Land Rover Defender SUV review

Verdict – is the Land Rover Defender a good car?

The Land Rover Defender has been around for decades. But while the old model was a back-to-basics, rough-and-ready, go-anywhere 4x4, the new one matches that ability with a luxurious cabin and prodigious on-road driving manners. If you’re looking for a no-compromise all-rounder, the Defender ticks a lot of boxes.

Land Rover Defender range

This is the all-new Land Rover Defender: the long-awaited, much-hyped replacement for Britain's most famous off-roader. It returned some four years after production of its predecessor stopped, and manages to be both similar to the original, and yet significantly different, too.

Its design clearly pays tribute to the original ‘Landie’, albeit in original new ways, and Land Rover still claims it's the best off-roader you can walk into a showroom and buy. However, its advanced technology, improved performance, luxury and safety kit mean the Defender has been parachuted into the 21st Century.

We'll let you decide whether its design is a success, but it certainly looks appropriately chunky, and details like its front and rear lights are impressively intricate. There are plenty of personalisation options too. It may be that you love the basic Defender with steel wheels, but hate the range-topper with gargantuan gloss black alloys, or vice versa. Similarly you may prefer the looks of the three-door Defender 90 to the longer five-door 110; there’s now an even lengthier 130 model to choose from, too.

Inside, the Defender has a rugged, industrial aesthetic, characterised by exposed bolt heads, metal surfaces and an exposed magnesium crossmember that forms part of the car’s structure. The Defender 110 and 130 are available with up to seven and eight seats respectively.

In 2023, a special Defender 75th Limited Edition car was released to celebrate 75 years of the iconic off-roader, and comes finished in the traditional Grasmere Green paint colour with 20-inch wheels in the same colour, plus motifs inscribed with ‘75 Years’. This will really only appeal to die-hard Defender fans, and doesn’t add much more over what’s offered in the standard line-up at a cheaper price.

Passengers are treated to the latest in-car entertainment and connectivity, with Land Rover's Pivi Pro system using two modems to ensure it can be wirelessly updated, even while being used for media, navigation or traffic updates.

At launch, a pair of four-cylinder 2.0-litre diesel engines with 197 or 237bhp were available, badged D200 and D240 respectively. These have now been replaced by a pair of 3.0-litre six-cylinder engines with mild-hybrid electrical assistance. The base D250 now produces 247bhp, increasing to 296bhp in the range-topping D300 version.

40

The entry-level P300 petrol is unchanged with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine producing 296bhp. For those wanting more power, a 394bhp 3.0-litre straight-six petrol P400 mild hybrid is also available in the top X trim, but a starting price of over £80,000 means it probably won't be a common sight on UK roads. The 518bhp V8-engined version of the Defender is even more exclusive; it's the fastest factory version ever, hitting 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds, but also costs around £100,000.

A P400e plug-in hybrid was introduced as part of the 2021 revisions and is the first PHEV powertrain in the history of the Defender. This model combines a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, an electric motor and a battery. It's sure to be the top pick for company-car drivers but it's expensive to buy, costing slightly more than six-cylinder Defenders.

No matter which powertrain you choose, all versions of the Defender come with an eight-speed automatic transmission, low-range gears and four-wheel-drive.

All of the Defender’s powertrains offer plenty of punch, but it's the way the Land Rover feels to drive that's most surprising. The steering is direct and responsive, tucking the nose into corners with little hesitation and while there's some body roll, this suits the Defender's character. This is a Defender that's surprisingly sporty and enjoyable to drive along a twisty road, thanks to the chameleon-like nature of its adaptive air suspension.

Off-road, the same setup can extend, providing enough articulation to see the Defender crawl over almost any obstacle and wade through almost a metre of water. It's almost unstoppable off-road, and incredibly comfortable while tackling the very roughest terrain. It can also tow up to 3,500kg and carry an unbelievable 300kg on its roof.

The Defender has always been innovative and the latest version is one of the most intelligent cars we've ever tested. It may be rather uneconomical – unless you choose the plug-in hybrid and charge it up regularly – but it makes up for this with impressive on and off-road manners, and an incredibly well-considered design for demanding buyers, their passengers and all their gear.