I was invited to the North America debut of the Defender tonight in Downtown L.A. Nice event, packed with people. Gerry McGovern was there and introduced it - same speech he gave in Germany, give or take a few remarks. JLR CEO Ralph Spieth was in attendance as well, along with Joe Eberhardt, President and CEO of JLR NA. John Mayer - the musician, who also happens to be a big Defender fan (a D90 in mint conditions from his Defender "collection" was on display along with a bunch of other LR vehicles, from RR Classics to Velars and Sports) sang a couple of songs. The new 2-door D90 was also introduced, it was announced that a decently equipped First Edition D90 will cost $65,100 - so it definitely won't be much cheaper than the 110, apparently - and it will not be available for another year (Fall 2020). Nothing was said about an upcoming 130, so I assume that's got to be well over a year before we might see such an animal here in North America. They also had one of the "Murdered Out" D110s used in the latest Bond movie on display, spray-on mud an all. And we got to check out the new models inside and out, which was nice. Food and booze were delicious, too.
In my opinion, the new Defender is quite a looker in person, it's got a presence that I don't think translates well in photos and you have to stand next to one to appreciate how substantial this car is. The interior is very spacious and bright, to me it manages to look elegant and utilitarian at the same time, nice job there. Although I only sat in it for a few minute, the seats are super comfy and you will be right at home behind the wheel - it very much feels like our LR4 in there, plenty of visibility all around you and lots of headroom (the back seats seem roomier than the LR4's as well). The trunk / loadspace is definitely smallish if you are coming from a Disco / LR4, and the door opening in the back is definitely quite narrow to load your stuff up. I like the design of the front end more than I thought I would although I don't see any similarities with the old generation, but the rear end is really well done and looks like nothing else but a Defender. A few bits and pieces, in the loadspace area and under the car especially, felt very flimsy and cheap, hopefully just cardboard show covers that won't make it on the final production (all these new Defenders will be brought to the Convention Center to be displayed at the LA Auto Show, which opens to the public in just a few days.)
I took some photos, but nothing you and I haven't already seen online from the Frankfurt reveal, so I won't bore you with them. Maybe I'll post a few shots of the Bond vehicle, that was pretty cool to see actually. I am still inclined to give my deposit to the first local dealer willing to take my order - at MSRP and not a penny more. The GM of a nearby dealership told me it would probably be until next July or August before I can take delivery. I made friends with him, so we'll see... He told me to go see him and he would take care of me.