...They boast about the load space with the passenger seat folded forward. ....
Wow, I missed that. Here's some serious irony for you:
2006, I was finally in a position to consider buying a new Toyota Land Cruiser. I bought one and at first was very enamored. I could just tell it would be a mostly worry free long term experience while maybe not as emotionally satisfying as my first Land Rover, the 1996 Discovery.
Then, while at the LR dealer getting my 2004 Discovery serviced, I came across the LR3 and it's FANTASTIC flat floor seating design. No other vehicle was like this and to me it was PURE form-follows-function design execution.
The air suspension also pulled me in as well as the taller interior cargo space. I had gotten used to the very tall cargo area in my discoveries and couldn't justify the $ of a new G so back to the Land Rover and into an LR3. Funny that for me the same feature but in devolved execution will end my relationship with any future models.
For me the Defender tiny box will be too small if emulating the D90. I would definitely love a modern D110 though.