 | Home > General & Technical (L663) > Driven: New Defender - On & Off Road. Is it a Pretender? |
 
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| Naks Member Since: 27 Jan 2009 Location: Stellenbosch, ZA Posts: 2591   
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chaps, we finally took a New Defender out this past weekend.
The driver is a novice on modern LRs, as you will see, and we were coaching him on which modes, gears, to use, etc. It could be just me, but somehow I don't think the TR on this model is as good as the one on my RRS... if you look at what happens in the video from around 6:00 onwards, and compare that to how my RRS handled that same section two months ago (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvqnliHlIKc). Ok, we have to allow for the massive rains we've had in the region, and driver skills but still, I thought the Defender with 18" BFG ATs (deflated to 2.0 bar IIRC) would walk this obstacle... -- 2010 Defender Puma 90 + BAS remap + Alive IC + Slickshift + Ashcroft ATB rear 2015 Range Rover Sport V8 Supercharged 
Defender Puma Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zZ1en9 Discovery 4 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zXrtKO Range Rover/Sport L320/L322/L494 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zc58JQ |
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25th Aug 2020 1:17pm |
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018  
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That's cracking scenery :
Click image to enlarge and I see the issue of no space for a dog has been solved: Click image to enlarge
Nope ~ every video so far has shown the system really needs to be wound up before it kicks in. Whether this can be adjusted via a software update, or there's a logic to it remains to be seen. It does look brutish and you could see the driver playing by the normal rules giving up before it even got started. |
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25th Aug 2020 1:44pm |
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| Naks Member Since: 27 Jan 2009 Location: Stellenbosch, ZA Posts: 2591
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^ yeah, so not just me then.
Maybe they made the traction control a bit less 'harsh' on this model? Not sure why though, and we didn't get a chance to use the customised TR settings to try and get the TC to be more aggressive. the slight ground clearance issue can probably be solved by fitting 20" ATs? -- 2010 Defender Puma 90 + BAS remap + Alive IC + Slickshift + Ashcroft ATB rear 2015 Range Rover Sport V8 Supercharged
Defender Puma Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zZ1en9 Discovery 4 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zXrtKO Range Rover/Sport L320/L322/L494 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zc58JQ |
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25th Aug 2020 2:07pm |
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018
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Click image to enlarge Two things on that: I thought if the vehicle sensed it was getting hung up then it would go into an extended ride height mode & on the roll backs, again I thought the system was equipped with a "hill hold" function? |
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25th Aug 2020 2:19pm |
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| Chicken Drumstick Member Since: 17 Aug 2020 Location: Near MK Posts: 543
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If it is like past models. It can detect when beached and go into a super extended mode. But I'm not 100% sure on all of the conditions for this to activate. It may need to be beached for 'x' time, or detect 'y' wheelslip while having less pressure on the springs or something.
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25th Aug 2020 2:23pm |
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| lohr500 Member Since: 14 Sep 2014 Location: Skipton Posts: 1285 
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Great video Naks and thanks for posting.
Good to see the plucky Series I (is it an 86 or an 88?) showing the younger siblings how to do it. Considering it looks to be on old style Avon Traction Mileage type tyres it did well. Shame it got stuck at the climb at 20:30. Perhaps a little more speed might just of got it over the hump, but it could also have done some damage. Still overall very impressive for what looked like a stock suspension and tyre set up. |
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25th Aug 2020 2:24pm |
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| Naks Member Since: 27 Jan 2009 Location: Stellenbosch, ZA Posts: 2591
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AFAIK, it does have the ability to go into Extended mode, but the whole vehicle was not beached - it was only scraping slightly (on the topsoil/gravel) on the driver's side. Apparently you can manually force Extended mode, but we didn't know it at the time. As for the Hill hold, I'm not sure this model has it if it was an option? I know on my RRS there is no such feature, so I drive with left-foot braking almost all the time, not to mention having to modulate the enormous power of the 5L SCV8. I tried to teach the driver how to do it, but it's not an easy trick to learn if you're over 60 and been driving Defenders your whole life  --
2010 Defender Puma 90 + BAS remap + Alive IC + Slickshift + Ashcroft ATB rear 2015 Range Rover Sport V8 Supercharged
Defender Puma Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zZ1en9 Discovery 4 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zXrtKO Range Rover/Sport L320/L322/L494 Workshop Manual: https://bit.ly/2zc58JQ |
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25th Aug 2020 2:34pm |
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| Tim in Scotland Member Since: 23 May 2007 Location: The Land that time forgot Posts: 3750 
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Great video Naks, this is the first LR product I’ve owned I think where it tells you how to manually put the car into super-extended off-road height, it’s the same way as all the other air suspended cars they make, just that it’s in print now! But would 20mm approx have helped? Also 1st extended height cannot be manually selected but it can be tricked into going into it same as D3/D4/D5/All RRS’s and all L332/L405
One problem I do have at off-road height is that it is very high and it isn’t easy to judge what the front wheels are doing. I have the invisible bonnet option on mine and really while it is high definition I would rather be looking out of the windows than at a screen to see what my wheels are doing. Click image to enlarge I’m also not sure about the TR on mine and as mine one is a First Edition it comes with the ability to re-configure it, but just getting into the 1st TR screen via the heating controls is far too complicated compared to having the rotary selector system of the other cars with TR. I gave up using it last time I was off road because it doesn’t stay in TR menu more than about 30 secs before reverting to heater controls so I’ve been doing it myself just with low Ratio and HDC/TC/DSC as needed. PS those of us over 60 resent that  Pangea Green D250 90 HSE with Air Suspension, Off-road Pack, Towing Pack, Black Contrast roof , rear recovery eyes, Front bash plate, Classic flaps all round, extended wheel arch kit and a few bits from PowerfulUK Expel Clear Gloss PPF to come
2020 D240 1st Edition in Pangea Green with Acorn interior. Now gone - old faithful, no mechanical issues whatsoever ever but the leaks and rattles all over the place won’t be missed! |
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25th Aug 2020 4:35pm |
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| J77 Member Since: 04 Nov 2019 Location: Fife Posts: 3247 
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I’m not a fan of the 360 camera stuff, I tried it on my demo and as you say you spend a lot of the time looking at the screen. Not something I’d particularly pay for as it will be optional for the next model year. At least the new Kia Sorento has the rear view camera linked to the digital dash.
The car is very high, I jumped out to take a photo and couldn’t get back in, I had to put it in access height to try and climb back in 
This was the offending photo Click image to enlarge |
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25th Aug 2020 7:24pm |
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| Tim in Scotland Member Since: 23 May 2007 Location: The Land that time forgot Posts: 3750
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Lovely colour, that car
Were these the Wrangler Adventurer AT’s on that car J? Did it have the off-road pack? 360 cam system is great for tight parking and I haven’t kerbed a wheel yet on the low granite block wall on my drive because I can see how far off it I am if I use the offset picture mode that comes with 360 cams Pangea Green D250 90 HSE with Air Suspension, Off-road Pack, Towing Pack, Black Contrast roof , rear recovery eyes, Front bash plate, Classic flaps all round, extended wheel arch kit and a few bits from PowerfulUK Expel Clear Gloss PPF to come 2020 D240 1st Edition in Pangea Green with Acorn interior. Now gone - old faithful, no mechanical issues whatsoever ever but the leaks and rattles all over the place won’t be missed! |
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25th Aug 2020 8:25pm |
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| J77 Member Since: 04 Nov 2019 Location: Fife Posts: 3247
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Yeah those are the Goodyear ATs, it had the off road pack.
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25th Aug 2020 9:05pm |
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| Retroanaconda Member Since: 04 Jan 2012 Location: Scotland Posts: 2552
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So is that what comes as the ‘off road tyres’ option?
I’ve just placed an order for a base spec and the only things I’ve added are the towbar, off road tyres, centre console and the colour. Sadly the dealer didn’t have any such cars in stock, the one I drove was a first edition. |
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25th Aug 2020 9:17pm |
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| J77 Member Since: 04 Nov 2019 Location: Fife Posts: 3247
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I believe that’s the tyres you’ll get.
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25th Aug 2020 9:31pm |
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| Tim in Scotland Member Since: 23 May 2007 Location: The Land that time forgot Posts: 3750
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Has the factory started building the base models yet? Pangea Green D250 90 HSE with Air Suspension, Off-road Pack, Towing Pack, Black Contrast roof , rear recovery eyes, Front bash plate, Classic flaps all round, extended wheel arch kit and a few bits from PowerfulUK Expel Clear Gloss PPF to come
2020 D240 1st Edition in Pangea Green with Acorn interior. Now gone - old faithful, no mechanical issues whatsoever ever but the leaks and rattles all over the place won’t be missed! |
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25th Aug 2020 10:21pm |
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