Point 1 - to me that indicates a lack of training at the dealership. Possibly also a reluctance to use product support properly, granted, there is a problem with the vehicle, however, the way it was addressed is not the correct way to do it and goes against all the pre-release training / product info / diagnostic pathways provided to the dealer network.
Point 2 - that's how a traction control system works - and always have, it has to see loss of grip at a wheel before it can slow the wheel down to provide power to the wheels that still have traction - remember that open differentials are essentially 'lazy' and will send power to the wheels that have least grip, traction control seeks to balance out each 'axle set' of wheels and also front to back power split - which is why you can have a vehicle sat on wet grass with all four wheels spinning (at the same speed) and traction control will do nothing because it doesn't see a problem. variable locking transfer box & rear differential plus the correct amount of inertia are the way to maintain traction, traction control systems can only attempt to regain traction once lost (but cannot help with inertia).
Point 3 - Agree with the Discovery 4 point, the issue with being 'underpowered' is mainly down to the engines having to work harder for emissions compliance. When i've driven New Defender, I didn't feel it was lacking in low down torque at all, proper control offroad is all about granular low speed torque variation - which I feel New Defender has.
Having been on the inside so to speak of new vehicle releases and dealer training it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Landrover themselves have little idea of how to fix it despite what they may be telling dealers. If it requires new software this will have to be homologated and tested for faults before release to the dealer network and that's not going to happen in a few weeks or even months and then as any Range Rover owner will tell you that won't fix it and it will need yet another one , two or three updates and you still face the morning lottery of what ecu is going to sulk today
Disco 4 also has traction control ....from an earlier generation and it is much better than that in the Defender I think possibly because the Disco chassis has more natural traction..... the video I watched with the Defender was just filled with the sound of tyres scrabbling as it fought to get the vehicle up a route that a 300TDI Defender would of driven up with wheels in contact with the ground and no traction control...
The new Defender is clearly relying on tech to mask a chassis that is very road biased , allowing tyres to spin in clay just fills the tread and the tyre , even a decent mud terrain becomes a slick , better to stop the wheel spinning at all by having a capable chassis to start with , watch a standard 80 series Landcruiser with decent flex in it's suspension and 3 diff locks just idle up slopes that will have any modern pick up or Defender / Range Rover lifting wheels and spinning tyres as the tech tries to compensate and get it up the slope .
A 2 litre diesel engine even if not emisionised is never going to hack it when it comes to towing it just lacks cc's and cylinders .
Tractors are following the same route with 200hp 4 cylinder engines but they are always out performed by the 6 cylinder 200hp version when the going gets tough and an engine needs to dig it's heels in and pull
If they have fitted a 3 litre diesel at 300hp then that's a positive....
New Defender will no doubt sell well to school mums and the like ..... I think that's what the target market is and who can blame them as they need to sell units but the hype and comparison to the original Defender and it's capabilities only rings true in one respect ....they both suffer from dodgy electrics
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