Land Rover Defender 2020 Review – International

How do you replace a vehicle that’s more than 70 years old? What’s more, the original Land Rover Defender was probably the world’s best known 4x4, one of the best-loved and certainly the longest-lived. The first version came out in 1948 and, since then, there have been a host of evolutionary changes, but never an all-new model. Production didn’t cease until 2016.

To make Land Rover’s task tougher, the 4x4 market has changed enormously since that first farmyard-biased vehicle sallied forth to Africa, Australia (one of its best markets initially), the Middle East and beyond.

Hardy go-anywhere four-wheel drives have morphed into 21st century family-friendly SUVs. That old Land Rover is now about as real-world relevant to the modern SUV market as a blunderbuss is to modern weaponry.

More than 15 different serious proposals have been evaluated, tested and rejected over the decades. Now, finally, there is an all-new Defender.

And because the old Land Rover forged its reputation in Africa, that’s where we tested it: in Namibia in south-west Africa -- the most deserted country in the world’s wildest continent.

The 2020 Land Rover Defender 110, which arrives Down Under in June and will be followed by the Defender 90 in October, has stayed true to the old Defender’s roots. The new version harks back to the original in its style, while still looking 21st century modern.

The design is square, chunky, high, has minimal front and rear overhangs, lots of ground clearance, proper off-road high-profile tyres and traditional 4x4 touches such as an external mounted spare wheel on the tailgate.

The tailgate itself is side-hinged, as with old Land Rovers.

Other traditional styling features include ‘alpine light’ windows in the roof, steel wheels (though alloys are available and will undoubtedly be more popular) and alloy bonnet tread-plates -- though don't try climbing on them if you weigh more than 85 kg.

Front pedestrian protection tests meant they couldn’t make the bonnet add-ons any tougher.

A huge list of options and accessories includes an ‘explorer pack’ that adds ‘expedition’ roof racks, external side mounted gear carrier and a snorkel (raised air intake) to make wading rivers easier. You can also add a waterproof inflatable awning and a roof tent.

Inside the new 2020 Land Rover defender we find rubber flooring to make it easier to wipe and sweep clean. As you’d expect from a Defender, hunky visible bolts affix door and boot trim and grab handles, and there’s a handsome magnesium bulkhead that is part of both the dashboard and the body structure.

Mechanically – or electronically – the new Defender boasts Land Rover’s most advanced electronic 4x4 control system, the availability of active locking centre and rear diffs, and low range for when things get vertical or very slippery.

Height adjustable air springs help boost off-road capability and wading depth – an impressive 900mm, compared with the old Defender’s 500.

External cameras are available and act as remote off-road spotters. Using virtual imaging, they can also allow you effectively to see through the bonnet, a big boon when the going gets tough.

More mundanely, they also help with parking.

Land Rover’s latest Terrain Response technology also enables drivers to use the touchscreen to fine tune the vehicle off-road set-up. This alters throttle/engine response, differential control and traction sensitivity in any of the six settings (Normal, Mud and Ruts, Wade, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Rock Crawl and Sand).

The global market for tough off-road 4WDs is now a small one. So, Land Rover has massively broadening the appeal of its new Defender.

It knows that most customers for a pricey new SUV will be found in the affluent West and in China, and they’re not adventurers bound for Africa or the Outback. Rather, they want a car that is family friendly, versatile and can carry lots of stuff.

The new Land Rover Defender uses a tougher version of the sophisticated aluminium monocoque that also underpins the latest Discovery and big Range Rover. There’s also fully independent suspension. These are huge changes from the old Defender’s body-on-frame design and its beam axles.

We tested two versions of the new Defender 110: the 2.0-litre 177 kW D240 four-cylinder turbo-diesel and the top-of-the-range P400 that uses Jaguar Land Rover’s new 3.0-litre 294kW mild-hybrid straight-six turbo petrol engine.

The diesel and petrol engines are both mated to silky-shifting eight-speed automatic transmissions.

Infotainment – devil’s worship to old Defender diehards – is state of the art. The new car uses Jaguar Land Rover’s new Pivi Pro system that’s a step ahead of what you’ll find on the priciest Range Rovers or Jaguars. Other JLR models will get it soon.

Pivi Pro offers full-time connectivity (though not in remote signal-free north-west Namibia), the ability to connect two smartphones simultaneously, a very intuitive 10-inch touchscreen and the usual Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. Even more novel are the software-over-the-air updates for chassis, engine and braking controls, as well as the infotainment system.

The new 2020 Land Rover Defender also delivers all the mod cons and luxury furnishings you'd expect of a premium SUV, including the availability of wood and leather, heated and cooled seats and a terrific Meridian surround sound music system.

Our three-day and 680km 2020 Land Rover Defender expedition started and finished in Opuwo, in the far north-west of Namibia. This small town of 7000 people mixes locals dressed Western style with numerous Himba tribespeople.

The Himba women are semi-naked and wear goatskin skirts and a sea of necklaces and bracelets. They contrast with their neighbours, the Herero tribeswomen, who wear Victorian-style crinoline full-length dresses, petticoats, bodices, long sleeves and shawls, elaborate hats and carry parasols.

This incongruous dress is a leftover from German colonialism. The women have maintained their Victorian dress code ever since.

Day one took us along gravel roads and hard-packed sandy tracks north-west from Opuwo, and across dry riverbeds and crossings surging with recent rainwater. That night we slept in the Himba-run Van Zyl’s camp and ate under an African sky effervescent with stars. We slept in tents, the wilderness outside alive with bush sounds.

Day two saw us descend the nearby Van Zyl’s pass, named after a former local commissioner who built this track in the 1960s as shortcut to move cattle.

This was the toughest off-roading we encountered, a precipitously steep descent (of up to 35 degrees) over rocks and loose gravel. It’s so steep that it’s only possible to drive in one direction – down. It took two-and-a-half hours to travel 6km.

At the bottom lay a mangled Toyota Hilux pick-up, which had clearly slipped over the edge and rolled into the valley below. The caved-in roof and twisted cabin suggested a grim end. There was no sign of driver or passenger.

The pass led down to the vast sandy Marienfluss Valley, sandwiched by tall mountains. That night we slept at a lodge in the small Himba town of Purros. Next morning, we watched giraffe browse in the neighbouring dry riverbed as ate breakfast.

Our final day took us into the Skeleton Coast Park, off limits to off-roaders (Land Rover had a permit). We surfed over sand dunes and ploughed through dry and wet river beds.

It’s here the Defender went to work rescuing a bogged semi – and there’s video proof!

Once we got bogged also, the remote electric winch pulling us clear. We sighted a big bull elephant in the riverbed, enjoying the waterholes and lush vegetation of recent rain.

Occasionally we glimpsed the beaches and surf of the Atlantic. More than 1000 shipwrecks line this coast. Then we sped on a decent gravel road north, back to Opuwo.

The biggest surprise with the new Defender is just how good it is on road. A short paved-road section over mountains in Namibia showed surprisingly agile handling for a 2100kg SUV. It also has excellent ride comfort, helped by those big supple air springs.

A subsequent drive in the UK reiterated the impressive on-road refinement. This is a spacious, versatile, comfortable and practical SUV that will suit families and active folk, attracted by the adventurous styling and go-anywhere reputation.

Both new straight-six petrol engine and D240 diesel impressed with their refinement and performance. The six can sprint 0-100km/h in just 6.1sec. The diesel is still brisk enough (0-100 in 9.1sec). Of the two, I preferred the diesel --it is also better suited to the car’s tough go-anywhere attitude.

Less surprising is the new Defender’s off-road prowess. Our adventure proved it is an astonishingly capable all-terrain vehicle, able to go places even an old Defender could not and, more pertinently, able to do so with much greater ease, driver confidence and comfort.

Thank all those advanced 4x4 controls systems and the height adjustable suspension this is an off-roader par excellence.

Most pleasing of all, this is a Land Rover that goes back to the company's tough 4x4 roots.

After years of urban focus and premium leanings, here is a new Land Rover that looks designed for the Serengeti or the Simpson, not for the city; a Land Rover that looks ready to drive around the world.

Never mind that most new Defenders will lead cossetted urban lives, the sad fate of the modern SUV.

From $75,900 for the D240 and from $95,700 for the P400, it certainly isn’t cheap. But, rest assured, you are getting a lot of capability for the money.

How much does the 2020 Land Rover Defender P400 cost?
Price: From $95,700 (plus ORCs)
Available: June
Engine: 3.0-litre mild-hybrid turbo-petrol inline six-cylinder
Output: 294kW/550Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto, four-wheel drive
Fuel: TBC
CO2: TBC
Safety rating: TBC

How much does the 2020 Land Rover Defender D240 cost?
Price: From $75,900 (plus ORCs)
Available: June
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 177kW/430Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto, four-wheel drive
Fuel: TBC
CO2: TBC
Safety rating: TBC

Words: Gavin Green
Images: Nick Dimbleby