On another note: we (wife and I) did a Land Rover Experience day yesterday. The car we used showed all kinds of error messages (Low Coolant, Low Wiper Fluid, power steering, ...) – some of them completely bogus, the fluids were fine, most of them after having been at extreme angles.
Most were understandable, like the low fluid warnings after having been at a 30 degree side lean or going up/down steep inclines. But they should clear themselves when the condition changes, not just when you either dismiss them (error triangle remains), or when the car is restarted. The "power steering reduced" came during a muddy water crossing, maybe also understandable, but the car had to "power cycled" to recover from it.
Overall, the car is EXTREMELY capable in stock form once you understand what the various terrain programs and other helpers actually do (or try to help with). The approach/break over/departure angles are shockingly large for a car without any modifications. The messaging above didn't diminish any of this, but it is highly annoying to have stop on flat ground, turn the car off, turn the car back on for these to disappear (we only did this for the power steering one, since it was a new one for the instructor). It's slightly unnerving.
A part explanation we got was that this particular car was a pre-production "beta release" car, not a final production car or even a second year (2021) car which would have received many updates and fixes. Since this was a Land Rover owned/organized experience, I can believe that. It didn't really sway me one way or another with regards to final product reliability. Although, we didn't get a check engine light, which was surprising since they are all supposed to show that ...
Overall, a great experience that I can highly recommend for anyone doubting the capabilities of this car:
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This was much steeper than it looks, I was climbing down while filming and nearly fell a few times:
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The car was stock, with 20" wheels and off road tires NOT aired down.
I drove it back up on that rocky section, it was easy with a good spotter. The V6 is a torque monster that is easily usable. The brakes are a bit jerky and you basically have to use just a big toe, not a foot to get to smooth braking.
The Defender did way more than we'd hopefully ever need on one of our "exploration camping" tours. The slight downside for this would be that the car is already very, very tall in stock form and with a roof top tent would be so high, I'd be concerned about going through slightly more densely forested areas. The electronic gremlins seemed to be rather real, although I can't say how much they actually pose a problem that would stop a trip or become a real problem that would need immediate attention.
And to be clear: a Wrangler Rubicon would have done all of these trails just as easy (or easier) and a 4Runner TRD would have done most of them as well, some with different path since the approach/departure angles are much shallower. I think a 4Runner would need suspension work for slightly more clearance for one or two of the things we've done with the stock Defender yesterday, but to be fair: there is a lot of suspension work (and more) possible with the price difference between the cars. But to do trails like this in luxury style, the Defender is probably the only option this side of 100k USD (the G Wagon being far on the other side of that).
So, coming back to overlanding: a Defender configured with less luxury aimed at a more reasonable price point would probably be a very capable rig. It's also the only one that can do double duty towing a mid sized trailer. Whether it's smart to use one for this kind of application may depend whether it's a dedicated rig just for overlanding or whether it's also used in normal day to day driving. The Defender can do both and in style and comfort, a 4Runner is probably the better dedicated (and long term) overlander.
On normal roads, the Defender is not just in a different league, it's in a different universe compared to Wrangler, 4Runner or any trucks I've been in. It drives more like a heavy, luxurious car, while the others just can't hide their truck or pure off road heritage.