What’s it like to look at?

At more than 5m long, around 2m wide and almost 2m tall, the Defender 110 is a substantial machine.

Its core styling draws on elements central to the original Land Rover design. These include flat, slabby flanks, a low window line, a bluff nose, an equally flat rear with its sidehinged tailgate and rearmounted spare wheel, and a windscreen that is as upright as is permissible to meet current international safety regulations.

Several Land Rover traditionalists encountered on test enthused about the new look. litre luggage space behind the rear seats, expanding to 1826 litres with the rear seats folded flat. The boot space included threepin and 12volt sockets, along with robust tiedown points. The only niggle cargowise is that access to the luggage area is compromised by the sidehinged tailgate, but the ride height is adjustable via a button in the boot for convenient loading.

Stowed as the boot floor when not required, the thirdrow of seats comes with its own bottle holders and air ventilation control. Spacewise this row is best suited to kids but, if required, can accommodate averagesized adults.

The excellent middle seats provide ample leg and head room. There is a folddown centre armrest, dualzone climate control and no fewer than four chargeable USB points, as well as two 12volt sockets.

Separated by a wide centre console, the front seats are broad, supportive and very comfortable. Front seat head and shoulder room is outstanding. Helped by the relatively low waistline, the commandstyle driving position provides brilliant visibility. The view to the rear is hindered by the tailgate and spare wheel, a situation mitigated by a rearview camera integrated into the rearview mirror.

While the lidded centre console bin is not especially large, the front of the cabin boasts a generous array of storage trays, shelves and compartments, along with USB and USBC plugs. There is a substantial grab handle for the front seat passenger, and the handle — like the dashboard of which it is a part — has a softtouch finish.

The Defender is the first Land Rover model to feature the company’s newgeneration infotainment system. It is clear, userfriendly and possessed of functions to make offroad driving easier. Other highlights of the system include seamless phone integration, and a ‘‘photo’’ view option for the navigation system using highquality satellite imaging.

The separation of climate control and drive function knobs and buttons below the display screen could be better, but learning to operate these seamlessly should come with time behind the wheel.