Born to be MILD
The Land Rover Defender is an extreme 4x4, but the P400 also has mild hybrid technology
The Land Rover Defender was one of the biggest launches of 2020. It was a big thing for us at DRIVEN in particular, because it was also the last big international event we attended before March’s Covid-19 lockdown: an 800km exclusively off-road blast (and crawl and the odd muddy recovery) across Namibia in late February.
Defender made it on to the New Zealand Motoring Writers’ Guild Car of the Year shortlist as well. It didn’t win, but I reckon if you polled Kiwis on what would be the new car they’d most like to play with across summer, this’d be it.
Actually, we did kind of poll that. In the last of our Expert Car Picks series for the year, we discussed which of the COTY shortlist cars we’d actually buy. The Defender we threw into the reader poll as one of the wild cards ran away with
23 per cent of votes. It was beaten only by the Kia Seltos (24 per cent). On the basis that value drives a lot of the Seltos decision, I declare a moral victory for Kia . . . but an emotional one for Land Rover.
It’s a hugely significant machine for the Brit brand, not just because it’s the first properly new Defender in seven decades, but also because it represents everything Land Rover is known for. You could argue it’s the best thing the brand makes (and that includes Range Rover), for its blend of on-road comfort, incredible off-road ability, state-of-the-art technology and iconic style.
So it’s a big deal and a big car (doesn’t fit in my local supermarket carpark), but one of the big questions for car-woke consumers is around electrification. Surely a carmaker can’t launch a heavy
4WD in this day and age and ignore electric power?
No it can’t, and actually a plugin hybrid model has already been announced in Europe as part of the
2021 range. The P400e combines a 2.0l petrol four with a rechargeable battery and electric motor to provide pure-electric running of 43km (you can do that in low-range off-road as well) and official fuel economy of
3.3l/100km.
Details of that model for NZ are yet to come. But you might be surprised to learn that there is already a hybrid in the local Defender range anyway: the P400, which is what’s called a mild hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV).
Yep, this is one of those hybrid systems that you wouldn’t notice unless somebody told you about it. But the P400 combines a grunty
3.0l straight six turbo-petrol engine with a 48-volt electrical system fed by a lithium-ion battery. It improves low-speed powertrain response thanks to a tiny electric supercharger, harvests energy normally lost during braking and deceleration and feeds the whole electrical system with that sweet “free” juice it’s gathered.
It’s not exactly an eco-car. This
294kW/550Nm machine can sprint to 100km/h in six-seconds flat, which is decently brisk for a
2.5-tonne 4x4 whose primary purpose is climbing mountains. Official fuel consumption only just evades double figures (9.6l/100km), but you’re getting plenty of bang for your fuel-pump buck when you compare it with the substantially slower turbo-diesel D240 (0-100km/h, 9.0sec, 7.6l/100km).
Many reckon the turbo diesel model feels a bit more Defender-authentic and I wouldn’t disagree. But for enthusiast appeal (that’s driving enthusiast, not Defender enthusiast) the P400 generates so many more smiles. The straight-six has special appeal (it’s what powers the Lego Technic Defender as well), delivering a throaty growl and strong response right across the rev range.
The Defender is beautifully supple on-road as well as off, meaning it does really move towards a Range Rover “luxury 4x4” quality. The interior design retains a rugged, functional feel, but it’s still replete with luxury equipment.
Our P400 First Edition (no cap on volume, but it’s only available for a year after launch) test car had a helping hand with a bunch of extra kit. It’s based on the SE, adding a plethora of surprise-and-delight goodies like a contrast colour scheme, 20-inch wheels, Configurable Terrain Response, a choice of grained leather upholstery colours, Meridian
400W sound system . . . the list really does go on.
At $137,900, the P400 First Edition is $11k more expensive than the SE with the same powertrain — but still $27k cheaper than the flagship P400 X.
The Defender is a vehicle that transcends its place in the market, even though it’s a very specific thing (a large 4x4 with a 7-seat option, basically). While it’s got a long way to go before it becomes iconic like its predecessor — another 67 years in production would be a good start — it’s certainly an instant classic.