Land Rover Defender EV 2013 Review - International

What we liked:?
>> Seemingly inexhaustible torque
?>> Simplicity of conversion
?>> Defender's go-anywhere ability retained and improved

Not so much:?
>> Motor whines like a tired three-year old
?>> Short range?
>> More proof of concept than production reality

Land Rover's Defender EV is a curious blend of 21st century drivetrain technology in a mid-20th century vehicle design.

It seems on the face of it to be a project Land Rover undertook before anyone had thought up a reason or excuse to do it. Subsequently, someone had the bright idea that this would be a brilliant vehicle for getting wildlife photographers close to the action without startling their subjects. No diesel clatter, see?

And while the blokes at Solihull may be guilty of that typically BMC/British Leyland tactic – finding a solution before posing the question – the Defender EV is almost justified on the strength of its off-road ability, if not its comfort or refinement.

While it's quiet on the outside, the sound-insulating qualities we've come not to expect of the internal-combustion Defender are similarly absent in the EV. There's a lot of whine from the drivetrain impinging on conversation in the cabin. It's probably that much more noticeable when the vehicle is in low range, slogging through the swamps and fens of the brand's Solihull's proving ground – and there's no competing noise from wind or road.

But the Defender EV compensates for its whininess by being extraordinarily capable on deeply rutted tracks and through muddy bogs and water courses that would simply prove impassable for any lesser SUV than a Defender, a Wrangler or one of the big Japanese jobs.

The Defender EV continues the conventional model's tradition of awful packaging, but you can pick your way through heavy terrain by seeing the obstacles and pitfalls clearly from the driver's seat – which is one principle to offset the gripes about lag of legroom or the ridiculous switchgear placement, et cetera.

Heating is taken care of by a Webasto diesel-fuelled heating system. But there's no mention of how air conditioning would work in this vehicle – for those who would rather take their Defender EV to the plains of the Serengeti than to the peak of Ben Lomond.

That this particular Defender could ford water that was deep (although not quite over the bonnet), and trundle through thick treacherous mud on one side, with the wheels on the other side negotiating a high bank, was a credit to the vehicle's native traction and stability, irrespective of the type of motive power being delivered. There's little doubt, however, that the 70kW/330Nm electric motor – in a sealed unit with the 300-volt lithium-ion battery under the bonnet – provided the sort of torque needed for such heavy off-road use.

In fact, by virtue of the motor and battery unit being properly sealed (there's a small recharge point that is sealed with a removable cap, located near the bonnet latch), the Defender could conceivably go places a conventional model would struggle. And there's never any worry about 'drowning' a Defender EV. Yes, you can bog it, but you won't 'hydraulic' the motor as you would a diesel engine that has ingested water.

The Defender EV offers an 80-mile range (129km) and relatively easy recharging overnight. While the range is not stunning, even by electric vehicle standards, it's at least likely to be sufficient to get you there and back in the wild.

The dual-range transfer system operates just like the conventional model's and the gear selector is a lever that simply spins the electric motor's armature in the opposite direction when reverse is selected. Because it's not some bulky long-throw lever, it can be quickly shifted from Drive to Reverse and vice versa, in the event the vehicle has to be rocked out of a bog.

Frankly, though, who could realistically conceive of the sort of strife that would halt the Defender EV? The motor musters plenty of torque for hills and even on the standard Continental tyres traction was not a problem.

Admittedly the Solihull test track – despite efforts made by the designers to emulate tough off-road environments – is not the real world. But we'd dearly love to see the Defender EV given a try in the Australian environment. It's hard to put aside the sneaking suspicion the electric Rover would be very, very capable – anywhere.

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