New Defender – which roof rack? Original, Frontrunner, Rhino or what?

As with any other true off-roader, more and more roof racks are coming onto the market for the new Defender, and you’re faced with the question:

Which roof rack is the best?

Exactly this question, however, is not so easy to answer, because roof racks are often very different and you can not say exactly, this or that is the best.

Because while one is in front in terms of versatility and space, the other can score perhaps especially by the fact that it is very quiet or that the vehicle height increases only slightly – for people who live in the big city and often want to go to public parking garages, this is namely often an unbeatable argument.

Overview of available roof rack systems for the New Defender

• Original Land Rover Roof Rack
• Slimline 2 Roof Rack from Frontrunner
• PioneerNG Roof Rack from Rhino Rack
• others? (we’ll add to this list if we find more good systems

Let’s just go over the different models:

Original Land Rover Roof Rack for New Defender 2020

The Land Rover original roof rack (price about 1,400€) can be mounted on the factory rails. The roof rack offers a closed surface in the rear area and a large recess for the fin (antenna) which is mounted centrally in the rear area on the roof. Due to the fact that these closed surfaces are quite stiff due to their small size, they bend little when you stand on them and provide a good stand, for example, for loading. The large recess, on the other hand, naturally robs you of some space, but has the advantage that reception is not disturbed. Further forward, there are a total of 6 more crossmembers with slot rails (two more in the platforms at the rear) in which you can attach slot nuts. A windshield is missing on the original roof rack, but due to the relatively flat design and the aerodynamic, wedge-shaped form of the entire rack, it is comparatively quiet (unloaded). The range of accessories for the original carrier is not very large, but it can still be well equipped with the available mounting options.

Conclusion: the original roof rack fits very harmoniously into the look of the entire vehicle. The functionality is good, as is the workmanship. Some, however, this original look seems a little too “modern”. The rough character that off-roaders with roof racks often have, seems very polished and tame here. But about optics can be argued as is well known.

Slimline II Roof Rack for New Defender from Frontrunner

The Frontrunner company is one of the classics in roof rack aftermarket systems and now offers the Slimline II (about 1,400€) for the New Defender. With a length of 2166mm and a width of 1255mm, the Slimline II offers a very large, completely rectangular and flat surface, which can also be completely closed by adding more crossbars if needed. A special advantage of the Slimline probably comes into play for those owners who already had a Frontrunner carrier on the previous vehicle, because all the accessories from the huge range of Frontrunner can of course also be used universally on the New Defender. Whether it’s a mount for the bike, roof tent, awning, spade, axe, cooking pot, table, bottle opener or spare wheel – everything can still be used. In terms of universality and versatility, the Frontrunner is thus outstanding. The many attachment options, both in the crossbars and in the frame rails, offer an almost unmanageable range of customization options. This versatility of the Frontrunner carrier but buys a little more height and thus volume and a rather boxy shape, which is not as curved as the original carrier and also does not follow the shape of the vehicle. The look is accordingly functional and rough, but on the other hand, this is exactly what many love about him. It just looks like it wants to be used and never gives the impression of being a stylish design gimmick.

Total: An extremely universal carrier with a huge range of accessories which gives the vehicle a rough off-road and expedition look, unfortunately with the disadvantage of not being the quietest. But very practical.

PioneerNG for New Defender from Rhino Rack

The Pioneer NG (Next Generation?) for the New Defender follows the same principle as the system from the competitor Frontrunner and offers a completely flat platform with an area of 2128mm X 1236mm. The Rhino Rack support is also rectangular and completely flat. An absolutely unique feature of the Rhino Rack Pioneer NG is the cross bracing of the system. Thus, the roof rack has over the length in addition to the actual frame a total of 5 cross braces on which then in addition to the frame are mounted 4 longitudinal rails with the typical grooves. Through this “lattice construction”, the carrier naturally offers an enormously high rigidity and bends the least of all carriers. Another special feature is that the surface of the carrier is almost completely flat, even beyond the frame. Overhanging load is therefore also no problem. Due to this grid-like structure and the resulting height and wind turbulence, the roof rack is not the quietest in the comparison.

Conclusion: The Rhino Rack roof rack is very stable and rigid, so hardly bends. The surface it offers is very closed, but the arrangement of the groove struts in the longitudinal direction is a little unusual, but also offers advantages in various situations.

Overal conclusion

Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to test the roof racks in a personal long-term test. Thus, our information is based on the technical descriptions and a visual assessment of the carriers, as well as feedback from customers. We will add to this article when we can demonstrate practical experience, the same applies to pictures. In addition, we will add more roof racks to this list as they are introduced to the market and become available. Gladly we accept appropriate references.

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All information as always to the best of our knowledge and belief, but without guarantee!