Land rover top gear defender

First Drive: Land Rover Defender 2.4 Diesel 2dr

It’s a racing version of the Land Rover Defender. Specifically, it’s a racing version of the Land Rover Defender prepped by Bowler Offroad — the firm behind Hammond’s favourite Wildcat — and set to compete against 14 identical clones in this year’s inaugural one-make ‘Defender Challenge’ series.

Sounds amazing. 15 Defenders charging round Silverstone, three abreast into the first corner, tilting merrily, swapping paint.

Sadly not. The Defender Challenge is a British mud’n’gravel rally raid series designed to get inexperienced drivers and navigators on the first rung of the rally raid ladder. Essentially it’s a feeder for the Dakar.

So is this the LR equivalent of X-Raid’s Mini Countryman? A spaceframe, silhouette racer bearing no relation to the production car?

Very much not. This is a genuine Defender 90 (yeah, the short-wheelbase one) inside and out, right down to the Sixties-spec stubby switchgear, welly-boot-optimised pedals and bare-metal doors. It has, however, been adorned with much race jewellery: full buckets with five-point harnesses, a pair of fire extinguishers (in case one of the extinguishers catches on fire?), intercom, kill switches and an FIA-approved roll cage.

And race-grade sequential gearbox, surely?

Surely not. Though this Defender boasts a giant new aluminium gearstick, its agricultural six-speed manual ‘box and bombproof four-wheel drive remain unchanged.

At least the grumbly diesel has been switched for a big V8, right?

Wrong. The Defender Challenge racers retain the road (or perhaps field) car’s 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel, though with an ECU flash upping power to 175bhp and 331l bft of torque. This car, however, boasts Bowler’s ‘Stage 2′ tune, which adds a new turbo, intercooler, induction kit and exhaust for an output of 180bhp and 413 torques.

So what’s it like as a race car?

It’s a Defender. What do you think it’s going to be like? It leans, it slews, it bellows like a bull elephant with a gammy knee.

Terrible, then?

No, brilliant. See, the problem with proper hardcore race cars is that — unless you’re blessed with Stig-spec reactions — by the time you’ve spotted that you’ve exceeded the limit and have attempted to apply some sort of correction, you’re already spinning at terrifying speed across a gravel trap or plunging down a mud bank. This Defender lets you know, very early and very graphically, that you’re getting out of shape.

I assume this happens a lot.

Yes it does. On soft terrain, the Defender’s not-so-racing height and weight means turning in too quickly results in massive understeer and no change of direction. Which means you have to apply proper racing technique: trail-brake into the corner, get the weight onto the Defender’s big square nose, allow the big Kumho tyres up front to dig their teeth into the dirt. It’s My First Lesson in race-car dynamics, one that happens at nice, manageable speeds and with caricatured response. It’s my sort of racer.

Yeah, but can it jump?

Can it ever. With its massive axle articulation, the Defender absorbs three-foot high berms with barely a shimmer, and land mighty leaps with immaculate damping. Mr Vettel’s 2014 F1 car cannot do this.

And that’s rather the point in the Defender. It’s not a serious, brow-furrowing sports car. It’s flawed, furry-edged and, most importantly, fun. It is impossible, literally impossible to pilot the Defender at pace over a couple of miles of bumps and ramps and mud without whooping into your race helmet. The old donkey ain’t slow, either: get the 2.2 diesel around its 3000rpm sweet spot and it shoves the big ‘Fender along with impressive gusto.

I want to play. How do I join in?

Better get a wriggle on. Most of the 15 Defender Challenge cars are already spoken for, but a couple of spaces remain available. £50k will buy your rally-prep Defender, while a further £10,000 secures entry into this year’s seven-race championship. Bowler reckons even total novices should be ready for the Dakar after a couple of years. And don’t forget it’s road-legal, so once you’re done bashing lumps out of Welsh forests, you can give Porsche Cayman drivers a bit of a scare on muddy back-roads.

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Land Rover Defender 110 review

The latest Land Rover Defender has a mountain to climb. Yeah, a real mountain, of course, because awesome off-road ability was an absolute necessity. But also a metaphorical mountain. It has to replace the old one. A vehicle that was very widely adored, for the exact same reasons it was almost impossible to justify buying. It was basically a tool. Its ability to survive harsh and brutal conditions meant it was, frankly, itself far too harsh and brutal to be taken seriously as an everyday vehicle for most people.

So the new one has to be as capable off-road as the old one. And it had to evoke the old one’s heritage, which is why it looks the way it does. Those two things were probably quite difficult, but if anyone could succeed, Land Rover’s engineers and designers would.

SOUNDS LIKE A TALL ORDER.

Beyond that are two much harder questions. The ones that are the gateway to it being adored like the old one was. If it drives well and is comfy, will it get accused of blandness? And if it’s smart and sophisticated, will it have abandoned the customers who made its heritage so authentic – the rescue services, the utilities, the true adventurers?

BLIMEY. ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO KNOW?

Well, to try to keep the utility buyers on-side, Land Rover released a Hard Top commercial version a few months after the passenger versions went on sale – farmers, click here for that review. Here, we’re focusing on the more practical long-wheelbase 110 passenger version, but you can also have a three-door short wheelbase 90 – if you’re all about style over substance, you’ll be wanting to click here for that review. Oh, and if fully-loaded but frequent short journeys are more your thing, there’s also a 110 plug-in hybrid that manages 27 miles of electric-only range – eco-conscious Defender shoppers, click here for that. But hang on. What if you need more seats than the 110’s maximum seven? Well, there’s now also the extended Defender 130, so if you’ve got six kids that need carting around regularly then you’ll want to click here.

IT CERTAINLY LOOKS THE PART.

The exterior design of the 110 is, we think, masterful. It invokes the old one yet it’s completely modern. The boxiness is just right for a hardcore 4×4 SUV. It doesn’t only eke out the maximum carrying space, it also helps when you’re driving between obstacles because you know where the bodywork begins and ends. The short overhangs help off-road with impressive approach and departure angles (38 and 40 degrees respectively for the 110). But it’s also subtly curved, not flat sided. Flat panels look makeshift and go wavy. The new Defender’s curves look smart and solid. Who’d have thought that little panel that breaks up the rear windows would be so controversial, though…

The bodywork is structural – the chassis being an all-new aluminium monocoque rather than the old ladder on frame construction. The whole shell is immensely strong. So’s the suspension it rides on. It shares principles with the Discovery’s, but few parts. Almost everything is tougher. The Defender 110 has air suspension as standard too (you can have coil springs on lower spec 90s), which adds to the off-road ground clearance and helps with the mega wading ability of 900mm. Click these blue words to drink in the details of the Defender’s capability and tech. Oh, and if you’re less fussed about heading off-road and just fancy something silly before we all end up driving EVs, Land Rover has also caved to public pressure and stuck its trusty supercharged 5.0-litre V8 in both the 90 and the 110. It’s bonkers and we love it – click here to find out why.

Our choice from the range

What’s the verdict?

One in a hundred, one in a thousand, who knows? But once in a while, out of all the people buying Land Rover’s vehicles, there will be someone who has the intention of using it to the max. For the other 99 or 999, not so. The firm’s entire success has been founded on making vehicles that are so capable they go well beyond the normal needs of the buyers. The Defender is the pinnacle of that. Who are the one in a thousand? A few adventure crews. Some deep-country folk of unusual prosperity. And, with the Commercial version, such noble entities as coastguards, electricity supply workers and rescue crews. But the new Defender – particularly the 110 – also exceeds as a family car with a deep and wide backstory. It just makes you feel adventurous. And when you do use its ability – as an off-roader, a snowy-roader, a towing roader – it’d feel immensely reassuring. It’ll carry mountains of kit, and shrug off the dirt and wet. Or, if you’ve bought the V8 110, it’ll swallow all of your belongings and children, then fire them cross-country with great pace and drama. Those same qualities of versatility and ruggedness are equally handy even if you just take a bunch of unruly kids to school, the shops, the sports ground. Families wreck the insides of posh cars. This one resists wrecking. And the amazing thing is how well it drives. It’s stately and dignified and feels good. We usually recommend 4WD estate cars over expensive crossovers, because there’s not much a crossover can do that an estate can’t. But the Defender isn’t a crossover and skittles that argument. If you can make use of it, there’s nothing to match it.

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Land Rover Defender V8 review: supercharged 4×4 tested

Well, this wasn’t actually meant to happen, but we’re very glad it did.

The new Defender’s Programme Director Stuart Frith recently told TG that a V8 wasn’t even in the product plan when the project began eight years ago. The team with the unenviable (but at the same time impossibly exciting) task of reinventing Land Rover’s iconic 4×4 did build a couple of mules early on, though, and in the end it was just too good an opportunity to miss.

Welcome then, to the production-ready Land Rover Defender V8. Oh yes.

Officially this is badged the P525, and you’ll no doubt recognise the engine – it’s JLR’s familiar supercharged 5.0-litre unit that makes 518bhp and 461lb ft of torque in this instance. That power is sent to all four wheels (of course) and means the short wheelbase 90 can do 0-60mph in 4.9 seconds, whilst the larger 110 is just two tenths of a second slower. Not bad for something with the aerodynamic properties of a 1960s tower block.

Is it just a new engine, then?

Not quite. Land Rover has toughened up the Defender’s chassis and suspension to cope with the extra grunt – and weight – of the V8 (for reference, there’s 124bhp more than the six-cylinder P400). That means new larger diameter anti-roll bars, stiffer suspension bushes and bespoke spring and damper rates.

There’s also a new electronic active rear diff and a ‘Dynamic’ mode for the terrain response system that Land Rover says will unlock more performance on tarmac and loose surfaces. This is a good thing.

The smooth eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox is the same as you’ll find in all other Defenders, although here you get wheel-mounted paddles for manual up- and downshifts and it has been slightly tweaked for crisper changes.

So yeah.. it’s pretty much all about the engine?

Well yeah, fair enough. The P525 experience is dominated by that wondrous supercharged heart. There’s slightly less output here than in the newly-updated F-Pace SVR, but when an engine sounds as mighty as this you don’t miss an extra 30bhp or so. It’s plenty quick enough.

Plus, the Defender V8 isn’t actually one of JLR’s SVO products, so despite the extra suspension tuning it isn’t supposed to be stiff and hard riding. There’s plenty of heave and pitch under heavy acceleration and braking – all of which is part of the character that defines it.

You like it then?

Love it. If you can park the feeling that everyone else on the road – especially those in now miniscule-looking hatchbacks – thinks you’re a bit of a pillock, then it’s a fantastic thing to pilot.

We’ve only had the chance to drive a 110 on-road so far, and although it’s a giant thing (think just under two metres wide and just under 2.5 tonnes) with the option of seating five, six or seven, it really can shift. Dynamic mode – which will remain exclusive to the V8 – sharpens the throttle response, weights up the steering and livens up what Land Rover calls the ‘Continuously Variable Damping’. The result isn’t exactly elegant and there’s still plenty of roll, but it turns in well, copes with quick cornering and then blunderbusses its way across any following straight section, punching holes through the air like the local hooligan looking for a scrap in the early hours of a Sunday morning, whilst the bonnet rises up and makes a break for the sky.

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