Land Rover Defender 90 V8 2023 Review

Pricing for the 2023 Land Rover Defender 90 V8 starts at $221,550 plus on-road costs.

Or, to put it another way, almost three times the amount required for the entry level Land Rover Defender 90 P300 S.

It’s more than $70K clear of the next priciest Defender 90, so you really have to want that V8.

The short-wheelbase Defender is pretty short on rivals to begin with – perhaps a Jeep Wrangler? – but the V8 version is a true unicorn.

Funnily enough, not too many other manufacturers offer a high-performance, three-door off-roader.

In an effort to justify its enormous price tag, the 2023 Land Rover Defender 90 V8 offers every possible toy in the JLR cupboard.

Land Rover (and Range Rover) models tend to have fairly lengthy options lists, but it’s basically all included on the V8.

On the outside you’ll find 22-inch wheels – though 20s and all-terrain tyres are an option – as well as blacked-out exterior trim, Matrix LED headlights and quad exhaust outlets in case bystanders miss the V8 badging.

Keyless entry/start is standard, as is a panoramic sunroof, triple-zone climate control, heated and ventilated 18-way power-adjustable front seats, a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats and Windsor leather/Dinamica suedecloth combination upholstery.

The centre console is also a fridge.

Only two colours are available, Santorini Black or Carpathian Grey, though there are a couple of smaller exterior options, such as a signature graphic on the side window, body-coloured spare wheel cover for the full-size spare and extended black pack for various bits of trim.

Land Rover now offers a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and servicing intervals are 12 months or a whopping 26,000km.

Servicing isn’t cheap, though, at $750 per year for the first five years.

The fundamentals of the 2023 Land Rover Defender 90 V8 are sound. There are six airbags and a full suite of active safety equipment including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), driver monitoring, active cruise control, traffic sign recognition with adaptive speed limiting, blind spot assist, rear cross traffic alert – the works.

Despite this, ANCAP only extends a five-star rating to five-door Defender 110 and specifically excludes the V8, while Euro NCAP says its five-star rating applies to all Defenders.

However, do a little bit of extra digging and it seems the European score also has caveats.

Regardless, the Defender 90 V8 certainly doesn’t seem in any way lacklustre.

A 360-degree camera allows you to see every angle of the car as well as providing off-road visual assistance.

Jaguar Land Rover has been through a number of different infotainment systems in the past decade or so but it seems to have cracked it with the new 11.4-inch ‘Pivi Pro’ touch-screen unit fitted as standard in the 2023 Land Rover Defender 90 V8.

It’s quick and responsive and easy to navigate, especially compared with some other premium systems, features smartphone mirroring, voice activation, wireless phone charging, in-built sat-nav, digital radio, online connectivity as well as a plethora of drive modes.

A head-up display is standard, as is the customisable full-width digital instrument display, while tunes are provided by a 15-speaker Meridian sound system.

There’s also plenty of driving technology but I’ll cover that later on.

Let’s be honest, this is what you came for. Under the substantial bonnet of the 2023 Land Rover Defender 90 you see here sits a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 that has been powering high-performance Jaguars, Land Rovers and Range Rovers for many years now.

Its time on this earth is almost up, the new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport switching to a BMW-sourced 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8, but we should enjoy it while it lasts.

In this application it outputs 386kW and 625Nm, which despite the 90 V8 weighing a substantial 2471kg, powers it to 100km/h in 5.2sec and on to a top speed of 240km/h.

The latter is cut to 191km/h if fitted with 20-inch wheels and all-terrain tyres.

Next question. Unsurprisingly, a 2.5-tonne SUV powered by a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 isn’t a recipe for fuel efficiency.

The claimed combined-cycle fuel consumption for the 2023 Land Rover Defender 90 V8 is 12.7L/100km but it’s probably best to view this as a best-case scenario.

It’s not difficult to see the appeal of the 2023 Land Rover Defender 90 V8. Pull out of a junction, floor the throttle and a smile is almost guaranteed to spread across your face as the supercharged V8 bellows and pushes you firmly back into your seat.

Beyond this point-and-squirt ability – which may well be enough for some people – it’s more difficult to make a case for the 90 V8. While the engine is undoubtedly mighty, the calibration feels a bit off.

In standard mode it’s extremely doughy and unresponsive, presumably deliberately so to help fuel consumption and to calm its responses. Thankfully, selecting Dynamic mode livens it up, though not as much as previous versions.

The latest noise regulations have also quietened the engine’s fantastic noise. It still sounds very good, no doubt, but isn’t as crisp as some prior examples and there are no longer any over-run fireworks.

The ride is relatively firm but not to the point of irritation, especially as a custom drive mode can be created to pair a more responsive powertrain with softer suspension, a good day-to-day combination.

For what it is, a tall, very heavy, short-wheelbase off-roader, the Defender 90 V8 can be driven in quite an enthusiastic manner, with reasonably accurate steering and sufficient grip to carry impressive corner speed.

But it’s never a car that encourages you to do so. There’s little reward for the effort.

Furthermore, in improving the 2023 Land Rover Defender 90 V8’s on-road ability, its undoubted off-road prowess has been compromised.

It still has all the gear, the height-adjustable air suspension, the multiple drive modes through the Terrain Response system, low-range gearing, locking diffs and up to 900mm of wading depth.

But you aren’t going far off the beaten track on 22-inch wheels and road tyres.

It’s largely for this reason that I would choose the 20-inch/all-terrain option. Not because anyone is going to take a near-$250,000 car genuinely off-road, but it at least then would be more at home on unsealed surfaces, where it arguably comes alive.

Select Dynamic mode and it turns into an overgrown rally car, sliding and growling and being an absolute laugh. Then again, few will be prepared to give up the pose value of the 22s.

Maybe order both?

Speaking of utility, the Defender 90 V8 retains the standard car’s 3500kg towing capability. While we wouldn’t recommend putting that behind a short-wheelbase Defender, particularly as the maximum ball weight is 150kg, certainly it would have no trouble towing a small boat or jetski.

The interior of the 2023 Land Rover Defender 90 V8 is a tale of two halves. Certainly, many other cars at this price point have a more luxurious or premium cabin, but the Defender’s is genuinely useable.

There’s lots of storage, the horizontal bar running across the dash being perfect for phones or wallets or keys as it’s rubberised to stop them sliding around and there is a passenger USB-C port in addition to USB-C and A ports and a 12V outlet in the large central storage area.

The cup holders are giant yet capable of gripping smaller vessels and as mentioned the huge centre console bin is also refrigerated which is a great feature.

Clambering into the back seats isn’t the easiest or most graceful manoeuvre but once you’re back there it’s a very impressive space.

There is simply masses of room, lots of light thanks to the big windows, separate temperature controls, heated seats, a pair of USB-C ports and 12V outlets and USB-A ports in the front seatbacks and plenty of storage, too.

This is just as well, as there’s nowhere to put anything in the boot. With the rear seats in place there’s really only room for a few shopping bags and even with them folded it’s an awkward space.

Given the preponderance of rear legroom, it’s a shame the rear bench can’t slide forward to liberate some extra luggage capacity, especially as the boot is very well equipped, with takeaway hooks both sides, a 230V AC and 12V outlet and buttons to raise and lower the rear suspension to make it easier for the dog to jump in.

Be aware, though, that the rear door is massively heavy; no surprise given it has a 22-inch alloy bolted to it.

So, should you buy a 2023 Land Rover Defender 90 V8? I can tell you that a D300 or P400 is a much smarter choice at a significant cost saving or that the 110 is far more practical or that the new Range Rover Sport makes much more sense as a luxury SUV at this price point.

The 90 V8 is a flawed vehicle for all the reasons you’ve just read about, but people will still want it and buy it because it looks cool, goes fast and sounds great.

It’s likely to be a toy and as such its practicality shortcomings are possibly not hugely relevant. There will probably be other cars in the garage for menial tasks.

It’s not a sensible car in the slightest, but the world arguably needs more cars like this.

2023 Land Rover Defender 90 V8 at a glance:
Price: $221,550 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 5.0-litre V8 supercharged-petrol
Output: 386kW/625Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 14.5L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: 328g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested