Defender makes you feel
noble and adventurous

By Jim Prueter
MotorwayAmerica.com

(May 1, 2024) It's been four years since Land Rover brought the all-new Defender to the US shores in the spring of 2020 and its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Now four years into its current life cycle the rugged leading man handsome styling has held up more than well with its reinterpretation of the  original Defender dating all the way back to when Winston Churchill was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from which Land Rover originates.

For the uninitiated, the Defender isn't just another mainstream SUV form of transportation that strongly favors style over substance. With a historical legacy of unimaginable off road unstoppability, the Defender defies the normal by uniquely adding premium and luxury embellishments along with utilitarian outfitting the interior like exposed rivets in the door panels, an upholstered magnesium beam running the width of the instrument panel with the dual purpose of structural integrity and aesthetic appeal.

The Defender is available in three sizes, Defender 90, Defender 110 and Defender 130. The larger the number the larger the size and each trim level can be had with two or four doors. Cargo space for luggage, gear and man's best friend is limited in the 90 and 110 but similar to a Jeep Wrangler or Ford Bronco. Those needing more cargo space or room to haul more passengers with three-row seating will want to consider the 130. If you don't need three-row seating but the maximum amount of cargo space should check out the 130 Outbound trim level that completely eliminates the third-row of seats for additional room.

For this review, the folks at Land Rover sent us the Defender 110 X-Dynamic SE that I drove on a daily basis in a variety of road conditions for a period of one week. The Fuji White/Ebony color Defender was a four-door, all-wheel drive with a twin speed transfer box, hill descent control, Land Rover's Terrain Response system with a choice of various off-road modes, and powered by a 395-horsepower 3.0-liter V6 engine teamed with an 8-speed automatic transmission and delivered 406-lb.feet of torque.

While the base suspension is a coil spring setup, our test Defender was equipped with the upgraded and optional ($1600) air suspension with the capability of adjusting the ride height and ground clearance. The Defender has 11.5 inches of ground clearance and the ability to ford through 35 inches of water, which exceeds both the Jeep Wrangler maximum clearance and its wading ability. Our Defender rode on the optional ($2200) 22-inch gloss black 5-spoke wheels, 20-inch are standard.

On the road the Defender drives amazingly well and remarkable given its awesome off-road capability. It's surprisingly composed with a nod to the help of the air suspension and adaptive damping allowing it to seemingly float over bumps and potholes with not even a shudder. And by the way, for those 999 in a thousand of you who are much less interested about heading off-road and rather fancy the noble and gorgeous adventure exterior styling and interior cosseting, the engineers at Land Rover have also come to the rescue when it comes to public pressure and bragging rights by the availability of powering the Defender with a supercharged, 518-horsepower 5.0-liter V8 with 461-lb.ft of torque, along with its prodigious thirst for premium fuel averaging just 18 mpg.

Intimidation notwithstanding, there's frankly a definite learning curve learning what settings options change how the Defender rides, drives, handles and behaves both on and off-road. Those options are generally controlled by the center dash mounted touchscreen that operates the Defender's Pick Pro infotainment and a panel of physical buttons, knobs and switches located underneath it. There's dedicated switches for ride height, hill descent, traction control and other operational controls alongside the HVAC buttons.



Dual-zone climate control, along with heated and cooled front seats are standard; a $700 Cold Climate pack adds heating to the steering wheel, front windshield, and washer jets, plus headlamp washers, even an air purification system.  The comfort and convenience pack ($1000) adds premium cabin lighting, a front center console refrigerator compartment to keep beverages and perishables cold and twin front cupholders with covers. For an additional $1,400 our test Defender included the premium upgrade interior pack with 18-way heated & cooled memory from seats, leather steering wheel and extended leather upgrades in the cabin.

The Defender is easy to fall in love with as I did during my week of dating along with being the object of admiring looks and glances everywhere I drove. It's just a feel-good vehicle with the dual personality of perfectly fitting having it valet parked at a fancy restaurant or hotel, or pushing its off-road dexterity deftly through nearly impossible approach and departure angles measured in degrees of steepness of an incline or departure few other vehicles would attempt to traverse. It's immensely reassuring.

Overall, personal emotion certainly plays an important role in one's decision whether to own a Defender or opt for something else. Personally, it was the kind of vehicle that just felt right every time I open the door and slipped behind the wheel.  It's presence is so easy on the eyes, along with its on and off-road manners, leather trimmed comfort, luxury upgrades and heritage badge prestige is all but impossible to resist. It just makes you feel adventurous. But its hefty $87,973 window sticker quickly brought me back to reality from my wistful daydreaming.

Vital Stats

Base Price: $72,000
Price as Tested: &87,973
Powertrain: 3.0-Liter, 395-horsepower V6 paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission and standard all-wheel drive.
EPA Fuel Economy: 17/20/18 - MPG City/Highway/Combined
Seats: Up to 7

Where Built: Nitra, Slovakia

Competes With:
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Lexus GX
Mercedes-Benz G-Class

Crash Test Safety Ratings: The Defender has not been rated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for overall vehicle crash test scores or rollover risk.

Likes:
Superb, off-road capability
Luxurious yet rugged — good looking interior
Wonderful driving dynamics

Dislikes:
Thirsty V6 engine
Top trim levels with options is pricey