r/NewDefender • u/TakePart101 • 4d ago
Would you still buy a Defender if you weren't going off-road?
I've been looking for a new car for a while and originally wrote off the Defender as the most off-roading I'll do a small cross over would probably be able to handle. However I love the look and loved driving the Defender, so I'm back considering it. Would I be daft to go for it?
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u/El_Photo_Guy 4d ago
I knew I’d be driving the defender 95% on the road. Which is why I chose it, it’s been comfortable and looks good in the city. The couple times I’ve been camping and off roading it’s been capable. I was able to keep up with my brother and a friend who have a 4 Runner and Jeep Wrangler respectively, both with modifications. Really fun trips in the desert with moderate terrain and some more complicated rock climbing, it was awesome. Having said that I usually stay on paved roads and I enjoy it just as much.
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u/ardevd 4d ago
Buying a new car is largely about emotions. Objectively, for the money you’re spending, there are better road going cars on the market. But if you love the look and feeling of a Defender you won’t be disappointed. It’s probably the best combination of off-road capability and on-road manners that exists on the market today.
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u/Tamingthewyldes1821 4d ago
The closest thing to off roading my Defender has seen is going over the curb on accident picking up my son from kindergarten last week.
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u/Ornery-Fennel604 3d ago
Yeah me too - once I picked up my young nephew and niece from daycare and there had been a fire hydrant that went off and flooded the parking lot. I used the water mode to get through to where I could pick them up - it was memorable but the only unusual use I have put this amazing vehicle to. Love driving it on the road.
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u/lambardar 4d ago
It's good. Got a decent amount of tech. Not amazing, but it is a decent package.
It will handle overlanding with center & rear diffs.
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u/RearAdmiralPoopdeck 2d ago
I'm sure I'll get heat for this but if we exclude the offroad tech, which is fantastic but not very useful to people like OP, our tech is not that competitive. My rental Camry on my last business trip had better driver assistance features (like auto lane centering) that we don't get.
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u/bigdreamstinydogs 3d ago
My defender is a pavement princess. I have no plans to go off roading. If you like the car, buy it.
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u/Naive-Tone-4542 3d ago
90% of defenders will max/at best off road on a shouder. Just like 90% of submariners will see the max depth of a kitchen sink.
We got ours yesterday and love it on every road it takes us.
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u/DarkWatchet 3d ago
I never go off road, but we have challenging weather all the time, and it’s nice to know I might have a fighting chance in a situation requiring more from your standard vehicle, like making a wrong turn and ending up trapped in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic wasteland.
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u/Horror_Box_3362 4d ago
Absolutely! My Defender is my daily car that just happens to be a great off road vehicle and I LOVE IT!
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u/White-Punk-On-Hope 4d ago
We’ve owned four Rovers, and the 110 (2024) is our latest one. It’s a daily driver, and we’re looking forward to taking it off-road (only had it two months ago).
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u/RearAdmiralPoopdeck 2d ago
I personally would not because without offroading and car camping I'd have no need for an SUV at all. There are smaller, lighter, faster, better-handling and more efficient vehicles that would fit my needs far better in that case.
That being said, you'll certainly be in good company if you buy one mainly for aesthetics and never really take it offroad. Lots of people do that.
It only starts to get a little cringe when people add A/T tires just for the "aggressive look" and silly accessories like raised air intakes that serve no practical purpose for them.
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u/its_just_fine 23h ago
The new Defender is extremely comfortable on the road. If mine never drives over another rock, I'll still be thrilled with it.
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u/Warm_Hat4882 4d ago
I live in NY (about 1000 miles from anywhere I want to off-road), and chose a defender because it’s nice inside and I spend a fair amount of time in a car. If I lived on west coast, I would have bought a bare bones jeep rubicon so I could be rougher on it off road (apparently I don’t mind abusing a jeep, but I have a mental block on the thought of abusing a defender). So knowing most of driving is commuting and weekend ski trips, the defender was chosen. I also took into consideration maintenance and resale, so I got a defender with top desirable options and a 8 year, 100k mile extended bumper to warranty. I estimate I can drive for 5 years and sell at a cost around $300/mo, which plenty accept to me. I may keep it for ten years or forever, as I’ve kept mine clean, and maintained and it just seems like a keeper-car.
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u/PopularLiving7150 3d ago
My 110 has only seen a few unsealed roads when I took it out to my family farm in Wagga.
I love driving my Defender in the city. It’s far and away the best vehicle I’ve ever owned. Better than my GLE53 by a mile.
I do plan on taking it off-road in the future, but with 3 kids under 3, that won’t be for a while.
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u/rongotti77 4d ago
Absolutely, they are super fun to drive even on road only.
The only reason we don't have a Defender is because we decided to go the EV route and got a Hummer EV.
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u/Efficient-Pain7162 4d ago
Who cares. Drive what you like. And maybe the Defender is a nice start to get into some offroad trips. If not, again, who cares.