A TWIST ON THE OLD MACHINE

Chris Knapman test drives a modernised Defender and is very pleasantly surprised by the results

At the risk of sounding ungrateful, the problem with this job is that you rarely end up testing the car you need, when you need it. The two-seater roadster will be handed to you the same weekend you need to drive six people to a wedding, the seven-seater people carrier when you and yours fancy a spontaneous weekend away in the countryside. And for the two days you need to make a 600-mile return trip from Surrey to Anglesey, how does a Land Rover Defender sound? Frankly, not good. That was my first reaction. My second was to start dialling Porsche UK’s number to see if it had a Panamera I could use instead. Don’t get me wrong, given the right context (mud), Defenders are great, but the prospect of driving one for five hours straight on the motorway is as appealing as running a marathon in a pair of wellies. But what if those wellies had been upgraded? If their soles were as cushioning as your favourite Nikes, and their insides lined with rich red leather; wouldn’t that jog suddenly seem more joyous? So it is with Twisted’s take on Land Rover’s old timer. What this small company in Yorkshire can’t do to improve the Defender isn’t worth knowing about. This isn’t mere tinkering, either. Think rebonding and resealing panels to hide any gaps left, and spending no fewer than 35 hours soundproofing the thing. The engine, a 2.2-litre diesel in the case of my 110 Havannah test car, is tweaked to be smoother and more powerful, the brakes upgraded and the suspension reworked with some fancy dampers that, like a Jaguar F-type’s, can switch between comfort and sport modes. Not that it’s actually sporty, but the handling is pretty tidy, helped by a smaller helm than the ship’s wheel you usually get in a Defender. On the outside the makeover is reasonably restrained, bar some overly bright LED driving lights and over-the-top off-road tyres. This means that for the most part people will still assume you’re a farmer or a really posh yummy mummy. Inside it’s also just like a Defender, only with more leather than Catwoman’s wardrobe and a stereo that will make your ears bleed. There’s satnav too, although it insisted we were in Paris Price (as tested): £88,227 Power/torque: 177bhp/310lb ft 0-60mph: 12sec (est) Top speed: 94mph (limited) Average fuel consumption: 23mpg (est) CO2 emissions: 295g/km Star rating: Leather-lined luxury Range Rover LWB For: Driving it Against: Parking it Rating: Mercedes G63 AMG For: Fast and loud Against: Big and brash Rating: