Auto Express 1619

THE mark of any organisation is how it reacts to a crisis, especially one the like of which we’ve never seen before. And for JLR the message seems to be very simple and very British: keep calm and carry on. Clearly, carrying on as usual isn’t possible right now – factory and office closures mean clever thinking needs to be employed. And that’s exactly what JLR is good at. Still allowing us to enjoy and get excited about cars is crucial, especially when selling them is tough. What we do know is this: there will be a post-crisis bounce as life starts getting back to some sort of normality. Showrooms will get busier; people will want to buy cars again. The companies that realise this and continue to feed the…

• Longer-wheelbase 110 version arrives first, and we’ve driven it • Prices start from £45,560 for 110, with 90 model from £40,290 Steve_Fowler@dennis.co.uk @stevefowler IT was back in 1971 that initial discussions about replacing the then Land Rover Series II began. It didn’t happen – for a while at least. That car was kept alive with various tweaks and name changes – becoming the Defender in 1983 – until production stopped four years ago. Now its replacement – and one of the most eagerly anticipated new cars of a generation – is about to be delivered to its first customers. But not before we’ve been given the chance to give you our verdict on the all-new Land Rover Defender. And boy have we been excited to be able to do…

Rogers and his team were faced with the daunting task of producing a 4x4 that lived up to the legend of the original Land Rover, while being thoroughly modern Q WHEN did the Defender replacement project start? A “IT depends on how far back you go really. We found a board paper the other day from 1971 that basically says, “We really should do something about replacing the Land Rover.” But the idea for this car started nearly a decade ago when I was driving through the Atlas Mountains with some colleagues and we were chatting, saying, “Wouldn’t it be cool to re-imagine something that could do all of this and be really, really different?” This nagging desire then just grew and grew, so we pulled a little group of…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn • Angular ID.X is based on ID.4 • Due to reach the market in 2023 VOLKSWAGEN’S all-electric Land Rover Defender rival, which is due to arrive on the market in 2023, will be called the ID.X, Auto Express can reveal. First revealed in Auto Express in January 2019 (Issue 1,557), the car has been the subject of fierce internal debate. Senior bosses worried the vehicle would be too niche, and would not sell enough to make it viable. However, positive customer clinics and the belief that the vehicle would help shift the VW brand away from its rather safe and conservative image have encouraged the company to give the project the go-ahead. As with all of VW’s upcoming range of pure-electric ID. vehicles, we’re likely to see a…

ELSEWHERE at VW, the firm has given us our first glimpse of the next-generation Amarok pick-up, which was previewed at the company’s annual results conference last week. While not a core vehicle in the VW range, the next Amarok marks the start of a new product partnership with Ford. “Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has taken a major strategic step by establishing its co-operation with Ford. The successor to the Amarok will be one of the first fruits of this collaboration,” VW Group boss Herbert Diess said. The Amarok is expected to switch to a Ford-based platform, and will be built in conjunction with the next Ford Ranger. It’s due to go on sale in 2022.…

Deputy Editor ON the face of it, VW’s plan for a rugged all-electric off-roader seems frivolous when the company is still trying to get its range of more conventional ID. models up and running. But pushing ahead with the ID.X will force its engineers to push the boundaries of what the company can do with its electric parts, not least the MEB platform. That could bring valuable lessons that will benefit electric VWs into the second half of this decade. And in the meantime, if VW does end up delivering the first really rugged, go-anywhere SUV, then there’s rarely any harm done in being the first to define a market. Quite the opposite, in fact. “ID.X will force VW’s engineers to push the boundaries of what the company can do”…