COMPANY CAR

As a car mad kid in my teens, this scribbler spent a lot of hours learning how to work on vehicles up the road at the garage of some friends who were rebuilding a pair of Land Rovers for a massive round Australia odyssey. Boy how we cursed some of the quirky British engineering of these old Landies. The mods these guys were undertaking included fitting a Holden red motor in place of the boat anchor Rover six the Landie wagon was originally fitted with.

You could say we became awfully familiar with Land Rovers, and in fact the first ever vehicle this writer ever tested, back in 1983 was an original shape Range Rover. So, there is a bit if history there. However, it has to be said we are far more aligned to the Range Rover and Discovery than we ever were to the old 110 or Defender, as it was latterly known.

It was with some fascination that we watched the retirement of the old Land Rover Defender and the arrival of a whole new Defender to the howls of derision from the Land Rover traditionalists.

The old Defender had to be replaced, it lived a long and full life, but it was well past its prime and had to be put out to pasture. The fact is it was a low yield model and could only command a limited price point. Most buyers of the old Defender will not contemplate one of the new Defenders, and it is likely Land Rover is well aware of that, and doesn’t give two hoots, because it is after a different audience, willing to pay a premium for a new age, capable, quiet, comfortable and rugged off-road weapon with a hybrid driveline. Let’s face it there weren’t that many people buying the old Defender in the end anyway.

The only thing we wonder is, will the new Defender, which has an air of the previous gen Discovery, cannibalise the Discovery market? Only time will tell.

Remove all of that speculation and baggage and let’s concentrate on the test at hand.

A long history with old Land Rovers and Range Rovers meant we were keen to sample the new version of the British brand’s traditional workhorse Defender, and while it is a very different hound, we found it would be an easy companion to live with.

Climbing aboard the new Defender is a long way from the rattly, old-style Defender with its square panels and square rig styling, rooted in its late 1940s origins. This is a modern svelte and nicely styled 4WD that delivers style in spades and plenty of luxury, performance and technology.

If people are focussed on the much higher entry price to the new Defender then they are forgetting where Toyota has gone with its various LandCruiser that have escalated in price but still attract plenty of buyers.

The thing we came away with after a week with the Defender is that if you did head out onto the dirt roads of remote Australia it would perform and handle with aplomb. We hope to get the chance to do that at some time in the future.

For this test we were confined to city driving with a short run up a nearby dirt road that we use for 4WD tests.

Up front under the new and sculpted bonnet is a petrol 3.0-litre inline sixcylinder turbo, pumping out a healthy 294kW of power at 6500rpm and peak torque of 550Nm, which it delivers between 2000rpm and 5000rpm. Boosting all that is the Defender’s 48V mild hybrid system, which all runs through the 8-speed torque converter automatic with Land Rover’s full-time 4WD.

Forget any notion that the lightweight alloy panels pioneered by all of those old Landies and continued through the Range Rovers and Discos, leads to a svelte and lightweight machine. It is lighter than similar size vehicles in steel, but the Defender tips the scales at 2300kg, so it isn’t exactly ‘Kate Moss’.

Land Rover set out to give the Defender plenty of luxury and that is the definite impression you get when you slip behind the wheel and soak up the atmosphere. They have done a great job with the seats, the driving position, the controls and the dash. As we said, it has the feel and ambience of a previous gen Discovery.

The Defender is quiet, extremely comfortable, filled with light, along with plenty of room and a great dash that is unique and extremely practical, whether taking it outback or running around town.

The interior is filled with practical touches, with a multitude of cup holders, shelves and nooks everywhere, that makes it handy to stow items on the go. It also has a practical and handy wireless inductive phone charging pad, a number of USB cable charging spots and some deep and wide bottle holders in the doors.

It may be luxurious and comfortable, but the floor coverings are hardy and practical, while in the rear cargo area there is a tough and well-designed non-slip flooring.

The dash is really nicely designed, and the instruments and controls are easy to read, and to use. There is big 10-inch infotainment screen in the middle of the dash, controlling a very good sound system, that can fill the cab with terrific audio and is very user friendly. The audio system supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as most systems do these days.

The seating is excellent, with very supportive cushioning that bolsters the driver and passenger from the sides and gives great back support. These are seats that you could use for hours on end and get out with minimal fatigue. Likewise in the back there is plenty of room for three adult passengers with excellent head, shoulder and leg room.

Fire up the 3.0litre petrol engine and it purrs into life with minimal noise, but more importantly when you slot the eight-speed auto into drive the experience becomes very enjoyable. The engine is quiet, but very responsive, with its inline architecture delivering a smoothness that needs to be experienced.

Its response is very good, and it gets up and boogies when you bury the right foot. It can be powered to cruising speed easily and quickly, with the aid of that wide flat torque curve, which rewards the driver with excellent response across the rev range and belies the belief that diesel is the only efficient way to power a biggish 4WD. A turbo petrol engine with some hybrid assistance works just perfectly.

This is underlined by the way the eightspeed torque converter mates with the engine, producing smooth seamless shifts and excellent efficiency. That is evidenced by the fuel efficiency with returns of around 10.8 litres/100km average during our time with the Defender. That is an impressive return for a vehicle like this.

For years now Land Rover has produced some of the best air suspension in the automotive world, pioneering it with its luxo Range Rovers, and it has carried this over into Discovery, and also now this Defender. Again, the old school Landie owners and enthusiasts will be gnashing the teeth, saying that it’s not a real Landie and it is too complex for a trip into the outback, but the reality is that it delivers incredible ride, handling and traction capabilities, both on road and off, as well as giving the best towing performance. So, stop whinging and get with the program.

On the same bent, they won’t be happy that the designers have eschewed the old body on chassis design of the Defender, in favour of a monocoque design, which delivers better NVH characteristics, better isolation and less rattles with typically better overall rigidity. This means better handling on and off road as well.

Engineering advances mean that you don’t need antiquated ‘Model-T’ body on frame technology anymore, and that a monocoque is a batter option these days.

That is shown in the way the new Defender handles and feels. The steering and brakes deliver superb response on and off road, and this British beast handles as if on rails, never feeling big or bulky, delivering a lithe and athletic feel, whether manoeuvring in the car park or tackling a twisty mountain road.

With the air bag suspension, sharp steering and superb brakes the Defender is an easy car to live with, day in, day out.

The thing that surprised us most during our week with the Defender was the interest it aroused on the street from other drivers and pedestrians. Twice we returned to where we parked it, to find others standing admiring the Defender, and we even saw driver’s heads swivel as we passed by on the road. Let’s just say it has a certain presence that sets it apart.

It’s not the old Defender, because this is a very different and better, 21st century off roader from the company that really created the category with the very first Land Rovers back in the late 1940s. The world has moved on and we need to get over old expectations and despite some misgivings about taking such a beautiful machine bush, we are pretty sure it would lap up the really rough, remote stuff with ease.

Land Rover’s new Defender 110 range starts at just under $70,000 plus on roads for the two litre four-cylinder D200 turbo diesel entry model, and ranges up through various engine and trim levels including the D240 2.4 litre turbo diesel at about $76000, and the P400 six cylinder petrol hybrid starting at around $96,000 for the S model.

The S model is only available with the D240 ($83,900) and the P400, and the same for SE models with the D240 SE at $91,300 and the P400 SE at $103,100. The luxo HSE model is only available with the P400 engine starting at $112,900.

It gets more complex, so pay attention. The trim levels include the entry level S, and move up through the SE and HSE while there is also a First Edition model and the Defender X.

The Defender First Edition model is only available with the D240 engine from $102,500 while the Defender X with the P400 is priced at an eye watering $137,100.

Our test model the Defender 110 P400 SE wore a price tag of $123,900 plus on roads. I’ll take it, where do I sign?

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Issue 28 – JUNE/JULY 2017 – $8.95 incl. GST www.truckandbus.net.au

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