Land Rover Defender 90
Land Rover’s short-wheelbase Defender 90 is coming to SA in 2021 and it’s ready to take on some sticky challenges
Price: R1 095 600 (90 range starts from) Engine: 3,0-litre, 6-cyl, turbo- and supercharged petrol (P400) Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 294 kw @ 5 500 r/min Torque: 550 N.m @ 2 000-5 000 r/min 0-100 km/h: 6,0 seconds* Top speed: 209 km/h* Fuel consumption: 11,1 L/100km* CO2: 252 g/km Rivals: Mercedes-benz G-class, Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado
extremely capable off-road; compact design; latest tech
awkward access to rear seats; rear seats don’t fold flat
Land Rover will follow through on its promise to add the much-anticipated short-wheelbase Defender 90 to its model line-up with pricing from R1 095 600 in 2021. It’s the one many have been waiting for, with its compact and more urbanfriendly size and design. To find out whether it’s more than just a look-at-me city slicker, we put it to the test at the global launch at Eastnor Castle in England.
There’s no denying it’s going to be a common sight outside cafés, but if you’re thinking it’s going to be great for the school run, I should warn you that getting the kids into the back seats of a Defender 90 is a mission. You have to pull a lever on the seat to flip it forward. Then you have to push a button to electrically slide the seat forward enough for them to get in. However, it doesn’t automatically return to its starting position, so you have to do everything in reverse before you climb in. Clearly, somebody without kids engineered this. Surprisingly, the rear seats don’t fold completely flat as they do in the 110, so some of the practicality you expect in an SUV is compromised. There is a solution, of course: buy a 110.
What isn’t compromised is the 90’s capability, both on- and offroad. It rocks a bit on tarmac; not surprising given its proper offroad engineering but it would be nice to be able to make the airsuspension on the P400 a bit firmer at the touch of a button. The lane departure system is the same unit that features in the BMW 5 Series. Unfortunately, it exhibits that familiar tendency to drift across the white lines before abruptly jerking the car back into its lane. Land Rover’s engineers told us they haven’t finished calibrating it. Those issues aside,
it handled British country lanes and twisty roads remarkably well. The P400 with its 3,0-litre petrol engine and 48 V mild-hybrid technology is not short on power and, while it’s no sportscar, the manner in which the bonnet rises under hard acceleration reminded me of the days of driving a V8 Discovery. That was rather thirsty and it’s not much different in the P400, showing 12,30 L/100 km after a mostly highway route.
Forgetting about consumption for the moment, we took to the dynamic test tracks at the company’s Gaydon headquarters. It performed surprisingly well, cornered confidently and even maxed out at 213 km/h on the straight without me having to worry if my affairs were in order. Its on-road manners are what’s important because let’s be honest, few buyers will venture far offroad. Although they should as this is a proper, pukka Defender, engineered to traverse muddy tracks, climb dunes, wade rivers, conquer every mountain and all that good stuff.
We took it to the Eastnor Castle estate where Land Rovers have been tested to destruction since 1961 and tackled some longforgotten woodland tracks. This included the infamous Camel Dips; clay-lined trails full of water that were used to test the ability of those hoping to enter the Camel Trophy competition. The Defender ploughed through effortlessly and it wasn’t even the P400 but the P300 with steel springs and a reduced suite of electronic assistance systems. It climbed slippery slopes, descended equally slippery gradients, waded through water and crawled through lots of mud, glorious mud. Oh, and it wasn’t even on the full all-terrain tyres, but rather medium-spec Goodyear Wranglers.
We shouldn’t be surprised; after all, this is what it is supposed to do, but this is the new Defender, with a touchscreen infotainment system to connect you to Spotify and the kind of luxury that was not part of the original’s makeup. Yes, it lacks the nostalgic need to carry a set of spanners and cable ties, and it has yet to earn the right to carry a sticker saying something like “the best 4x4xfar”, but there’s definitely no need for it to be defensive because the new Defender is extremely capable indeed.