The Land Rover Defender has been around in various guises since 1948. The original version was simply called a Land Rover; the word 'Defender' didn't appear until 1991. It was to avoid confusion with the newly launched Land Rover Discovery.
It doesn’t really matter what you call it because this serious all-wheel drive, off-road vehicle is an icon. Put it this way, if you need to head off the tarmac into the rough and soggy stuff, none come better than a Land Rover Defender. It applied to the previous model and it applies to this latest model.
Of course, every Defender will spend most of its life trundling through town traffic, negotiating country lanes, and being a general workhorse. However, the outgoing model was never really suited to fast motorway work or long holiday trips. That is where this brand new Defender really scores.
It’s available in either three (short wheelbase) or five door (long wheelbase) guise. All-wheel drive is standard, naturally. For those who need space rather than seats and will probably use the Defender as a workhorse, there is a hard top version. We prefer the five door Defender 110 which has six interior seats. You can get an accessory to match almost every lifestyle. There are approaching 200 options. There are four engine choices…we’d go for the 2.0 litre diesel. There’s also 2.0 litre and 3.0 litre petrol engines and you can go for an extremely economical PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle). The diesel version we tried managed around 33mpg. 0-60 takes 8.7 seconds and there’s a top speed of 117mph. Power goes via an 8-speed auto ‘box. It’s great fun to drive. If you are fortunate enough to be able to have a Defender as a company car, the PHEV model would make sense.
Prices start at £45,600 but, when looking at the competition, bear in mind that this Landy comes fully kitted out. Air suspension is standard on the 110, as is a 3D surround camera, satellite navigation, air con and a host of driving assistance gadgets. One option is ‘Advanced Tow Assist’ which allows you to reverse a trailer while the Defender takes care of the steering. The interior is really comfy and super stylish. Owners of the old Defender won’t recognise a thing.
The latest Defender is a revelation. It manages to stay faithful to the previous model in terms of off-road capability, but is now bang up to date. It merges city chic with the ability to get down and dirty. It will still shrug off the worst that the British weather can throw at it and go places where a mountain goat would think twice. It will look equally at home outside your favourite restaurant on the Quayside, dropping the kids off at school, ferrying friends and family to the Theatre Royal or reversing a boat into Lake Windermere. The icon is alive and well.