Truly Basic Land Rover Defender Possibly Coming

For everyone who complains SUVs these days are too fancy, too pricey, and just over-the-top, Land Rover of all brands might come to the rescue. Who would’ve predicted that? According to a new report from Motor1, Land Rover might release a stripped-down version of the Defender.

While some European automakers do offer such a thing, those bare-bones SUVs are kept away from the lucrative U.S. market. That’s not what Land Rover is considering, and that’s amazing. This could make the Defender more of a competitor to the Jeep Wrangler than everyone was thinking at first.

This stripped-down model would be the Land Rover Commercial Defender 90. First, Land Rover would use it to appeal to commercial fleets where having something off-road capable and rugged is necessary.

The other group Land Rover thinks might want the SUV are regular consumers who “just like the look of it.” Yes, that’s facepalm-worthy, because it shows management might not get it.

The 2020 Land Rover Defender starts at $49,900. Meanwhile you can get a Jeep Wrangler starting at $28,295. That’s a big gap. If Land Rover were to chop a few thousand off the price of the Defender, it could possibly tempt some consumers away from Jeep. It likely wouldn’t be droves of people, but that combined with people who would’ve bought a Toyota 4Runner or something similar could start to add up.

Source: Motor1