Seriously capable Land Rover Defender

The new Land Rover Defender is a quality piece of machinery. The Stuff Motoring team had already tested the 110 version, when Nile Bijoux got a chance to take the smaller 90 for a trip.

We already know the new Defender is a supreme piece of kit if you’re looking for a doit-all vehicle. The 110 version has been on the market for a year and a bit now, but the smaller 90 was hammered by Covid and factory pauses, and has taken longer to get here.

So, with a bit of a breather between tests, let’s see how the 90 fares with fresher eyes.

Outside

The Defender 90 uses the same styling cues as the 110, with the same square headlight clusters, grille split by lines and mesh, a vertically oriented rear end with full-size spare wheel mounted on the tailgate, and a strong, purposeful stance. Oh, and two doors instead of four, which makes it automatically look cooler.

This particular model is (correctly) specified with the 18-inch white steel wheels, which look brilliant with the other silvery bits, like the roof.

It also has a ladder to nowhere that can rattle at speed and a small side box that almost makes sense, but those are optional extras, so you don’t need to have them.

As it’s the 90, it is a lot shorter, and the 435mm difference comes in the shorter wheelbase. That means the overhangs are still tiny, allowing 38 degrees of approach and 40 degrees of departure, and a 25 degree breakover angle. You also still get 291mm of ground clearance, 500mm of articulation and a wade depth of 900mm, the same as the 110.

Inside

Your standard Defender interior applies here. The surfaces are either hard-wearing plastic or rubber, covered in easily wipeable wetsuit-like material, cloth, or leather. It’s very functional but still looks great.

The centre screen is a good size, large enough to clearly display all the interesting off-road information you’ve got showing at all times without being so large it’s silly, and the digital dash is beautiful as well.

The optional centre seat in the front technically makes the 90 a sixseater, but you do need to be OK with close contact with the other passengers. I would advise also speccing the ClearSight digital rearview camera, as the middle seat is quite tall for some reason.

You will also have to consider how you’d use the Defender 90. The shortened wheelbase didn’t eat into passenger room – rear occupants actually have heaps of space – but it did drastically cut down the boot space compared to the 110.

If it’s just one or two of you using the 90, you can get away with dropping the rear seats for more

NILE BIJOUX/STUFF The Land Rover Defender 90 is the smallest Defender you can buy. It has two doors, which makes it automatically look cooler. The white wheels and silver roof are the perfect spec with the Pangea Green paint finish.

The boot is tiny, but at least it means that rear passengers are comfortable.

I took four passengers on a 1000km two-day road trip in the Defender 90, and it was brilliant. Wouldn’t want to pack for much longer, though.. .

The interior is utilitarian but still attractive. The surfaces are easily wiped down to get rid of dirt or mud.