What I'd say is - if Land Rover made a rebodied version of the Evoque, with square-ish lines, badged it as Defender, with all the retro they could throw it it (a la Fiat Panda to 500) they'd have saved a ton of cash in design, testing etc, hell, it could even be 2WD. Yummy Mummies, Chelsea Tractorists, etc would lap it up proudly boasting they have a Defender.... all the while purists would be howling "that's not a Defender!"...
instead, they've made something which must surely be the most capable 4x4 they've ever made (just look at the specs/tech packed in this thing, Mr Google can help with this) And some other things I wasn't expecting...
Steel wheels on the base model - sound silly, but what a bold move for a £40k car, making a clear statement this is a utility vehicle. And 100% true to spirit of original.
Van version - this made me re-read it. Yes! you will be able to buy a commercial version of this car. They have not turned their back on a core demographic/customer base
Price - wasn't sure what they'd do - they could probably get away with going Range Rover money and idiots would pay it - £35k (ex vat) for the van version to about £60k. Check the interweb, old models ranged from £23k to £62k for the Autobiography, so given the huge kudos/demand this will have, they've not been greedy. People are screaming the prices are high - the Evoque starts at £31k - I'd argue this is twice the car an Evoque is, for not much more money.
Opinions, like genetalia we all have them, some's nicer to look at than others
but actually don't feel too negative about new Defender.