Defender update

A smaller, more refined engine has been applied to the 2010 Defender range. The 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel engine replaces the 2.4-litre offering in the Defender 90, 110 and 130 models.

The 2.2-litre unit produces the same power and torque (90kW/360Nm), and fuel consumption ratings are matched however the new engine's top speed is now 145km/h as opposed to 132km/h. All models continue with the Getrag MT82 six-speed manual transmission -- a reasonably smooth-shifting unit and well-geared.

The engine update proves there's still some life left in the Defender. Just last month UK's Auto Express magazine reported Land Rover executives were contemplating killing off one of the auto industry's most iconic models.

But at this month's launch of the new Range Rover Evoque, Murray Dietsch, the brand's product manager told assembled journalists that his team is even more excited to be reworking Defender for the future than it was for the all-new coupe and five-door compact SUV.

"How much of Defender should we end up changing before it ends up not like a Defender anymore? That's the difficult thing. It's the balance between making it relevant, exciting and believable for everybody but then not losing the essence of what Defender was all about in the first place," the Australian explained.

"That's the dilemma we have. We're working on it and making sure that whatever we do in the future doesn't dilute what the Defender stands for. It needs to be authentic. People have still got to be able to say they want to be able to do things with it... 'To go places where others won't take me'.

The long-time Land Rover boy, Dietsch said his company was well aware of Defender fans that "hark back to the days of the NAS [North American Standard] 90 [short-wheelbase open-top vehicle]... It was a 'lifestyle vehicle' before there was lifestyle cars," argues Dietsch.

"And they liked what that represented."

So could the Defender represent a 'softer' role? Dietsch agreed there was room for the Defender to take a step aside but the brand never wants its customers "in a situation where they have taken their car and it doesn't do what they want it to do...

"How much of that [capability] do you dial into or out of the car without people thinking one little chink in the armour means: 'it's not a Defender then'."

Dietsch also suggested models in the LR lineup like the Discovery were equally -- if not more -- capable than the Defender.

The current Defender is set to stay at least until 2013. Speculation suggests if a new version arrives it won't be until 2015.