the Defender tries the same

If the Defender had the factory locker it would make a big difference.

 

[JeepColorado]

If the Defender had the factory locker it would make a big difference.

I agree...it's definitely held back by that. It'll be good to see some models come out with it and perhaps a better example of someone using the configurable settings to have a better comparison. In the mean time though it really makes it clear the benefits of being fully locked vs traction control.

 

[Blaise]

I don't speak Spanish but this video has some great off-road comparisons of the G-Wagon and the Defender- time and again, lockers win. 19:41 shows the G-Wagon pull the Defender up a hill and then the Defender tries the same

...win?

Both cars cleared the obstacles. The Defender did so even without the optional rear locker.

 

[mpinco]

One aspect that is glaringly obvious is the required wheel spin of electronic traction control systems and the resultant trail damage vs lockers. So much for "Tread Lightly" .......

 

[JeepColorado]

...win?

Both cars cleared the obstacles. The Defender did so even without the optional rear locker.

Except the LR did so in a less elegant and composed manner to use some of their own language from their marketing efforts.

- It was more unstable as the vehicle lurched forward, then stopped momentum
- All of that herky-jerky action isn't good for equipment lashed inside or out or the passengers for that matter
- It's also hard on parts and makes it more likely that you will over or under-power the vehicle, thereby either bashing into what's in front or stopping momentum and having to build it up again.

.....meanwhile- the G just calmly cruised on. Not to mention the G got the Landy up the hill..not so much with the Defender. Aren't there a lot of Defender Defenders on here that rave about it's towing ability.?.didn't look great when you are actually towing something off-road with any sort of obstacle.

 

[Blaise]

So then spend the $1k on the rear locker? Or the extra $50k on a G-wagon? Or endure the 'herky-jerk' action the rare times you need it to clear an obstacle.

Here we go with more internet-educated engineers lollllllllllllll

 

[mpinco]

I've got basically the same set-up as the new Defender with lockers, a HD LR4. The system depends on wheel spin, period. It's true of ALL electronic traction control systems. They are reverse ABS, a low cost way of implementing more traction over standard open diff but less than lockers. Everyone knows that.

 

[ChasingOurTrunks]

@mpinco you might know if the systems are similar, but of course I’d be open to answers from anyone — Does the new defender, properly equipped, allow me to manually lock either the front or rear diffs if I want to? I know it’s all electronically controlled, but can I hit a button on my HUD/control panel/whatever and keep my diffs locked, or is this a decision that is always up to the algorithms?

My current rig also relies on wheel slip before a locker engages (GMC with a G80 autolocker, so a mechanical system and not an electric one). It works well, especially when I underestimate how much traction I will have and thus am caught a bit off guard, but I would prefer to manually lock diffs from time to time.

 

[JeepColorado]

So then spend the $1k on the rear locker? Or the extra $50k on a G-wagon? Or endure the 'herky-jerk' action the rare times you need it to clear an obstacle.

Here we go with more internet-educated engineers lollllllllllllll

I'm making an observation based on clear evidence from the video- do you go through life thinking- "Hey, I don't have a degree in Agriculture, so I can't really say whether water helps grass grow"

 

[Carson G]

@mpinco you might know if the systems are similar, but of course I’d be open to answers from anyone — Does the new defender, properly equipped, allow me to manually lock either the front or rear diffs if I want to? I know it’s all electronically controlled, but can I hit a button on my HUD/control panel/whatever and keep my diffs locked, or is this a decision that is always up to the algorithms?

My current rig also relies on wheel slip before a locker engages (GMC with a G80 autolocker, so a mechanical system and not an electric one). It works well, especially when I underestimate how much traction I will have and thus am caught a bit off guard, but I would prefer to manually lock diffs from time to time.

Yes you can “manually” lock the center and rear diff if equipped.