Defender is without doubt one of the most numerous ecosystems with varied physique shapes, powertrains, and non-obligatory extras. Hopping onto the configurator is like peering into the proverbial field of sweets. Your construct may output a two-door Defender 90 with mudflaps, a side-mounted gear service, and a clean inline-six engine mated to an environment friendly mild-hybrid system. Or what a couple of permutation with a standard four-door format and a small however stout four-cylinder? Want to hold round extra cargo? Why not the most important Defender 130 with its eight-seater functionality and monstrous 493 horsepower V8? Consider it or not, abroad markets have entry to diesel variants as nicely.
There’s a Defender for everyone so long as you take pleasure in its boxy styling, rounded headlights, and retro taillights that will set off a way of trypophobia. It could seem overly sized from some angles, like a Discovery sporting hockey gear, however from the aspect and in individual, it seems to be good-looking and utilitarian, prefer it may swallow up a complete soccer group and spit them out on the prime of Mount Everest. In type too sporting this Gondwana Stone paint color, a greenish brown that may look proper at residence on the WRC safari rally in Kenya. Ours was wrapped in a factory-installed matte protecting movie that prices $5,220, cheaper than the precise matte paints that Land Rover sometimes fees. The wrap is just not as visually sharp and it doesn’t lengthen to the sides of the bodywork, that means you possibly can see the non-matte paint everytime you open the doorways, however stone chips and scratches can be simpler to repair. It’s obtainable for all the usual paint colors apart from Fuji White and Tasman Blue.
The basic entrance and rear mudflaps are extremely advisable not only for their sensible use of stopping rocks and dust from flinging up onto the paint, however they add essential lower-body stance that brings the Defender’s visible sightlines decrease, making its silhouette seem extra balanced. And the Defender we’re testing is arguably the amount vendor, the mid-size, do-it-all spec. The mannequin is one step up from the bottom S trim and is named X-Dynamic SE ($92,450). With it comes an inline-six engine, 20-inch wheels with non-obligatory 19s and 22s, and a Meridian Encompass Sound system.
Our Defender is loaded with the P400 powertrain that consists of a 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six and a gentle hybrid system that makes use of a 48-volt motor-generator and electrically pushed supercharger for higher low-end pull when the turbo is busy spooling and gathering enhance. Ruled by an 8-speed computerized gearbox, this unit produces 395 hp and 406 lb-ft, sufficient to dash from 0-100 km/h in 6.1 seconds.
The straight-six engine is a welcome companion, by no means struggling to get this heavyweight off its ft. It’s robust and inherently clean below acceleration, and it’s desperate to rev to the redline, emitting an applicable exhaust grunt. We by no means discovered ourselves craving for the thirstier V8 possibility regardless of the clear advantages in acceleration, however the six-cylinder was greater than as much as any job we threw at it. Outfitted with an ordinary four-wheel drive system, a two-speed switch case, locking differentials, and an non-obligatory air suspension, the Defender is just not solely off-road succesful however rides very properly on suburban roads. It articulates with agility at low speeds, wafts with an identical degree of trip consolation as a Vary Rover Sport, and neutralizes street oscillations higher than any pickup truck in the marketplace due to its unbiased suspension and unibody development.
We did discover barely extra street noise and vertical oscillations from our 19-inch wheels wrapped in Goodyear Wrangler tires, extra so than the usual 20s. Nonetheless, physique roll is successfully stored in examine, and whereas there may be apparent leaning and unwieldiness once you enter a nook at pace, the short steering rack makes it simple to regulate and navigate by way of tight areas.
The inside adopts a brand new middle console format for 2025. Now, a sliding cowl exposes the under-storage cubby, making for a tidier and neater format that retains your belongings from flying in regards to the inside. It additionally makes for a handy and hidden trash cubby. In contrast to the V8 mannequin we drove just lately with the Signature Inside Package deal that had new aspect pockets for the middle console, there may be nonetheless a passthrough right here, which makes understorage simpler to entry, however they’re vulnerable to flying about unsecured. The wi-fi charging pad is now slanted for simpler entry.
We tremendously recognize the rubber-padded storage areas, just like the areas beside the driving force’s show, behind the touchscreen, and the complete passenger-side sprint. The fridge compartment within the middle console is useful for maintaining drinks chilled in the summertime, but it surely’s not nice at chilling them from a heat or scorching state. The heated seats are the most well liked (actually) in the marketplace, retaining and persevering with to warmth for hours on finish, and received’t cut back the warmth after a sure interval like in BMWs or Mercs. The steering wheel buttons usually are not haptic contact sensors both, so the buttons emit a optimistic click on and really feel extra optimistic and ergonomic to make use of.
There’s actually extra pomp and circumstance contained in the Defender than any Jeep or Toyota may hope for. The powder-coated, ceramic-like accents on the steering wheel and dashboard bar are visible garnishes that solely the Defender may pull off correctly. The best way the shifter and HVAC controls are mounted on an angle under the dashboard remind me of the Fiat 500 and a number of the off-road ruggedness has been introduced inside with the uncovered screws and the automobile’s Gondwana Stone paint (non-matte) peeping by way of the panels identical to in Wranglers and Miatas.
Greater than only a one-trick off-roading pony, the Defender additionally takes on-road duties with poise, agility, and performance. The inline-six P400 powertrain is extra appropriate than the V8 as a consequence of its higher effectivity and gradual but clean acceleration, the 110’s footprint is extra manageable on tight metropolis streets, and the brand new middle console provides delicate however ergonomically significant updates that quantity to a well-rounded and succesful companion. Whereas we want there have been extra paint colors and manufacturing facility add-ons obtainable, the bustling aftermarket for Defender components provides us a fruitful avenue for options, and we’re certain to see extra particular and customizable variants just like the seventy fifth Version and Trophy Version from latest years. Right here’s to the ever-expanding genus of Defender.
Mannequin: 2025 Land Rover Defender 110 P400 X-Dynamic SE
Paint Sort: Gondwana Stone (with manufacturing facility matte safety movie)
Base Worth: $87,500
Worth as Examined: $109,265
Wheelbase(mm): 3,022
Size/Width/Top (mm): 5,018 (w/spare wheel) / 2,008 (mirrors folded) / 1,967
Curb weight (kg): 2,324
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six
Horsepower: 395 hp @ 5,500 – 6,500 rpm
Torque: 406 lb-ft @ 2,000 – 5,000 rpm
Transmission: 8-speed computerized
Engine & Drive Configuration: Entrance engine, 4WD
Noticed Gas Consumption (L/100km): 13.6
Tires: Goodyear Wrangler; 255/65R19
