Denza B5 vs Land Rover Defender

The Denza B 5 is tantalizingly close, to the flagship Defender, in 5 major aspects. Makes you wonder, whether the Defender is thrice as expensive, as it should to be. The Chinese have finally understood, that the upper end of the SUV market, has the weakest opponents to target, because they offer the worst possible value, at the highest possible cost, to their rather inadequate customers. After all, the top-end, bells and whistles variant of the Defender, the Octa, is merely eighth of a second quicker, than the Denza B 5. But the difference in price is just hilarious! The Denza, is bound to cost, just over sixty thousand aussie dollars, down under. That is roughly, one fifth of the Defender Octa. Meanwhile, in old blighty, the Denza B5 is expected to cost around 50 thousand quid. That is still one-third of the Defender Octa. Surely, there must be something special, about the Defender, which can justify its exorbitant price, right? Of course! There's a certain status, prestige you get, when you arrive in a Defender. The distinctive shape, unique to Land Rovers, loudly projects your wealth, to the on-lookers. And there's something different, than the way a Mercedes S-class, or any other German limo projects its owner's fortune. The Defender's upright stance, projects a certain intimidation factor. It says, you are tough and rich, not soft and rich, like the luxury sedans owners. Nobody has to know, about how your Defender gulps down a liter of petrol, every five kilometers! Deep down, you wish, that Land Rover learnt a thing or two, about vehicle engineering from the Chinese. Series hybrid platforms, Like the Denza B 5, are clearly the way forward. Not only, is a series hybrid platform, way more efficient than the Defender's twin-turbo V8, but it is also more dynamically capable. It has instantaneous torque right from zero rpm, meaning there's no lag like the Defender, waiting for it's turbos to spool up. Denza's power delivery is also seamless, without any hiccups like the Defender's eight speed torque converter. Not to forget, that only an electric motor has the capability to offer a thousand hertz ESP, Defender's powertrain doesn't. Surprisingly, the Denza even has hydraulically adjustable suspension, which can raise its ground clearance to 310 mm, just 13 mm less than the Octa. It may not have the ultimate sophistication than the Octa's suspension has, but that alone cannot justify Octa's 200 percent price premium in the time ahead. And then, there's the big problem of Defender's outdated electronics and software. It is already a generation behind the Denza's. Check out the pinned comment for a comprehensive comparison of features of both these behemoths.