I think you have to consider that the Freelander 2 was not a cheap car when it was launched and a Defender was never cheap car. I paid over £20k for a County 90 in 1997. The question really is do LR want to compete in the king cab utility market ? They probably don't . JLR are alsp a luxury brand and may not want to mess about in the 20-30K bracket . Why bother with low cost vehicles when the best margins come from selling leather seats , electronics and other toys at huge mark ups ? 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

The old market sectors aren't where the money is - they're making far more from the luxury end and have lost interest in the old sectors. From an interview with McGovern:

Quote:

The Velar is another ‘lifestyle’-focused launch. Why haven’t you shown a new Defender yet?

“You can’t run an industrial powerhouse for the traditionalist. We need to establish a viable industrial and financial footprint before we can create a viable Defender for the future. Once we’re making money, we can afford to invest in a whole new Defender family. We don’t have to be supported by heritage. Our job should always be about looking forward and being relevant in a changing world.”

So don't expect a new Defender to be anything like the old - it'll be another luxury lifestyle type vehicle.

People keep saying the FL2 was cheap. Yes certain models were. Mine left the dealership new at a few pennies under £38,000. But at the time an evoque which is a Range Rover could have been taken home for £30,000! Granted not at the same spec.

Food for thought  MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
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what was the starting price for a FL2 when you got your Dynamic LRNUT ? bet it was below the starting price for an Evoque which was better equipped model for model at that time.

Your right though that the Evoque isn't a RR except in badges, its just a FL2 in a pretty (subjective ! ) frock.

However by putting a RR label on it, they can 'justify' the high price tag (current top end model starts at £55k IIRC) and the easily blinded masses can drive round in a Range Rover to impress the neighbours. I was never under any illusion what I was driving when I had my Ewok but I did like it.

What is interesting here is that when the Discovery 2 was replaced with the Discovery 3 people said they wouldn't buy it because it looked like a van, the sides were too flat people said. However, some years on and everybody raves about the styling of the D3 & D4 body now. The replacement for the Freelander was the Discovery Sport so there won't be another Freelander, true the line up currently is similar in styling but most of this research and development was carried out by Ford prior to TATA buying the brand. It does seem that to recoup some of their outlay TATA have just added more models to the line up. At the end of the day we all have a choice, we can either accept what is on offer and buy according to our needs/price range or opt to go for another manufacturer. I'm not expecting the new Defender when it comes out to be the hard wearing utility vehicle that it used to be, nor do I expect it to be priced for the farming community. Land Rover has chosen as a brand to move to a more profitable market in order to stay afloat, during the last years of Ford ownership the brand was suffering and was in danger of disappearing, hence Ford sold it off although I suspect they now wish they had held on to it, especially seeing how well they are doing and how badly the Ford brand is suffering globally.

I think JLR made the biggest mistake by not producing the DC100. Now before I get slated for that comment, I have my reasons for thinking this.
From the off, JLR touted it as the Defender replacement (Defender Concept 100). This was their downfall in my opinion. Nobody was going to accept the DC100 as the replacement for the Defender.
However, as a small "lifestyle" type vehicle , with just enough off road capability and as an introduction to the brand and with an entry level price tag, I reckon it would have sold well. Then , when the new Defender was eventually introduced, it would have been a more natural progression to move up to it.
It's a fun design, certainly in the 2 seat guise, which I reckon would have taken customers away from the likes of Mini etc. the younger sector of the car buying public.
If it was in the sub £20K category, I could see couples going for "his and hers" with one of each , rather than shelling out on one £40K motor and having to share it.

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theglassman wrote:

Please excuse my ignorance here - but just what is Velar supposed to represent? By which I mean where does it fit into the existing (and to my mind, already rather overcrowded) JLR lineup.
Or am I, as usual, missing something?
Cheers

RogB wrote:

what was the starting price for a FL2 when you got your Dynamic LRNUT ? bet it was below the starting price for an Evoque which was better equipped model for model at that time .

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Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated  MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
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I went from 11MY Fl2 SD4 GS to Evoque TD4 Pure and yes I loved my Evoque waited months and suffered numerous delays to get it. But after all the hype, Hello Evoque campaign etc IMO the car couldn't live up to the hype, it just didn't have the Range Rover feel. Went back to a 13MY Fl2 TD4 XS which was similar price but had substantially more kit, better value for money and wasn't any less prestige.

At least the Velar is fitting of the Range Rover badge.






 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

Evoque is just too small. It's smaller than a FL1. FL2 kills it!

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Apart from the exterior which due to the badge, branded Landrover, Under neath screams Ford, just like the x type, ford sierra with a new body

Avoiding the Mother in Law dropped into Hunters York an hour ago. No sir we don't have any Velars to show anyone, we can sell you nearly new F type if you want.....................

Had one for a day in May and will be well into July before any around. What a way to do business  FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

They tried to sell you a 2 door sports car  MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
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Correct Nut. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Christ I could have understood if they tried to sell you an F Pace as you enquiried about the Velar!

Should have said to the salesman you'll take it providing you can get a fixed tow bar on the F Type  MY14 Kahn Converted Dynamic - Fuji White Ebony/Pimento Interior
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MY17 RRS SVR - Estoril Blue Cirrus/Ebony 🪣💺’s