spiceychilli57 Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Was guest at a landrover experience day today, kindly offered by the NFU. Apparantly landrover are halting production of the defender in 2013 :o does anybody know anything about this? the guy said they are lookintg to use the disco/range chassis on the new vehicle to replace the defender range in 2013 would it be possible to offer two different wheel base lengths using that chassis? Interesting prospect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RED BEARD Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 if i could afford a new defender i still wouldn't buy one,instead i'd buy a early 90/110 and have it totally rebuilt on a galv chasis,with a galv bulkhead,R380 box,300tdi (or 2.8tdi power stroke) engine,have everthing rebuilt.i think it would still workout cheaper and better than a brand new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canthitathing Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 if i could afford a new defender i still wouldn't buy one,instead i'd buy a early 90/110 and have it totally rebuilt on a galv chasis,with a galv bulkhead,R380 box,300tdi (or 2.8tdi power stroke) engine,have everthing rebuilt.i think it would still workout cheaper and better than a brand new one. What he said :good: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George1990 Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Yup old ones are better I think. It will be a great shame if they do stop the Defender production, as it is the last of the models with some original design features that haven't changed since series IIs. And of course they are still hand-made to a degree, so it really is just a matter of penny pinching rather than trying to 'move on' which is completely unnecessary, as it's still the best! By a long way too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Well the current defender was built on a revised RR chassis coils all round and in 90" and 110" (also 127/130") wheelbase. I thought Defender production would have stopped much sooner now the MOD contract has gone? With all the URR the military have fleets of vehicles they can't afford already delivered. No Doubt a run of overpriced limited editions to appear. LR have been left way behind by Nissan, Mitsi, Toyota etc pickups. I dont see that making a pick up based on disco chassis would be that hard. However ut now being part of Jag/LR they may not bother with the commercial market any more and stick to luxury cars only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 No Doubt a run of overpriced limited editions to appear. LR have been left way behind by Nissan, Mitsi, Toyota etc pickups. You say that, but when I look around at the vehicles our farmers drive more than 9 out of 10 drive Defenders! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 I agree but farmers don't account for enough sales defender production has been propped up by MOD contracts for 20 years+ ( hence the name) now that's gone I can't see them competing on the same platform VW have just launched a pick up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProteuS Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Additionally to being a pretty uneconomic model in terms of sales. The writing has been on the cards for a while in terms of safety, because of it's basic construction it's proved difficult to pass more and more stringent eu safety regs. airbags / crumple zones / pedestrian friendly shapes etc. I had thought the one lifeline for the defender would be from Indian owners TATA to use it to make a cheap utilitarian 4x4 for their home markets, where emissions and other regulation isn't so much of an issue. As has been said many times before though, the defender is now outclassed as a utility vehicle in just about every area by the Japanese contenders. Still my 300tdi 90, is fun off road and handy as a small workhorse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick miller Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 What Proteus said. It has more to do with stringent safety requirements and the fact that there is no way to build these into the Defender design as it is. It's a shame because this icon will be put to bed once and for all. However, there is no way I would trade my 30tdi over a TD5, TDCi or any of the other more recent 'fenders, no comparison in my book. The 300tdi is the last Defender on which you can work yourself. Any newer model and you may as well buy a rice burner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbo30 Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Left landrover dealer 2 years ago. Defenders will no longer meet the requirements of crash safety after 2012. I thoroughly agree that the new ones are cack! Ive got a j reg 200tdi that i wouldnt swap or be without. The replacemt will no doubt be radical and i did see mock ups at gaydon which resembled the QT wildcat. The wildcat would be the first car i purchased if the numbers come up!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mr Pieman Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Love my Defender. The new ones are quicker, but the front facing rear seats in the new ones effectively reduce it from 6 seated to 4 seater. It appears the seat direction change was pushed to comply with EU regs. Odd really, as I have a Mazda MX5 that has no ncap rating but it never stopped it becoming the most manufactured 2seat sports car ever. For me, the change of seat direction killed the 90 back in 2006/7. If they stop making them, just make sure you take good care of yours, if you have one :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tam Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Additionally to being a pretty uneconomic model in terms of sales. The writing has been on the cards for a while in terms of safety, because of it's basic construction it's proved difficult to pass more and more stringent eu safety regs. airbags / crumple zones / pedestrian friendly shapes etc. I had thought the one lifeline for the defender would be from Indian owners TATA to use it to make a cheap utilitarian 4x4 for their home markets, where emissions and other regulation isn't so much of an issue. As has been said many times before though, the defender is now outclassed as a utility vehicle in just about every area by the Japanese contenders. Still my 300tdi 90, is fun off road and handy as a small workhorse. We went on a Jeep safari in the mountains off Benidorm last year & it looked like a yellow defender but with even poorer build quality (if that's possible) :look: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiceychilli57 Posted March 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 If they stop making them, just make sure you take good care of yours, if you have one :-) If they stop making them does that mean the ones around now are going to go up in value? i know they hold their value well anyway. And the other thing was what will the utility people do? the elctric board have cherry pickers on the back of them so they can go up tracks with them. What other vehicle in production has that kind of versitility coupled with off road capability that is widely available and useable on the road? unimog? :blink: cant really see a nissan pickup with a cherry picker on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDAV Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Tam that would be a Santana and as for utility companies 4x4 transit or unimog.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProteuS Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 We went on a Jeep safari in the mountains off Benidorm last year & it looked like a yellow defender but with even poorer build quality (if that's possible) :look: Are you thinking of the santana ps-10? Licenced from the series land rovers, and still on leaf springs I believe ? Iveco bought them out and resold it for a while as the Iveco mastif. But I think they've recently closed the factory completely. If they stop making them does that mean the ones around now are going to go up in value? i know they hold their value well anyway. And the other thing was what will the utility people do? the elctric board have cherry pickers on the back of them so they can go up tracks with them. What other vehicle in production has that kind of versitility coupled with off road capability that is widely available and useable on the road? unimog? :blink: cant really see a nissan pickup with a cherry picker on it Cab chassis landcruiser 70? ( http://www.toyota.com.au/landcruiser-70-series/specifications/cab-chassis-workmate ) Still being made, tremendously reliable, excellent off road, parts available at toyota dealers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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