Land Rover Defender – Ready for anything

Land Rover Defender =

TOUGH AS OLD BOOTS

One things for sure, anyone who choses a Defender is looking for a different driving experience from your average air-conditioned 4×4.

Iconic is a word that’s banded around far too much nowadays but in the case of Land Rover’s brute of an off roader it’s well deserved.

Even though the Defender received an update as recently as 2007 it still has three wheels firmly rooted in the post-war years – 1948 – and was designed to be simple, strong and sturdy.

Since those days more than 1.8 million Defenders have rolled off the production line – and incredibly it has been estimaged hat 75 per cent of them are still going strong today.

The off roader has changed very little cosmetically but in 2007 the interior was updated, the bonenet was restyled and it got a new power train.

No curves, rounding off or stramlining for the Defender. It remains all straight lines, edges and defiantly un-aerodynamic.

It’s understandable, really, as you are as likely to see the big 4×4 churning through mud and rocks as your local B-road.

Anyone considering buying one has to have an eye on the Defenders off road capabilities.

And off road there is very little to touch it. It will haul trailers through mud and churn through water hazards without raising a bead of sweat on its aluminium panels. On the tarmac, through, the Defender is as far removed from other 4×4’s as you could find.

But if you want presence in your vehicle then the Defender has it in spades. Big, bold, with huge wheels and so high that you need to step up to slide into the driver’s seat – theres a small foot rest to asssist shorhouses – you drive in an elevated position, not too far below the eye-line of passing lorry drivers.

Turn on the ignition and the 2.4 litre diesel engine roars into life. And I mean roars. No diesl rasp here, a full on bellow that gives a hint of what the Defender is all about.

Whats needed off the road is low-speed pulling power ahead of outright acceleration, an ability to pull loads, or indeed itself, out of the mire.

And the Defender has a surprising turn of speed once the wheels start moving. Using the gears to the maximum effect will ensure you can keep up with the traffic in and around town. It’s only from a standstill and at higher speeds that the Defender shows its limitations – top speed is only 85 mph but it will cruise comfortably at the national limit.

The gear stick needs a hearty shove more akin to a van than a 4×4. Comfort isn’t its strong point, although it’s not as rough as you might expect for a vehcile that looks at home crossing the Serengeti painted in Zebra stripes.

You bounce around like a jumping bean and tight corners have to be given serious consideration. The steering wheel takes a lot of turning.

What also poses a problem is the turning circle. It is incredibly limited and I found myself having to reverse and re-adjust the line when puling into a space almost every time.

It’s not a quiet ride, either. That big diesel engine got some nips and tucks in 2007 and things are a lot quieter than in previous incarnations but its still a howl.

Wind noise whistles through the 90 degree windows and those huge tyres rumble over the road.

Inside the cab, things are basic. The drivers seat is very upright and only slides forward and backward not up or down. The steering wheel doesn’t adjust at all Simplicity is the keyword here. There’s heating, light switches, indicators, a CD player and other bits and bobs. They’re there and they work.

Base models are just that, Contry trims get a CD player, central locking and electric windows and if you go for an XS you get allos and air con.

There’s not much in the way of airbags, but the Defender, with its aluminium panels, is built like the proverbial brick outhouse. What the Defender misses out in creature comforts it more than makes up for in versitatity. The three models – the 90 110 and 130 – come in all sorts of bodystyles depending on your requirements, including plick-ups and soft-tops, and with any number of seating variations.

I drove a 90 with a straightforward four seat, but you can order up to seven seats. The rear door is hinged on the side and you climb in to a flat, van-like area. The two seats fold up and there is enough floorspace to carry a fair amount of stuff. You’d probably fit a tranquillised lion in the 130.

The base model comes in at arround £19,000 which isnt cheap considering the sparsity of goodies. Fuel figures of 28mpg are not exactly generous either.

But such is the heritage of the Defender, and the reliability, toughness and popularity, that this iconic off roader will keep a high value as the years go by. And it will keep going.

LAND ROVER DEFENDER 90
Engine: 2.4 litre diesel
Transmission: six-speed manual
Top Speed: 85mph
0-62: 15.1 seconds
OTR Price: £18,905
Combined Fuel: 28.2mpg