Land Rover Defender 90 250SE

Photographs by Roy Duffy

What is it?

I was going to skip this bit as I’m confident everyone knows what a new Defender is, I mean, it’s probably been the most controversial vehicle this side of the ARK!

But, is it pavement princess or a proper replacement for the venerable Defender of old?

On the road

Over the last few months I’ve driven a number Defenders, mainly for an hour or so around Warwickshire during the odd launch, and they’ve been great, but living with one for a week and doing the usual shopping treks, commute and going on a couple of mooches is a different thing altogether.

So, where do I begin?

Well, around town, the 90 is obviously much more agile than the 110, but out on the open road I actually struggled to notice a huge difference between the two. Having a 102” wheelbase makes the 90 quite civilised, and it doesn’t have any of the vagueness you get from a Wrangler, but is the Wrangler a direct competitor? Of course the Defender wallows bit when you start to throw it around corners at speeds that you really shouldn’t - yet it gives you the confidence to do those sorts of things anyway.

A couple of folks on social media pointed out that I shouldn’t have been driving along certain Cumbrian roads due to their maximum width of 6’ 6”, which the Defender exceeds - so be careful.

If I have any complaints, it’s that the Traffic Sign Recognition and Adaptive Speed Limiter was far too sensitive. Because the Defender is such a large and quiet vehicle, I found it far too easy to exceed 30 and 40mph speed limits, so I’d activate the speed limiter. However whilst driving along a road at 40mph, on quite a few occasions it automatically slowed the Defender down quite dramatically to 20mph - embarrassing me and annoying the drivers behind!

The 250SE was fitted with both air suspension and off-road tyres, a combination I was more than happy with. From motorways to fast B roads, the 90 always behaved impeccably, and was fun, too.

The 3.0 litre in-line six-cylinder mild-hybrid diesel engine pushes out 250bhp, and works seamlessly with the 8-speed automatic gearbox, and after a week of very mixed driving it achieved just under 33mpg, which I thought was pretty good going, considering I was always in a rush.

Off Road - Simply Awesome!

As you will have read in previous issues, I’ve driven both the 90 and 110 Defender along many of the tracks around Eastnor Castle - but to take it along a few challenging green lanes is a different matter altogether.

I’ll write a full report of my trip to Bootle Fell in the Lakes in next month’s issue, but let’s just say the Defender lived up to its reputation, and only once did I lose forward motion, and that was because I’d reached the max suspension lift and still managed to ground the front end!

Raising the air suspension and you have heaps of clearance - with no low hanging diffs to worry about either. With air suspension on full lift, there isn’t much in the way of articulation, but Terrain Response 2 does a fantastic job of working things out in no time at all.

With 570Nm of torque, the big diesel is smooth and powerful, and made creeping along the most arduous offroad terrain a breeze - even on 3 wheels!

As I’ve mentioned in previous reports, I find the 3D Surround Cameras work incredibly well, especially the ones under the door mirrors that show the front tyres, they’re brilliantly effective at showing what’s in front, and at the side of the vehicle.

Interior

The interior of the new Defender makes me smile, it’s totally unique, and I love its up-to-date nod to Defenders of old. Despite hard wearing and washable panels, its still a classy place to be, and the driving position is stately and typical of the brand.

When it comes to cubby space, I honestly can’t imagine anyone using up all the space that’s available, it’s such a practical design.

Like any three door vehicle, clambering into the back can be a bit of a fuss, which isn’t helped by having to wait for the motor to move the front seats forward - I timed them at around 15 seconds.

However, once in the back, rear seat passengers not only have a huge amount of leg room and visibility, but with USB ports embedded in the front seats, it’s a surprisingly comfortable place to be. In addition, the full length sunroof option (£1,800), would be a must for me, not only does it allow a breath of fresh air into the cabin without much buffeting, but it allows anyone sat in the back to stand up and play tank commander!

When it comes to spec you’re not sold short as all Defenders come with LED headlights, heated front seats and Land Rover’s 10” Pivi Pro infotainment set-up with apple CarPlay and Android.

Standard on the SE comes 3D surround-view camera and all-round parking sensors, cruise control, lane-keep assist and autonomous emergency braking and among a long list of goodies.

A special mention has to go to the Meridian sound system with 10 speakers plus a subwoofer, and the ClearSight digital rear view mirror that I ended up using all the time.

Another downside to buying a 3-door vehicle is space in the boot, and the 90 gives you just under 400 litres, which to be fair was enough to fit my rather large Peli 1640 Protector case full of camping gear, as well as recover gear on either side. I figured I was missing something obvious when I couldn’t get the rear seats to fold completely flat, so I visited my local JLR dealership. Apparently, unlike the rear seats in a 110, the rear seats in a 90 aren’t designed to fold completely flat, so the salesman told me.

Conclusion

Haters will always hate, naturally, but the new Defender is simply a class-leading design that translates into an epic 4x4.

Sure, there’s a ‘lifestyle’ element to the new Defender, and I can’t imagine you’ll see many in a farm yard covered in manure, but underneath its modern yet tough exterior sits the technology you need to get to the most inhospitable places on earth, there’s no doubt that it’s got what it takes to be worthy of the Defender name.

Price of test vehicle £51,205, with options £61,125.