Land Rover Defender

Exterior

The design of the Land Rover Defender new model may be boxy, but it is new from ground-up. Up-front, it boasts of a protruding in-built bull bar with a single-slat grille above it, further flanked by large, rectangular LED DRL headlamps. It also gets a lot of black cladding all around, giving it a rather butch stance. The bonnet gets a raised portion with some black highlights on either side. The side profile is quite slab-sided, but you will notice the flared wheel arches that house these massive, rugged tyres. It sports vertically-stacked tail lights in the shape of cubes, and it also features a tail-mounted spare wheel and a skid-plate on the lower half of the bumper. The overall silhouette is of a proper, no-nonsense old school SUV in modern times. 

Variants

The Land Rover Defender variants are as follows: Base, S, SE, HSE and First Edition. Features include a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system, connected car tech, heads-up display, a Meridian audio system, automatic climate control, LED headlights, grained leather and woven textile seats, rubber flooring, a 360-degree surround camera, wireless charging, 12-way electrically-adjustable and heated front seats and Electronic Air Suspension.

On the safety front, it is equipped with ABS, blind spot assist, traction control, 6 airbags, front and rear parking sensors and a driver condition monitor.

Interior

The cabin is a perfect blend of minimalist design details while also being solidly built and well screwed together. At the front, it retains its predecessor's bench-style front seats, which should mean that accommodating even up to six occupants on the short-wheelbase model shouldn't be an issue. The SUV's reinforced chassis will ensure that it will carry about 900kgs of luggage.

There are lots of modern, high-tech bits around that give this new Defender a very modern appeal. The large central infotainment display boasts of Apple and Android smartphone mirroring and a digital driver's display instead of analogue dials that can be reconfigured. The design of the dashboard, although rather boxy like the outside, manages to have a very modern design approach to it. Space and comfort should not be an issue, particularly on the long-wheelbase model. 

Engine Specifications & Performance

The Land Rover Defender comes with multiple engines for overseas markets, but for India, it will only get a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 296bhp and 400Nm of torque, with power being sent to all four wheels via an 8-speed automatic gearbox. It will also come with Land Rover's Terrain Response All-Wheel Drive system. The 90 model will do 0-100 in a claimed 8.0 seconds while the 110 model will manage the same in 8.1 seconds. Unfortunately, there was no official confirmation for a diesel-powered Defender at the time of launch.

Competitors

Given its on-road price, Land Rover Defender directly competes with the Jeep Wrangler.