Land Rover Defender
Wearing its best love-letter-to-the-1950’s aesthetic, the new Land Rover Defender is anything but antiquated; it’s about as hi-fi and modern as an off-roader gets. There are three engines/models available, each with four-wheel drive as a standard offering.
The car also offers drivers the options of a two-door or four-door model, too, each boasting an advanced suite of odd-roading equipment. That’ll include adjustable air suspension, a locking df — quality of life additions that make the otherwise rugged and utilitarian Defender something of a competitor among luxury SUVs.
For an up-front read, it’s probably fair to say the Land Rover Defender is comparable to or even an all-around superior choice to competitors like the Jeep Wrangler. The defender certainly has the edge where luxury options and regular, everyday driving is concerned. That’s not to say that true, blood off-roading has been shelved, though. The Defender has just shy of a foot of ground clearance, and can practically sail given its ability to wade through 35” of water.
Land Rover Defender
Where the Defender shines most is undoubtedly under the hood. The Defender lineup will feature a 518-HP supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 powerplant already seen in the Range Rover and the Range Rover Sport line. Depending on your preferred configuration, the Defender can make it to 60mph in just 4.9 seconds.
For fuel economy, most of the powertrains will actually fall within the same range. Assume you’ll pull around 18mpg city and around 21 highway, as all the Defender variants on offer will fit under that umbrella.
Both the two-door and four-door variants will offer the new V-8, as will the more specialized offerings such as the Carpathian. That package includes special exterior paint, a sleek black roof, tailgate, and tow hooks, as well as special badging and Xenon blue brake calipers.
Inside the car, drivers will find a number of class-beaters — heated (or cooled) seats, a wonderful patterning of leather and cloth, three-zone climate control, and an 11.4” infotainment display. As a matter of course, there is also adaptive cruise control, which is one of Land Rover’s long-running strengths. Drivers will be able to adjust the air suspension from inside the cockpit, too.
For creature comforts, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are both standard offerings, and the bevy of interior features include a six-speaker stereo system (that can be upgraded to a 10 or 14-speaker system), and an attractive, modern digital display to stay in command of it all.
Land Rover Defender
Safety-minded drivers can rest assured that the new Defender hasn’t left them out in the cold. Features like automated emergency brakes with pedestrian sensors, lane departure warnings, and an attractive warranty are all standard.
While the initial offerings are impressive enough, there’s something of a pipeline for future improvements and upgrades already in place. There’s no arrival date locked in yet, but somewhere down the line, a larger Defender with three-row seating will hit the market. Land Rover will also offer a “Trophy Edition” model, but that will be a fairly limited run with some atypical amenities — each will come with free entry to an all Land Rover off-road competition this fall.
The new Land Rover Defender is certainly worth keeping your eyes on if you’re looking for a strong competitor in the luxury off-roader space.
Video courtesy by Car Arena
