Land Rover Defender 90 2021 Review

Okay, the 2021 Land Rover Defender 90 might be $160,000 more affordable than the Mercedes-Benz G-Class in Australia, but Landie’s born-again ‘Shortie’ is still not what you’d call a budget offering in this rather specialist category.

Sitting well upstream of the Jeep Wrangler, which is one of its natural rivals, the Defender 90 starts at $74,640 for the entry-level P300 four-cylinder petrol model and $81,166 for the base D200 diesel – and that’s what we’re testing here.

That buys you a silky new six-cylinder turbo-diesel engine and a level of wilderness survivability that Bear Grylls would appreciate. But we’ll get to powertrain details later.

The reincarnated Land Rover Defender 90 lacks the two rear doors of the Defender 110 and is a whopping 695mm shorter with the spare wheel on the tailgate, but it brings improved off-road capability and more striking exterior visuals.

The Defender 90 comes with plenty of tech, good equipment levels and some impressive cabin features. Along with more grab handles than a city train and a durable, no-nonsense cabin design, the eye is initially drawn to the two-tone multifunction steering wheel, the semi-digital instrument cluster behind it, then a 10.0-inch central touch-screen with clear, sharp graphics.

There’s more off-road gadgets, cameras and augmented reality live feeds than you’ll find in most other off-roaders, all beamed through the intuitive ‘Pivi Pro’ central touch-screen operating system, and you can also use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto when not engaged in heart-pounding mud pluggery.

Standard equipment such as keyless entry and push-button engine start make day-to-day driving a little easier, while three USB ports, a 12-volt socket, dual-zone automatic climate control, an auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror plus auto headlights and wipers mean you don’t have to toggle too many switches and other controls to stay comfortable and in command when on the go.

A digital radio tuner and a six-speaker audio system with above-average audio clarity are fitted as standard, while on the outside the D200 Land Rover Defender 90 gets LED headlights and tail-lights, heated and power-adjustable side mirrors (auto-dimming on the driver’s side) and ultra-cool gloss white 18-inch steel wheels shod with 255/70R18 Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tyres.

This test vehicle is fitted with around $11,000 worth of extras, the most expensive being a folding fabric roof ($4810) and a tow hitch receiver ($1432). Previous testing by our team shows the Defender 110 to be one of the best tow vehicles getting round, too.

Refinement levels are orders of magnitude greater than its agricultural predecessor, but at the same time there’s still a basic look and feel to the cabin. And that’s disappointing.

Sure, it has a robust, rugged look and feel that’s easy to clean, but there’s large swathes of low-quality plastics between the driver and front passenger that look and feel cheap.

The seats could be out of a bog-standard Toyota Corolla, with scratchy, basic fabric upholstery and chiefly manual seat adjustments. Only the backrests are power-operated.

If you want a premium look and feel inside, you’re going to have to fork out more cash for a higher-spec model with better seats, a two-tier centre console, wireless phone charging and so on.

And if you’ve got cash to burn, the top-spec British rock-crusher rises to an eye-watering $210,000-plus for the V8-powered Defender.

Front seat room is excellent, and while the rear seat compartment is less spacious, it’s not bad considering the vehicle’s compact 4323mm length. Just don’t ask about the boot. It’s tiny, and the claimed 397 litres of space has to be a clerical error, surely?

Land Rover now offers a solid five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty for the Defender 90, matched by five years’ roadside assistance. A five-year capped-price service program costs $2650 up front, which is an average of $530 per annum.

Compared to its predecessor, the new 2021 Land Rover Defender 90 is like a four-wheeled robo-warrior from the future, fitted with the sort of technology and safety equipment that requires one button push to activate – or in some cases is completely automatic.

Chuck it in reverse, for example, and the 360-degree parking camera with 3D overlays offers a dozen different angles. The camera tech really comes into its own when you head off-road too, with the clever ‘ClearSight’ ground view using augmented reality to show you what’s directly under the front wheels.

Some of the other useful tech features that get a good workout include adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist – essentially semi-autonomous acceleration, braking and steering.

Other on-road and urban-savvy systems include blind spot assist, forward and reverse traffic detection and evasion systems, a clear exit monitor plus an effective traffic sign recognition system that updates speed limits on the digital instrument panel in real time.

The Defender 110 has a five-star ANCAP safety rating under the latest stringent testing protocols, but the Defender 90 has not been tested yet.

After rejigging its diesel offerings in Australia, the only oil-burning engine available in the new 2021 Land Rover Defender 90 (and 110) is the new-generation ‘Ingenium’ 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight six.

It features 48-volt mild-hybrid augmentation and in this entry-level D200 model pumps out 147kW at 4000rpm and 500Nm from 1250-2250rpm.

And it’s an absolute pearler.

From the moment you fire it up, it’s clear this isn’t your ordinary fossil-fueller. The engine is so quiet, so smooth and so torquey that it creates an almost premium passenger car feel for the rough-and-ready Defender 90.

Indeed, engine refinement levels are staggering – you’d almost be forgiven for thinking this wasn’t a diesel engine, such is its silky-smooth operation.

If you want more muscle, the same engine can also be had in D250 S (183kW/570Nm) guise, starting at $90,326 plus ORCs.

Even with less than 150kW of power, the six-cylinder donk has no hesitation accelerating on or off-road and feels more suited to hauling around the vehicle’s significant 2.3-tonne mass than the entry-level Defender’s turbo-petrol offerings.

The engine stop-start system is also one of the best going around. It’s ultra-quick, quiet and seamless cutting in and out, while the savvy eight-speed automatic transmission makes urban driving effortless and off-roading easily controllable thanks to a manual override mode (but no flappy paddles).

The 0-100km/h acceleration time is quoted at 9.8 seconds, and the Defender 90 feels responsive at higher speeds when overtaking. But it’s even more impressive at lower speeds when attacking rutted, muddy and challenging off-road tracks, thanks in large part to a potent wave of low-end torque right off idle.

The driveline also features a dual-range transfer case, so you can whack it into low-range for serious slow-speed ascents and rock crawling. There’s also locking centre and rear diffs and a six-mode terrain response system that offers rapid access to driving modes such as mud, rock and sand via a dial on the dash.

The Defender 90 can tow up to 3500kg with a maximum tow ball weight of 350kg, and while the claimed fuel consumption figure is a respectable 7.9L/100km, we recorded 10.8L/100km on test. It may have been more efficient if it wasn’t blasted through muddy bogs at full throttle and pushed up steep, challenging inclines – over and over…

All up, the new six-cylinder diesel powertrain is a superb match for the adventurous Defender 90.

Unlike the four-door 110 model with air suspension fitted as standard, the 2021 Land Rover Defender 90 comes with coil suspension. While that means it can’t match the former’s lofty 291mm ground clearance, its 225mm clearance still provides it with impressive off-road capability.

Approach and departure angles for the coil-sprung two-door Defender are 31 and 38 degrees respectively versus the air-suspended model’s 38/40 degrees at full extension, and after some trial and error (mostly the former), it dealt with some pretty hairy climbs and descents with confidence.

Indeed, the Defender 90 breezed through many of the tougher tracks we regularly test 4WDs on near the Wombat State Forest in Victoria.

You can add the air suspension pack ($1309) if you want even more capability but you shouldn’t feel underwhelmed with the stock coil springs. Wading depth is 850mm, down 50mm on the air suspension, but the Defender 90 has a better inherent breakover angle, so you can teeter over termite mound-like obstacles with impunity.

The soft suspension set-up is well suited to generating purchase on tricky terrain and there’s good wheel articulation. The standard-issue Goodyear Wrangler Adventure A/T tyres (255/70R18) shod to rugged steel wheels have deep grooves for extra off-road leverage yet deliver remarkably little road noise either.

On the freeway and around town the Defender 90 is quiet and comfortable, thanks to those sizeable sidewalls, and, just as we found in the rough stuff, the coil suspension does a great job keeping the suspension soft and pliant on-road.

The Defender 90’s short length and light steering make it easier to drive in traffic and park at the shopping centre than the longer Defender 110 too, although the brakes are a little touchy and sensitive, resulting in a few abrupt stops in urban environs.

The Shortie can be pressed into service as a daily driver, no worries, just don’t expect superior handling dynamics: it wallows through corners if pushed too quickly.

Apparently, good things come in small packages, and that certainly rings true for the 2021 Land Rover Defender 90.

It lacks the practicality and load-lugging capacity of its bigger four-door 110 sibling that scored a ‘highly commended’ gong in the 2020 carsales Car of the Year awards, but feels more competent and tenacious off-road.

We note that short-wheelbase versions of other 4x4 off-roaders – the Toyota LandCruiser, Nissan Patrol, Mitsubishi Pajero, et al – were not inexpensive propositions compared to their bigger siblings either.

So depending on your outlook, or your particular requirements, the shorter length doesn’t bring with it any loss in the value equation.

And the new Defender 90 looks tremendous. Those gloss white steel wheels and all-terrain tyres match up beautifully with the vehicle’s blocky, almost toy-like design.

It won’t be for everyone and its value for money is a topic for debate, but those who do jump on board Land Rover’s reborn Shortie won’t be disappointed.

How much does the 2021 Land Rover Defender 90 D200 cost?
Price: $81,166 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder twin-turbo diesel
Output: 147kW/500Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 207g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested