KING OF THE HILL (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

The Land Rover Defender has been revitalised for the modern era. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 78

The new-era Land Rover Defender brings the design of this legendary Solihull model bang up to date. Despite the modern tech, it remains as solid and uncompromising as it's always been, with off road ability to worry a Challenger tank. Approach it as an alternative to modern luxury SUVs and you've missed the point. Buy a Discovery for that. Here instead, is the hardest wearing, most capable and most cost effective proper off-roader that sensible money can buy.

Backgroundword count: 120

You may have forgotten what a real Land Rover is - and what it looks like. These days, we associate the Solihull maker with lifestyle SUVs and Range Rover products. Rather than the kind of farm working 4x4 that Maurice Wilks developed for agricultural use back in the Forties. There are still some people who feel that this is exactly what a true off-roader should be. It shouldn't feel like a car on stilts. It needs to be rugged, practical and offer a number of field-serviceable parts. Is that what we have here? Everything has been changed to differentiate this modern era Defender from the Land Rover original - but ultimately, nothing is really very different. Thank goodness for that.

Driving Experienceword count: 397

Engine-wise, the range is fundamentally built around 8-speed auto transmission and straight six 3.0-litre MHEV mild hybrid engineering. For diesels, this is offered in two forms - the D250 (with 250PS and 570Nm of torque) and the D350 (with 350PS and 700Nm of torque). Even the D250 powers to 62mph in 7.9s on the way to 117mph. If you want efficiency but don't want to fuel from the black pump, there's also a P300e Plug-in Hybrid option with the 110 body style. This PHEV variant uses a 2.0-litre four cylinder petrol engine mated to a 105kW electric motor powered by a 19.2kWh battery, this combination producing a combined 300PS output and offering an EAER-rated all-electric driving range of up to 31 miles. There are also various conventional V8 petrol options; a 425PS 5.0-litre V8 is available with all three body shapes. The short wheelbase 90 version also gets a 525PS version of this same engine, while the longest 130 variant gets a 500PS P500 version of the same unit. The top V8 for the strongest-selling 110 body shape is rather different, a BMW M Power-sourced 4.4-litre P635 V8 for the performance-orientated Octa model, which offers 635PS and is Land Rover's answer to performance models like the Mercedes-AMG G 63. The Octa has uprated suspension and brakes and makes 62mph in just 4.0s. Land Rover insists that all versions of this new-era Defender are even more capable than the original model, despite the fact that, unlike that previous design, there's no hard core separate chassis or rigid axles. Instead, the architecture is fundamentally the same as that which features on the current Discovery, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover modes. But it rides on reinforced suspension with greater travel and there's more ground clearance too. Both coil springs and air suspension are available. As you'd expect, there's permanent 4WD, along with a Terrain Response system allowing you to set the car up for various driving conditions (or you can simply select an automatic setting and let the Defender handle everything for you). All three body shapes have impressive mud plugging stats; in a 90 or 110 model, you can expect an approach angle of 38-degrees and a departure angle of 40-degrees. It can climb a 45-degree slope and descent a 47-degree one. And it'll wade through water up to 900mm deep. Try doing that in your lifestyle SUV.

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