By Paul Gover.
If you want to turn heads in Double Bay and Toorak then the thing to have – right now – is a Land Rover Defender.
Think of it as a Range Rover in a boxy new set of duds. It even has a hose-out cabin, just in case you get super-serious on an off-road adventure, or the back-seat rascals get carried away on a sugar-binge weekend.
The brief for the 21st century Defender was simple: build a successor to the old-fashioned workhorse farm truck that’s as basic and dependable as a pair of gumboots.
Land Rover says the new Defender trumps the old one in every way, although British farmers are already complaining that it’s too wide to fit through the gates on their paddocks. Didums.
There were no complaints from the production crew on the latest James Bond film ’No time to die’, where the Defender did all its own stunts as it carried the baddies into action.
I had no complaints, either, when I took my Defender for a run.
I’ve driven plenty of the originals, including the Lara Croft truck from Tomb Raider and one that was hooked to a plow, and always found them awful but effective. Even my ’67 Volkswagen Beetle is nicer to drive.
Not this time, as the modern Defender has the poise of a Range Rover, the visual impact of Arnie’s Hummer, and the all-round competence of the very best SUVs in 2020.
The basic Defender is called the 110 – reflecting the wheelbase, in inches, of the four-door original – and it’s priced from $69,626 with a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine and a fairly basic set of standard equipment.
My test car, heavily loaded and running with a 3-litre turbo-petrol engine, came in at $102,736. Before on-roads.
That’s a lot of heft for a family four-wheel drive but, in the pack where it competes, it’s solid value and will not trouble the scores in the snootier suburbs.
It’s also a ‘mild’ hybrid, which means it uses stored energy for starting but cannot drive on battery power alone, although it does give a mild boost to the turbocharger.
What makes the Defender so good is a top-class technical package, classy equipment and finishing, and the sort of driving enjoyment you would never find in an original ‘Landie’.
The car is plush and quiet at all speeds, has good cornering grip and impressive brakes, and is fairly wieldy give its size and a heft of 2.3 tonnes. The acceleration is actually hot-hatch quick at 6.1 seconds for a 0-100km/h and the fuel economy is reasonably good at a claimed 9.9 litres/100km on 95 unleaded.
The off-road numbers are brilliant, better even than a Jeep or LandCruiser, not that the vast majority of owners will care, but it can also two 3.5 tonnes.
The safety systems are good, there is plenty of space in the cabin – which can even be ordered with a three-seater front bench – and the infotainment, screens and controls are as good as we have been encouraged to expect from Jaguar Land Rover in recent years.
There is very little to complain about, beyond prices which can soar when you dip into the long list of standard equipment – with things like roof racks, lighting and even ladders all available – and air-suspension ride that can be compromised by the largest 22-inch alloy available.
There is no way Defender II will make the near-50 age span of the original, but right now it’s in the prime of its life and sell-out results for the first few months prove that it’s what a lot of people want – not need – in Australia as they begin to escape from the grip of Covid-19.
THE BASICS
Land Rover Defender
Price: from $69,626
Power: 177kW/430Nm
Transmission: 3-litre turbo-petrol, four-wheel drive
Position: trendy full-sized four-wheel drive
Plus: brilliant off-roader, ideal for the city
Minus: pricey, already a sell-out
THE TICK: A star in 2020
Score:/10
