I've been the owner of the new Land Rover Defender for two years. I have used it for what it was designed for; long motorway drives, winding and swooping A roads, narrow rough country lanes, floods, snow, ice and occasional off-road. I bought it as I needed a tough and reliable car which would be highly capable on poor roads and rough terrain, and that is precisely what the new Defender has proved to be.
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| At the launch of the new Land Rover Defender at Gaydon in September 2019 |
Mine (pictured below) is the base model 5 door 110; the only extras I paid for are green paint and a roof-rack. Despite this it came very highly-specced and there is nothing I have regretted not ordering. The inline 6 cylinder diesel is powerful, has plenty of torque (but is far from frugal at just over 33 mpg). It's excellent as a quiet and refined motorway cruiser. The seats are comfortable, the interior roomy with an element of minimalist yet highly practical luxury. I can easily remove the clip in carpets, leaving a washable plastic floor, the seats are reasonably stain-proof and there are grab handles, unconcealed rivet-like bolts and a dash that combines hi-tech with a memory of early Series Land Rover and Defenders in its shape.
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| Land Rover country |
Indeed the whole car cunningly combines traditional Land Rover styling with contemporary design genius. This is a beautiful, chunky, tough-looking car. Land Rover designed it with durability as its key characteristic. It is also claimed to be the most capable off-road/road vehicle yet. This is achieved partly through the technology that allows the touch screen to be used to set up the car for most types of terrain. There are no red and yellow headed mechanical levers to be pulled and pushed (as on the olde Defenders) to select high and low range and four or two-wheel drive. That's all history. Higher models than mine allow a little more control for extreme off-road stuff, but I suspect these are very little used. The touch screen settings have seen me through all sorts of terrain, snow, ice and floods with consummate ease. It's this reliance on tech that was one of the reasons that traditional Land Rover owners were so against the new Defender who felt that mechanical simplicity is essential to the Defender name.
I was lucky enough to attend the launch of the new car at Gaydon in September 2019. This was accompanied by a great wailing and gnashing of teeth from die-hard old Defender fans, few if any of whom had even seen the car let alone driven it. I approached the new car with an open mind (and I own a 1967 Series 2a Land Rover station wagon, so am not entirely in the pocket of the devil). I loved the appearance of the new car and by the technology and specifications.
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| My Land Rover Defender has seen action in all sorts of conditions |
We forget that the old Defender had changed very little in its 60 years. While most car manufacturers had changed their models' designs every few years; the Defender remained fossilised, little changed over the years. It's interesting to speculate whether a more conventional and gradual development and updating over that 60 plus years would have led to a vehicle much different to the new Defender.
Sadly, the old Defender didn't meet emission or safety requirements and, while the diehards may have been unwilling to admit it, was not selling well its last few years. Change was needed and has been achieved: the new car is better than the old off-road and very refined on the road.
The shortage of computer chips have caused long waits for those wanting the car. As one of the first owners of the new Defender, it's been interesting watching the types of owner who've been attracted to the car as it became more widely available. The numbers of heavily blinged Defenders that will never see mud or an off-road lane suggests that for some, this is a fashion vehicle. This type if ownership can't conceal the real potential of this car. As one of the (I suspect) minority of owners who drive it as a real Defender, I love its robust practicality for use on poor country roads and as a refined touring car, rather than as a toy for show-offs.
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| Our new Defender is a superb tourer: Scotland (top) and Cumbria (above) |
I've enjoyed the new Defender immensely. It's been totally reliable (so far). I love almost every aspect of the car. What don't I like? These concerns weren't deal breakers for me, but will be when my contract runs out on the car in:
Firstly, this is a large car: too large for rural use on narrow lanes and roads, suggesting that Land Rover saw its real market elsewhere. I'd have preferred something around 15-20 cm narrower; how much of this width is the result of a need to meet safety requirements I don't know. The cameras help with management of the width in narrow spaces and the driver soon gets used to the size. However, the demise of large cars has been predictable for some years and I don't know why Land Rover felt it necessary to make it so bulky.
Secondly, like a few other car manufacturers, Land Rover are behind in developing green vehicles. There should be an all electric car with a good range on the stocks but this appears unlikely to materialise until 2024. There's a dissonance here between the high tech nature of the car's design and the reliance on old fossil technology.
Thirdly, I achieve some 33.5 mpg from the car, not bad for such weight and power, but it looks outdated in a car so advanced in other ways. The car is described as a 'mild hybrid', with a small amount of electrical power being generated by the car which reduces fuel consumption by a limited amount. It would be good to see Land Rover further ahead with green technology.
The Land Rover Defender
Mine is the 5 door 110 diesel model, the shorter 90 has three doors. An even larger 130 model and a V8 powered car have appeared since I bought mine. A hybrid model is available but is pricey and, like all hybrids, has a limited electric power range of less than 30 miles. A fully electric is promised for 2024.
This is a capable and fun car and I love it. If only there was a greener car that equalled its capabilities.
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