Might be the only off-roader with more questionable dependability than a Land Rover. But at least it's cheaper, though you get what you pay for from the usual FCA parts bin.

 

Do you remember the Camel Trophy events?

 

Wow, what a unique, innovative vehicle! LOVE IT.

 

^^^^^ Agreed.....glad it's back. IMO, they should not have withdrawn it from the American market when they did. One thing I like on it is a REAL spare tire and wheel...none of that temporary/donut/Run-Flat crap or inflate-bottles.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as I remember it, you've said before you don't like it when Alex drones on for half a hour............that's just what Doug did here.

If you go back far enough, you can thank the original World War II American Bantam/******/Kaiser Jeep (also built by Ford, during the war, under license) for the first Land Rover....technically, the first Land Rover Defender. The British were so impressed with the Jeep, its capabilities, and its contributions to the war effort, that they decided to do their own version. So, they took the basic Jeep chassis, added a restyled closed-body out of sheet-metal, substituted a British Rover power plant under the hood, added a few amenities inside, and Presto, the first Land Rover, in 1948. It was designed specifically for primitive Third-World jungle/desert/mountain conditions, and had a structure that could be disassembled and re-assembled rather quickly to take it across deep rivers, and other barriers that it could not actually drive or be ferried across.

 

I could care less about the high end $100K RRs with long names, but this Defender, with the steel wheels, interest me the most. And why Toyota should bring back poverty spec Land Cruisers.

 

those don't look like steelies... look like alloy wheels to me.

 

Bit's correct.....those are real alloy wheels, not stamped-steel.


....you mean like the Land Cruiser Prado sold overseas?

 

fair point, but Doug does inject humor and personality, unlike Alex's dry monotone. And another thing, Doug knows when to pause for effect. Alex crams millions of words into his reviews.

This one is extra long also i believe because doug is a huge fan of the brand/model.

Interesting, thanks.

Well i can say it's come a long way! What i love about this defender is the no-nonsense but highly functional interior... i've never really cared about slathering everything with wood and leather (although better than just hard plastic, especially the awful shiny kind), and i like how this defender looks like it's very durable. I like the shapes/contours/layout inside too.

 

The offroading ability is tremendous, and amazing once you realize it's not body on frame and has an independent rear suspension. It's so far removed from the Land Cruiser/LX that I wouldn't even compare them anymore.

 

Motorola, the ride quality over REALLY rutted off road conditions shown in the video you posted there, is absolutely incredible.

 

OK, the one that Daddy Dougy filmed was not on steel wheels, but they are standard on the base model...yeah, LCPs overseas are very "non-luxurious"

 

LCP? And yeah it still looks good, even with steelies.

 

Dealers are getting these now, someone please report back to this Forum after a test drive. Dealer close to me in Denver has 2 Available now..

 

Seems like the perfect zombie apocalypse vehicle...

 

I'd take the Defender over a Jeep any day. Everyone's favorite YouTube car enthusiast agrees, a Jeep during the Apocalypse would not be good.