TFL defender?

XJLI

Adventurer
It's old news, Bronco and Maverick and getting all the internet attention.

Doug DeMuro did an update on his a couple months ago. 20k miles, only issue was the sunroof and a random self healing CEL IIRC.
 

TexasTJ

Climbing Nerd
This didn’t get the one they wanted and by the time Land Rover got them a vehicle they had already moved on. Not to mention they seemed to be snake Bit with there Defender.
 

nwoods

Expedition Leader
I watched one episode where they had "their" defender with stock tires and it got TWO flat tires on really basic trail. The more I watch them the less impressed I am.
 

Toyaddict

Active member
I watched one episode where they had "their" defender with stock tires and it got TWO flat tires on really basic trail. The more I watch them the less impressed I am.

It is "their" defender though, unless Roman has outright lied about purchasing it. Does it get any more real world than hitting the trails with the oe tires? Not saying they couldn't have avoided popping them but immediately swapping to meaty a/t or m/t tires kind of messes up the reviewing process IMO anyway.
 

nwoods

Expedition Leader
It is "their" defender though, unless Roman has outright lied about purchasing it. Does it get any more real world than hitting the trails with the oe tires? Not saying they couldn't have avoided popping them but immediately swapping to meaty a/t or m/t tires kind of messes up the reviewing process IMO anyway.
I used the quotes because it was their second or third Defender based on their troubled history at the onset of their ownership experience. I am not suggesting they didn't buy it.

I disagree about the tires. Land Rover woefully underequips their vehicles with respect to tires, and if you are planning on actually using one off road, you absolutely should put a proper set of tires on the vehicle. To not do so is irresponsible. In general I think their driving leaves a lot to be desired, and they make everything way way WAY over dramatic. I forget which video it was, (it was a few years ago) but they were describing this particular obstacle as this gnarly thing that only lifted and locked Jeeps on 37's should attempt, and some dude in a Syncro Vanagon on bald tires cruised up it in the background without even slowing down. LOL.
 

Toyaddict

Active member
I used the quotes because it was their second or third Defender based on their troubled history at the onset of their ownership experience. I am not suggesting they didn't buy it.

I disagree about the tires. Land Rover woefully underequips their vehicles with respect to tires, and if you are planning on actually using one off road, you absolutely should put a proper set of tires on the vehicle. To not do so is irresponsible. In general I think their driving leaves a lot to be desired, and they make everything way way WAY over dramatic. I forget which video it was, (it was a few years ago) but they were describing this particular obstacle as this gnarly thing that only lifted and locked Jeeps on 37's should attempt, and some dude in a Syncro Vanagon on bald tires cruised up it in the background without even slowing down. LOL.

I could do without most of the off-road stuff honestly. I like the towing reviews mainly, far less cringe.
 

plainjaneFJC

Deplorable
This didn’t get the one they wanted and by the time Land Rover got them a vehicle they had already moved on. Not to mention they seemed to be snake Bit with there Defender.
I wonder if LR bought it back for 100% to get rid of the negative publicity. Like TFL or not they seem to rate every vehicle fair, currently they are showing the blown shock on the bronco.
 

A.J.M

Explorer
It’s likely old news now.

the cars have been out a while and bar the minority still saying “It’S nOt A rEaL dEfEnDeR”

the overwhelming majority of people who have one, love it and are extremely pleased with its abilities.

I would agree on tyres but then with new WLTP regs, fitting more aggressive tyres would have to be tested and Costed etc so JLR may have taken the decision to not.

TFL do like to over egg stuff and can deliberately make an ******** of things on purpose to get clicks and views.

look at the wording on some of their videos.
“You’ll never guess what broke”
“We were scammed”
Etc..
 

plainjaneFJC

Deplorable
It’s likely old news now.

the cars have been out a while and bar the minority still saying “It’S nOt A rEaL dEfEnDeR”

the overwhelming majority of people who have one, love it and are extremely pleased with its abilities.

I would agree on tyres but then with new WLTP regs, fitting more aggressive tyres would have to be tested and Costed etc so JLR may have taken the decision to not.

TFL do like to over egg stuff and can deliberately make an ******** of things on purpose to get clicks and views.

look at the wording on some of their videos.
“You’ll never guess what broke”
“We were scammed”
Etc..
I guess we disagree- they are not very clickbaitish compared to most YouTubers- they show it how it really is-good or bad imo.
 

Silmarillion

Observer
I emailed Tommy on the 10th asking if they still had it or sold it. He replied really quickly! Too bad it didn't fair better.

"
Yup sold it a little while ago.

Tommy Mica
TFLcar.com"
 

greynolds

Observer
That video TFL made about the bad shock on the Bronco really rubbed me the wrong way both in terms of click bait and in how long it took Tommy to find the source of the leak. They had a leak on the floor under where the Bronco was parked. So the OBVIOUS move is to look above where the puddle is on the floor. Instead, he took a tour of the entire underside of the Bronco front to back and side to side which quite frankly made him look like an idiot - the source of the leak most likely isn't going to be at the passenger side rear of the vehicle when the puddle is at the driver side front of the vehicle. And a leaking shock just isn't a major failure. Sure, it's something that should be addressed, but it's not in the same realm as a major leak from the engine oil pan, the transmission, or one of the diffs.

Regarding the Defender, I would have preferred to see them swap the tires out with something off-road worthy if they were going to take it off-road, and the same could be said for nearly all of their off-road content. But I do think they were pretty fair in their comments on the Defender overall, especially when one considers the initial experience they had getting one they could keep running for more than a few days. Their criticisms of the somewhat clunky infotainment system are fair, but they did seem to really like the Defender quite a bit.

But ultimately, the Defender isn't the shiny new toy that's going to get them clicks & money on YouTube like the Bronco is, so it made sense for them to move on and make room for something else.
 

LR Max

Local Oaf
Its probably gone/traded.

Simply put, they make their money showing the latest/greatest cars. The defender had its moment but now its on to the next new flashy thing. Not the Defender's fault or TFL's fault. Just how that game goes. No one wants to see you driving the same car for a year, they want the newest whatever.

I think they got a truck with a brodozer package because it looks cool (guess it does).

As for rover, I wish they would stop installing junk Goodyear tires on their vehicles. The sidewalls are paper thin, they all cup, and are just terrible overall.
 

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