Land Rover Defender 110 S D300
Testing Conditions The 4X4OTY contenders were subjected to some seriously tough onand off-road driving conditions over the test week
The new Defender has been with us for a year now, but at last year’s 4X4OTY it was only available with the petrol engine. In 2021 the Defender received the diesel engine it deserves (not that there is anything wrong with the P400 engine) and one that would be most appealing to Australian travellers.
AFTER Land Rover Australia discounted the great value D250 model, we’ve opted for the low-spec S model D300 in the Defender 110 range, as it is the most affordable but doesn’t miss out on any kit you really want for touring.
VALUE FOR MONEY
STARTING at $102,000 the D300 isn’t cheap and by the time the options – both worthy and not so worthy – are added, this vehicle tips the till to the tune of $122,000, making it a suitable comparison to the Landcruiser VX.
It might be a costly and less luxurious model by Land Rover standards, but the D300 Defender has the gear to get you places with very little fuss and doesn’t want for much.
An excellent bi-turbo diesel engine that makes 650Nm of torque, a smooth eight-speed automatic transmission and clever full-time 4x4 system, and height-adjustable suspension that raises the Land Rover over all but the gnarliest of obstacles, make the Defender a supreme touring vehicle and capable off-roader. When you look at all the useful hardware and technology in the Defender, it starts to look like excellent value for money.
FULFILMENT OF INTENDED FUNCTION
THE Defender 110 is a large wagon that can be configured to seat three, five or seven passengers, and it accommodates any of those configurations with aplomb. Its third-row seat isn’t as accommodating as that in its Discovery stablemate, but it is sufficient for shorter trips.
With its tall, boxy body the 110 offers plenty of interior space should you use it for passengers or cargo, and it will carry all of your family camping kit. The second and third
rows fold completely flat, allowing you to make the most of that long load space.
The Defender is an exceptionally capable off-road vehicle and with its suspension cranked up and the Terrain Response set accordingly, it walked up our steep, rutted hill climb with relative ease. It also conquered a challenging sand hill where it was clearly visible how well the electronic traction control and locking centre and rear diffs were operating. This hill provided an excellent opportunity to see how the technology works on each of the cars.
“This vehicle does everything and goes everywhere you could want it to,” said Dex. “Despite my best efforts to look down on it with haughty scorn, I wound up falling in love with it.”
SOUNDNESS OF ENGINEERING
LIKE all current Land Rover vehicles but in deference to its predecessor, the current Defender employs the latest technologies, engineering and systems to give it such a broad range of abilities. Over and above other current Land Rover models that use the same architecture, the Defender has a beefed-up suspension and, to make it more durable, rides higher on its suspension (up to 283mm) to make it more capable. Its simpler interior puts practicality ahead of style and luxury, to make it more useable.
It still feels more luxurious than many other 4x4 wagon on the market, yet it is capable of towing 3500kg and feels at home in the desert, the rainforests or the suburbs.
BUSHABILITY
WHILE the Defender comes factory equipped with outstanding off-road hardware, solid payload and towing capacities, and a broader range of capabilities than any other new 4x4, it is left behind it terms of accessories and being adaptable to what fourwheel drivers like to do with their vehicles.
Land Rover does offer a factory bullbar, intake snorkel, roof racks and plenty of other accessories for the Defender, but it is relatively ignored by the aftermarket gear suppliers. The standard 90-litre fuel tank is only just adequate but more would be better; and the wheels on this model are 19s or 20s and fitting 18s requires modifications to the rear brakes. We’re sure the Defender would attract a lot more buyers if it was more widely catered for by the big aftermarket accessories brands.
While the amount of technology in the Defender will also spook many buyers, it is a sign of the times and the same in any new vehicle, but the access to dealers or service providers in remote places when compared to more mainstream brands poses a concern for many.
“Even though the Cruiser is the heavyweight title-holder and is well-proven and designed for Aussie conditions, the new-kid Defender still gave it a hell of a run for its money,” said Dex.
THE CURRENT DEFENDER EMPLOYS THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES, ENGINEERING AND SYSTEMS TO GIVE IT SUCH A BROAD RANGE OF ABILITIES
We were presented with two Landcruiser 300s for 4X4OTY testing, but neither of them were the specification we asked for. We ended up testing the LC300 VX model, which at $122,51, is as a better value package than the $140,570 Sahara that was the alternative.
ALL LC300S are powered by the same new V6 diesel and 10-speed auto powertrain, with the same chassis; it’s just the levels of bling and equipment that vary depending on cost. Who knows, if we had the $140K GR Sport with its front and rear lockers and E-KDSS, it might have taken overall 4X4OTY score.
VALUE FOR MONEY
AT $122K the VX Cruiser was seen as better value than the $140K Sahara. Sure, the Sahara might have some more features, but mechanically the two are identical and the VX is still pretty loaded and doesn’t miss out on anything you might want. In fact, Toyota says that towards the end of the LC200 era, the VX became the best-selling model in the range and it expects that to continue once it can get stocks of the 300 in the country and out to customers.
Like any Landcruiser the VX is built to tour, and this spec adds some luxury with heated and cooled faux-leather seats, sunroof, big screen in the dash, four-zone climate control and the full suite of safety technology. It also rides on the 18-inch wheels, so they are still a practical size compared to many other luxury models.
With seating for seven the VX is the Landcruiser for family buyers looking for a bit more luxe in their touring rig.
FULFILMENT OF INTENDED FUNCTION
TOYOTA certainly stuck to its proven formula when creating the 300 Series and didn’t step too far away from its successful 200 Series for the new model. In fact, what it has done is fix and improve upon the things that let the 200 Series down; just as any successive new model should.
The new V6 diesel engine is more powerful, more refined
and, most significantly, more economical than the V8 engine in the previous generation. The LC300 used 13.3L/100km over the length of our test, where we reckon a VDJ200 would have been in the 17s.
“Any ideas you may have had about the new V6 diesel not measuring up to the superseded V8 – forget them! This thing is better in every way,” said Dex Fulton after some time behind the wheel of the 300. “It’s everything you would expect from the Toyota flagship and I’d wager a hefty sum we’ll be seeing big builds of these rigs before long. It’s just so suited to touring the Aussie bush.”
The new Landcruiser remains a big and comfortable touring vehicle but it rides and handles better than the 200, making it more relaxing and comfortable to drive over long distances and spend hours behind the wheel. The suspension sticks to the same design but is heavily revised, and the use of aluminium and other lightweight materials allowed the engineers to lower the centre of mass in the vehicle to achieve these goals.
It does so without compromising on off-road ability. In fact, it’s improved with the latest tech used in the ETC and Crawl Control functions. Add in extra wheel travel at the rear axle and the Cruiser remains an off-road icon.
SOUNDNESS OF ENGINEERING
THE 300 still feels very much like a Landcruiser, and that means solid and reliable; aside from the somewhat dull sound when you tap on the aluminium body panels. Again, Toyota has stuck to what works and refined and improved on the hardware and technologies.
The V6 engine pulls strongly and doesn’t have the lazy feeling of the old V8. Take that how you may, but the new powertrain feels well-suited to a touring and off-road-capable 4x4. The electronics improve not hinder the performance, and exploring their capabilities rewards the driver. The Cruiser crawled up the rutted hill climb and was one of the better performing vehicles over the tricky sand hill.
BUSHABILITY
TOYOTA calls Australia the home of Landcruiser, which is why it does so much of its testing and development here. It’s a wagon that’s made for travelling our big country, no matter what roads you are using or if you want to tow a large trailer. The 300 is built tough to take on the conditions and also be able to be accessorised to suit your needs. Toyota has even gone as far as including the trailer wiring harness as well as the integrated tow bar in the 300 Series.
Toyota has also come out with a range of products such as steel and alloy bullbars, roof racks, a snorkel and other genuine accessories, while the aftermarket has been quick to develop a bigger range of products to suit the Cruiser.
One downside to the 300 compared to the 200 is the drop in fuel capacity, with its now 110 litres via an 80-litre main tank and a 30-litre sub tank. The towing capacity remains at 3500kg, while the payload for the VX could be better at 650kg. A few of our drivers mentioned they miss the old split tailgate of previous Landcruisers.
It’s this suitability to the Australian conditions, the access to aftermarket equipment and the way the Landcruiser drives that impressed our drivers and they scored it higher than the Defender it was up against. In fact, the Cruiser was the second highest scoring vehicle among the finalists, falling just one point shy of the Ranger.
THERE’S no doubt all of the judges look forward to 4X4 Of The Year testing, but it’s not all beer and skittles, with long hours behind the wheel of each of the vehicles over seven very long days. For the first time in 4X4OTY’S 38-year history, we used the fantastic Australian Automotive Research Centre (AARC) at Angelsea in Victoria to whittle down our 18 4X4OTY contenders to six finalists over three days. Those finalists would then be subjected to four more days of punishing real-world testing that would replicate the conditions just about any Aussie four-wheel driver might encounter on an outback adventure.
The great thing about the AARC facility is that it allowed the judges to test each vehicle in controlled conditions, both on a closed-loop sealed road and a closedloop high-speed dirt road, as well as on set-piece off-road hills that required the use of low-range gearing.
SEALED ROADS
THE sealed road section replicated many mountain roads that you might expect to encounter throughout hilly country in Australia. The road surface itself was smooth and in good condition, but the course wended its way down steep descents and up long climbs, and it had plenty of twists and turns with some interesting off-camber sections. And being a closed-loop road, we didn’t have to worry about oncoming traffic … although there were plenty of wallabies about to keep us on our toes.
The great thing about this road course is that it allowed us to test the ride and handling of each vehicle, to see how compliant and controlled they felt over bumps and undulations, to examine how they turned in to corners and how well they held a line, to feel how much body roll they exhibited, to test the effectiveness of the brakes after repeated heavy braking tests, and to ascertain how traction- and stability-control systems operated when the vehicles were driven on the limit of tyre adhesion.
Performance was also tested on the sealed-road course, as was the way each vehicle’s engine and transmission combination worked together. We could discover how smooth gear shifts were, whether transmissions were willing to shift when prompted with a prod on the accelerator, or if they would hold on to tall gears up long climbs rather than hunt through the ratios when you didn’t want them to. Oh yes, in a sign of the times, all our 2022 4X4OTY contenders were equipped with automatic transmissions.
HIGH-SPEED GRAVEL
THE high-speed dirt road at the AARC proved very informative. The surface started with a smooth left-hand bend which was followed by a heavily corrugated righthander, before a long stretch with loose gravel, undulations and strategically placed depressions.
The initial left-hand corner allowed the judges to feel how each vehicle’s stability-control system behaved, while the corrugated right was a real test of suspension systems and NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) levels. Some of the vehicles went through that corrugated right without fuss and in complete control, while others would have speared off the road if it wasn’t for electronic intervention.
As for NVH levels, when some vehicles were driven through the corrugated corner, they exhibited excessive noise throughout cabin and rattling through their steering racks that would drive you mad on a long drive on crook outback roads. Suffice to say, those vehicles didn’t make it through to the final six.
The off-road component of our testing at the AARC consisted of a series of steep hills covered in loose gravel. There were marked 30° and 40° gradients, while one of the hills had deep ruts and undulations. Not all of the vehicles were tested on the latter of these hills as we didn’t want to damage bumpers or rip off side-steps, but with those that were driven up it, we were able to examine ground clearance and wheel travel, as well as test the operation and effectiveness of traction-control systems and diff locks.
FINAL SIX
THE testing procedure at the AARC over three days allowed us to easily choose the six finalists and, after a surprisingly civil discussion amongst the judges, the choice was surprisingly unanimous. There’s usually some argy-bargy when it comes to choosing the final six, but there was none of that after our AARC test.
We got away from the AARC in the afternoon of the third day and headed up the highway to our camp in the Mallee country. This drive consisted of a few hours of highway driving before we got on the dirt, and the judges swapped vehicles every hour or so on the way to our campsite which, incidentally, was like an oasis in the desert. This drive gave the judges time to acclimatise themselves with vehicle controls and set-up, and gauges and screens.
The following day we got in to some sandy country and, as the sun climbed higher, so too did the mercury, with the ambient temperature hovering around the 40°C mark for much of the day. This made the sand particularly soft in sections and we dropped tyre pressures to around 20psi, not keen on going any lower due to the standard passenger-car construction tyres fitted to each of the vehicles. Only the Defender came equipped with all-terrain rubber, but even these were not LT (Light Truck) tyres.
As we meandered along the sandy tracks on the way to our lunch stop, we had to keep a keen eye out for sticks and tree roots poking out of the sides of the track so we didn’t suffer any tyre damage. That’s the problem with standard rubber and low pressures; when chasing a longer tyre footprint by dropping pressures, the light sidewalls bulge out, making