The generic British farmer is supposedly the prime target for the Land Rovers Defender, or at least that’s how it’s been with the off-roader’s previous generation. So, after hearing what automotive journalists and YouTube influencers think of the new model, how about listening to the opinion of those it was created for?
Well, to be fair, Harry is a bit of all three combined. He’s one of the people who founded the world-renowned British car magazine “evo” back in 1998, so he’s got the journalist part covered. He runs not one but two YouTube channels (maybe even more that we don’t know about) with a combined 500k subscribers, so he’s a decently sized YouTube figure. Finally, Harry owns a 2,000-acre (810-hectare) farm where he grows things like wheat and rapeseed, so he qualifies as a farmer too.
He also appears to be James May’s long-lost relative, sharing the same tone of voice, inflections, and accent as the more famous Grand Tour co-presenter. So, what that all means is he’s knowledgeable and pleasant to listen to, which is more than anyone could ever ask.
On to the 2021 Land Rover Defender (a pretty highly-specced P400 110, in this case, though not the HSE), you won’t be surprised to hear that Harry quite likes it. He owns a Series One Land Rover and a Range Rover, so, as you’d expect from a British farmer and car enthusiast, he’s no stranger to Land Rover products.
That means he can appreciate a good one when he sees it, and he seems to think the new Defender qualifies as such. Like so many people before him, though, Harry too is baffled by the price tag. Granted, you can have the Defender in a lower trim level and with a simpler, two-liter gasoline turbocharged engine (this one has a straight-six turbo with mild hybrid technology), which would lower the price, but as it stands, the SUV can easily go over the $100,000 milestone.
As Harry puts it, that’s more than a Discovery and damn near close to a Range Rover Sport. And all from what was once the brand’s workhorse. Well, we should get used to the fact it’s now become Land Rover’s workunicorn and just get over it. Harry seems to have. He’s planning on getting one to replace his Range Rover, but he’s waiting for the D300 diesel hybrid.
The new Defender was always going to garner tough critics, most of whom have quite down in recent months.
Long before the 2020 Defender tackled any real-world ascents, it faced the uphill battle of filling the beloved shoes of the previous generation model and meeting the impossible-to-please standards of die-hard enthusiasts. The outgoing Defender was in production for decades and during that time it solidified itself as a poster child for the off-roading and overlanding scenes with rugged looks and off road capabilities to match.
The 2020 Defender 110 debuted with mixed feelings from the public, but once it had a chance to prove itself, winning Motortrend SUV of The Yearwas all but guaranteed. That accolade wasn’t a fluke, by any means. The Defender, as polarizing as the design has been, is the complete package. It accomplishes everyday tasks and off-roading activities exceptionally well and comes with a reasonable price tag. However, what truly elevates the Defender above the rest is that it perfectly encapsulates the essence of the booming modern outdoor industry.
The styling of the new Defender is hit or miss, but it retains enough core DNA to not be mistaken
Most critics of the new Defender (and fanatics of the classic Defender) fail to acknowledge the ever-growing industry of aftermarket modifiers and coach builder outfits focused solely on the classic Defender. Not just its presence, but its reason for existence. Most SUV customers in 2020, even off road and overlanding enthusiasts, demand some level of comfort and a vintage Defender is only a few rungs above a mid-century farm tractor in terms of fit and finish.
Throughout 2020, the outdoors and adventure industries saw massive growth, attracting hundreds of thousands of newcomers unprepared and unlikely to dive headfirst into the hardcore side of overlanding and off-roading culture. Finicky and nuanced vintage SUVs can be intimidating and modernized custom builds tend to run in the six-figure range. The 2020 Defender lands somewhere in the middle of those two options.
The interior is one of the biggest wins for the Defender.
Land Rover has a well-known reputation for building cars capable of going off-road, regardless of whether or not the majority of its customers actually do so. The Range Rover Sport, as big and luxurious as it is, can still tackle moderate off road obstacles when forced and will do so with confidence. The problem is, you’d never want to in fear of scratching the bodywork or getting dirt and mud all over the supple leather seats and plush carpets.
While the new Defender is very much a luxury product, whether you’re talking in terms of outdoor gear or SUVs, it doesn’t feel nearly as fragile and precious as its Range Rover counterparts. And that is an incredibly crucial detail.
The material selection for the upholstery is like a “best of the best” from around the outdoors industry.
Almost every SUV on the market can claim to be “off-road capable” with complex traction control systems and lifted suspension setups. However, genuine off-roading SUVs like the Jeep Wrangler, Toyota 4Runner, and the upcoming Ford Bronco have all of the above and tough, durable, easy to clean interiors that make the inevitable dirtiness inherent in off-roading that much easier to deal with at the end of the day.
It’s the same route Land Rover took with the Defender. Except, where Jeep, Toyota and Ford seemingly went scrounging for discounts in the camping aisle at Wal-Mart, Land Rover went on a shopping spree on Backcountry.com.
The Defender still feels like a luxury vehicle but not one you worry about tracking dirt and sand into.
Sitting in the driver’s seat and scanning the interior with my eyes and fingertips, all the materials look and feel wonderfully familiar. The dashboard, center console and seat are all upholstered in a neoprene-like material and waxed canvas as if Land Rover outsourced those parts to Arc’teryx and Fjallraven. The doorsill armrest and hardware look like a resulting collaboration with Gerber Gear. The Defender was meant to get dirty, inside and out.
The diamond plated panel might be superficial on the 2020 Defender but is a nice reference to the classic model.
The classic Defender was, by even modern standards, a capable workhorse and adept off-road machine. However, even the most decked out and modified examples can’t escape the inevitable cliche the only obstacles that they face are the speed bumps going in and out of mall parking lots. And, try as hard as it may, the new won’t shed that reputation either. For better or for worse, that’s the beauty of the active lifestyle industry going into 2021.
Just because a product is capable and dependable out in the wild, doesn’t mean it can’t be just as capable and at home in the city. The majority of 2020 Defenders won’t ever get pushed to their limits, but neither does 90% of the outdoor gear designed to keep you alive in the wilderness.
Despite the pre-launch criticisms, the 2020 Defender is very much worthy of the name.
Most of the EDC knives you see on social media live as glorified letter openers and box cutters, not the shelter-building, log-splitting multi-tools they’re billed as. But, when you need to split that log or cut twine to tie a makeshift shack together, they’re more than ready.
That’s the 2020 Land Rover Defender. It’s a multitool with a premium fit and finish that will navigate the suburbs just as well as the backcountry and look at home doing both. It’s the perfect SUV for a new kind of enthusiast.
The first thing I did with the 2020 Land Rover Defender 110 was get over my guilt that I didn’t have some grand, off-roading adventure planned. Well, to be fair that was the second thing: first was pausing to appreciate just how handsome the SUV this storied nameplate is attached to is, as it makes its long-awaited return to North American shores.
It’s been 23 years since Land Rover officially offered the Defender in the US and Canada, the SUV a double victim of safety regulations that were increasingly expensive to satisfy, and the automaker’s own decision to prioritize the more lucrative Discovery and Range Rover. In the 2+ decades since then, of course, utility vehicles have gone on to dominate the market. When it came to redesigning the Defender, Land Rover couldn’t afford to ignore this side of the Atlantic.
As with other rebooted icons, however, figuring out how to drag the Defender into the 21st Century proved a challenge. Those same alluring sales figures for SUVs come with a far broader audience to satisfy. It’s one which quite frankly doesn’t need the off-roading talents that were once essential to SUV buyers, and moreover won’t compromise on driving dynamics because of those abilities.
The result is, like most of the best reinventions, controversial and memorable. The 2020 Defender has softened in its edges but has no less presence for it. Distinctive cues like the circular headlamps, Alpine windows in the roof, and the side-opening tailgate with its spare wheel are a nod to the past, sitting alongside more sculpted arches, crisp LED taillights, and plenty of curb presence.
I think it looks tremendous, and while Land Rover’s palette of toned-down greens, browns, grey, and silvers aren’t exactly bold, they let the distinctive two-tone finish speak for itself. For the moment the five-door Defender 110 is the only model in the US, but 2021 will bring the Defender 90 with two doors and an even more rakish look. The Eiger Grey of my review car turned heads, repeatedly, drawing attention from pickup and SUV owners alike.
Land Rover offers two engines, starting with a 2.0-liter P300 twin-turbocharged inline-four with 296 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. That does 0-60 mph in 7.7 seconds. The upgrade is the 3.0-liter P400 inline-six mild-hybrid, with 395 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque. It trims the 0-60 run to in 5.8 seconds, but despite being bigger actually gets better fuel economy numbers. The EPA says the P400 should do 17 mpg in the city, 22 mpg on the highway, and 19 mpg combined: not amazing by any stretch, but achievable in practice.
My top-spec Defender X – optioned out to a hefty $86k – came with the P400 as standard, and it’s well suited to the SUV’s manners. It doesn’t feel exactly over-powered on the road, but it’s responsive and has plenty of low-end torque that arrives in a pleasing and reliable surge. The 48V mild-hybrid system helps smooth out the stop/start system, too.
All-wheel drive is, unsurprisingly, standard, and Land Rover adds locking differentials as well. Underneath, the big change – and among the most controversial – is a switch from body-on-frame to a unibody platform. Purists may scoff and wave their arms in fury, but it just plain makes more sense for an SUV expected to handle asphalt as well as it does rougher terrain.
Gone, too, are the sold axles, replaced with fully independent suspension. That uses air suspension with adjustable ride height, too. It’ll lift to up to 11.5-inches of ground clearance, and wade through up to 35.4-inches of water.
Were I one of those purists, here’s where I’d talk about how I led the Defender on an uncompromising overlanding adventure packed with perilous cliffs and inclines fit only for mountain goats. Let’s face it, though, the majority of Defender buyers will be sticking to regular roads most of the time, and likely only setting the SUV’s Terrain Response drive mode to its sand or rock crawl settings by accident. Higher-spec Defender trims get Terrain Response 2 with an intelligent Auto mode, which promises to pick the transmission, suspension, and traction settings for you.
I may not have challenged myself with the Midwest’s equivalent of Mount Kilimanjaro, but the Defender did get to show its merit on some snow and ice, conquer unpaved and deeply rutted roads with aplomb, and tackle the arduous twists and turns of the grocery store parking lot. The latter demonstrated the worth of the standard 3D Surround Camera feature, which goes one step better than most bird’s eye view systems by magically showing you what’s actually underneath the SUV.
Blind spot assistance, cruse control, lane-keeping assistance, rear traffic monitor, traffic sign recognition, and the clear exit monitor come standard, too, even on the $50,500 (plus $1,350 destination) base Defender. The Defender X-Dynamic adds a camera-based rear view mirror, too, while the Defender X trim throws in a head-up display too, among other things.
There’s a sense of burly sophistication when you settle in at the wheel, and happily the Defender lives up to that first-impression. You can cruise along comfortably and fool yourself into thinking you’re in a Range Rover, but it’s equally confident at making you feel invincible in bad weather, on ice, or when the state of the road surface really ought to be shaking out your teeth. While it has plenty of presence, too, it’s actually shorter than a Ford Explorer, and the slab-sided aesthetic means it’s not too tricky to figure where the edges are in tighter spots.
As for the cabin, that blend of practical and plush continues. Land Rover’s fully digital instrumentation is standard on the Defender X-Dynamic and up; the base car gets analog gauges flanking a center display. A 10-inch touchscreen for the Pivi Pro infotainment system is standard, along with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, SiriusXM, and wireless phone charging. The Defender X-Dynamic adds a Meridian sound system, too, along with tablet mounts and USB charging ports for the rear passengers.
Were I actually planning on off-road pursuits, I’d probably stick with the base SUV’s fabric trim too; X-Dynamic trim adds leather, and the Defender X gets even nicer hide with an extended package. Regardless of trim, there are plenty of cubbies, storage nooks, and rubber-lined trays ideal for holding phones, headphones, stray GoPro cameras, and more..
Exposed rivet heads and chunky switchgear both look and feel the part, while there’s a decent amount of headroom and legroom in both the first and second rows. The optional third row, however, is best left for the smallest of kids, or better still as cargo space. Drop the second row and you’re looking at a decent 78.8 cu-ft. If you need more, it’s rated to tow 8,200 pounds.
Land Rover Defender 110 Verdict
Hailing from the UK myself, I’ll confess there’s a little “home team advantage” that the new Defender 110 benefits from. That, of course, is countered by my natural British inclination toward pessimism: though nothing went wrong during my time with the new Land Rover, it’d be remiss of me not to mention the somewhat patchy reputation the automaker’s electronics suffer. A four-year, 50,000 mile warranty is standard.
In total, though, it’s tough not to be swayed by the new Defender’s charms. It feels more special than other SUVs: built for the wild, yes, but hose off the mud and I reckon it could go toe to toe with a Range Rover when it comes to living fancy. The badge and standard equipment do carry a price premium, but I think the overall presence and the general cohesiveness of its on- and off-road abilities make that feel a reasonable price to pay. After 23 years of absence it’s not quite the Defender we expected: it’s better than that.
The 2021 Dakar Rally is just around the corner and the new Land Rover Defender will be present, sadly not to race but to support the efforts of the Prodrive-backed Bahrain Raid XTreme team, or BRX for short.
A pair of production-spec Defender 110 P400 models will act as support vehicles for the BRX team, who will enter the iconic race with nine-time World Rally champion Sébastien Loeb and two-time Dakar Rally winner Nani Roma.
BRX’s Land Rover Defenders will be driven on the definition of extreme conditions, traversing desert dunes, mud, and rocks, carrying vital supplies and equipment, as well as the team’s crew who will camp, eat, and sleep in them across the Dakar Rally’s 12 stages.
“Land Rover has a unique Dakar pedigree having won the inaugural event in 1979, and the rally remains the ultimate all-terrain endurance test,” said Finbar McFall, Jaguar Land Rover Customer Experience Director. “While the Defenders won’t be competing, they will have a vital role in supporting the team as they navigate their way across thousands of miles of punishing desert terrain. The fact these vehicles are unmodified is testimony to the intrinsic capability and durability of our legendary 4×4, which has undergone the most demanding engineering test and development programme in our history.”
Land Rover says that the two Defenders are showroom-standard, finished in Indus Silver, and featuring the mild-hybrid 3.0-liter Ingenium straight-six engine with 394 HP (400 PS). The cars are fitted with factory options like the Explorer Pack, which includes the Expedition Roof Rack, Raised Air Intake, wheel arch protection, and the Exterior Side-Mounted Gear Carrier, as well as a deployable roof ladder that provides access to a roof box.
“The crew need to know our support vehicles will be able to carry all of the necessary kit and be relied upon to get to the next service location, whatever the conditions,” said Paul Howorth, Bahrain Raid XTreme Team Principal. “New Defender provides a unique combination of all-terrain performance, rugged practicality, and comfort – a crucial combination for the unpredictable Dakar conditions and after long days behind the wheel.”
“Land Rover has a unique Dakar pedigree having won the inaugural event in 1979, and the rally remains the ultimate all-terrain endurance test,” said Finbar McFall, Jaguar Land Rover Customer Experience Director. “While the Defenders won’t be competing, they will have a vital role in supporting the team as they navigate their way across thousands of miles of punishing desert terrain. The fact these vehicles are unmodified is testimony to the intrinsic capability and durability of our legendary 4×4, which has undergone the most demanding engineering test and development programme in our history.”
Land Rover says that the two Defenders are showroom-standard, finished in Indus Silver, and featuring the mild-hybrid 3.0-liter Ingenium straight-six engine with 394 HP (400 PS). The cars are fitted with factory options like the Explorer Pack, which includes the Expedition Roof Rack, Raised Air Intake, wheel arch protection, and the Exterior Side-Mounted Gear Carrier, as well as a deployable roof ladder that provides access to a roof box.
“The crew need to know our support vehicles will be able to carry all of the necessary kit and be relied upon to get to the next service location, whatever the conditions,” said Paul Howorth, Bahrain Raid XTreme Team Principal. “New Defender provides a unique combination of all-terrain performance, rugged practicality, and comfort – a crucial combination for the unpredictable Dakar conditions and after long days behind the wheel.”
From the outside, it looks like a pristine yet clearly older version of the Land Rover, but the SUV you see here is so much more than that. Some of our favorite restomods and custom cars are those which combine classic looks with modern underpinnings, and that’s exactly what Osprey Custom Cars have done with this 1993 Land Rover Defender 110. Osprey previously shoved a Corvette engine into a restored Defender 110, and the white example here also gets a notable power boost of its own.
Under the hood is a supercharged 6.2-liter LSA V8 with around 600 horsepower and 580 lb-ft of torque. The V8 is paired with a six-speed automatic gearbox. The modifications beneath the skin didn’t end there, of course, as the Landy also boasts a heavy-duty transfer case, heavy-duty front/rear axles, and a galvanized chassis that has been powder-coated in gloss black. Along with MD Terra Firma springs and four-wheel power disc brakes, this Defender is ready to perform both on- and off-road. We wouldn’t want to risk scratching that paintwork, though.
Finished in Land Rover Alaskan White contrasted with a hood and roof in Stornoway Gray, it has a charmingly retro aura about it that can’t be matched by the brand new Defender. It’s just as appealing as Osprey’s 1986 Defender. The Cooper tires are wrapped around 18-inch Sterling rims in a two-tone black/silver combination.
Inside, there is far more luxury on offer than you would have gotten in an original 1993 Defender. There are classy Charcoal leather seats, with both front chairs being heated, along with an Alcantara headliner in the same color.
A seven-inch touchscreen interface brings this Landy in line with other modern SUVs, as does the wireless charging pad and dual USB charging ports. All of that isn’t even an exhaustive list of all the extras that this Defender comes with.
“This truck looks great at the country club or off-road,” said Aaron Richardet, the founder and managing director of Osprey. “It will surprise a lot [of] sports car drivers from a stoplight.”
It’ll surprise your financial manager, too, because this epic Defender’s asking price is $229,950. You could buy more than four brand new Defenders for that price. Then again, there’s nothing else out there quite like Osprey’s creation.
