Eating up kilometre

low range gear selector. In the new Defender, you can prevent cross-axle slip using the Centre Slip Limited and Centre and Rear Slip Limited options on the central touchscreen controller. There is also a choice of three settings for the throttle and gearbox response, steering and traction control, allowing experienced off-roaders and novices alike to tailor the vehicle set-up to suit their requirements. The system allows four individual profiles to be saved, so different drivers can quickly activate their preferred settings.

Although I only managed a short off-road drive during our time with the new Defender, I was thoroughly impressed by the system’s automatic functionality that recognises the surface and will configure the vehicle appropriately without the need for driver input.

Of course, this being the 21st century, the majority of luxury SUVs spend most of their useful careers in an urban setting. The Defender is an absolute dream on the asphalt, the hydraulic suspension being one of the best available. As comfortable a ride as it offers over the most uneven of surfaces, so capable and nimble it runs at highway speeds; the torquey six-cylinder after kilometre.

During our five-day test period in urban, periurban, and off-road conditions, we registered consistent fuel consumption in the region of 17 litres per 100 km. Not an insignificant number, but not unexpected either from a car that capably accelerates from zero to standstill in a smidge over six seconds.

LAST WORD

I don’t envy the enormous responsibility that Land Rover’s team of designers and engineers had when tasked with reimagining one of the world’s most iconic all-terrain vehicles. Get it wrong, and it could destroy a legacy, that took 70 years to create, virtually overnight. But get it right – and I believe me that they have done just that – and you are responsible for something extraordinary. There remains much to be written about this car (I particularly look forward to experiencing the D240 as well as the 90 versions), but my initial impression is good, perhaps even great. Now only to deal with the small matter of the asking price…