Defender of the crown
LAND ROVER: EIGHT-YEAR WAIT FOR LATEST MODEL OVER
Vehicle will be offered in 90 and 110inch bodystyles.
After an eight-year wait since revealing the DC100 Concept in Frankfurt, a prolonged teaser campaign, numerous spy shots and details, Land Rover finally revealed the all-new Defender at the Frankfurt Motor Show last week.
Claimed by Solihull to retain traditional Defender attributes combined with 21st century technology, the second official model to wear the iconic nomenclature, having been known as the 90 or 110 until 1990, carries the internal code L663 and uses a bespoke version of the new D7 platform dubbed D7x, the latter initial denoting “extreme”.
With its platform having been constructed mostly out of lightweight aluminium, Land Rover claims that the overall structure is three times stiffer than that of a usual body-on frame design and that continued extreme testing was carried out over 1.2 million kilometres in some of the world’s most hostile environments to assure durability.
Designed by chief design officer Gerry McGovern, the Defender is an instant nod to its predecessor with the unmistakable boxy silhouette and short overhangs at the front and rear having been modernised to include features such as LED headlights and a forward facing camera. Cues retained are the trademark Alpine roof windows and the spare wheel fixed to the tailgate.
As before, the Defender will be offered in 90 and 110-inch bodystyles with the latter arriving first and offering seating for five, though a 5+2 seating configuration will be available. The six-seat 90 is expected to be added later.
In terms of dimensions, the 110 measures 5 018mm in overall length with the spare wheel included, with the wheelbase being 3 022mm, height 1 967mm and the width 2 105mm.
Boasting approach and departure angles of 30.1 degrees and 37.7 degrees with a breakover of 22 degrees, the Defender has a rated ground clearance of 218mm and wading depth of 900mm.
While it retains the famed Terrain Response 2 system and adds a two-speed low range transfer case, the Defender not only comes with the ClearSight Ground View display that debuted on the Evoque, but also air suspension that ups the ground clearance to 291mm and results in the respective off-roading angles increasing to 38, 40 and 28 degrees. Optional is an Active Locking Rear Differential, Centre Slip and Centre and Rear Slip Limited differential.
Inside, the interior is all new with the dashboard housing a brand-new 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system called Pivi Pro that incorporates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and which also comes with 5G over-the-air software updates and Wi-Fi. The instrument cluster consists of a 12.3-inch digital display, while a Head-Up display is also available.
In a departure from the previous Defender, the centre console now houses the controls for the climate control and the gear lever, while a new option is a third seat effectively forming a bench seat configuration at the front.
For the 110, boot space is rated at 646 litres or up to 2 380 litres with all five seats down, while the 5+2 option offers slightly less at 464 litres to 2 233 litres.
The Defender will go on sale with a choice of six trim levels; base, S, SE, HSE, X and First Edition with the additional option of four accessory packs; Urban, Country, Explorer and Adventure.
As for safety, the Defender sports (depending on the trim level) things like Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Assist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and monitor, Lane Keep Assist, Driver Condition Monitor, Clear Exit Monitor and Automatic Emergency Braking.
Up front, two engine options will initially be available; the D240 whose 2.0-litre Ingenium turbodiesel punches out 177kW/430Nm and the P400 MHEV that pairs a 3.0-litre supercharged straight-six petrol with a 48-volt mild-hybrid electric motor for a total system output of 294kW/550Nm. Both are paired with the ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Performance-wise, the former will complete the 0-100 km/h dash in 9.1 seconds and reach a top speed of 188 km/h.
The Defender will go on sale in the first half of next year.