Shift of Preference: Choosing the New Defender Over a Jeep

Interview with the owner of the new Defender

At the Land Rover Defender gathering, which attracts many unique vehicles, we spoke to one of the owners of the new Defender 110 about his car. Owner Mr. “Oaty” used to drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee for about 10 years, so why did he decide to switch?

“It’s cooler than it looks in the picture!”

At the Defender Collection Owners Meeting held on 20 April 2024 at a special venue in Saitama Prefecture, around 50 new and old Land Rover Defenders gathered. Among these, we were interested in the new Defender 110, which has a customized suspension.

Mr. “Oaty” used to drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee for 10 years and switched to this Defender 110 in 2022.

“I saw on the online news that the Defender was getting a new model, and when I saw the pictures, it didn’t make a flash in my mind either. But then I had a chance to see it in person, and I thought, “It’s even cooler than it looks in the pictures!” And that’s when I started thinking about switching.

This is how he became the owner of the new Defender 110. At present, he is gradually enjoying customizing the car by, for example, changing to 22-inch external wheels. In addition, he was concerned that the silver silencer stood out when viewed from behind, so he blacked out the muffler body and fitted an external muffler cutter. This has given the rear view a much tighter look.

Opportunity to learn more about the history of the Defender

We asked them about their reasons for attending this event.

“The new Defender doesn’t have many events yet. I found out about this event through social networking and it was a gathering of both old and new Defenders, so I decided to attend. I didn’t know much about it before, but when I attended this event and compared the old and new models up close, I realized that many details of the new Defender have their roots in the old Defender. I knew about the stripes on the bonnet and the skylights, but in fact, the silhouette of the body when viewed from behind and the placement of the tail lamps are also very similar.”

For Mr. “Oaty”, who had not previously known much about the old Defender, the event was a good opportunity to learn more about the Defender’s history.