The Land Rover Defender is an iconic name. The legendary off-roader was completely reimagined a couple of years ago. The short-wheelbase Defender 90 and the longer 110 enjoys decent reception around the world. Now, Land Rover employs it to perform a more family-oriented function, with an even longer Land Rover Defender 130 that can seat up to 8 passengers.
If the V8 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392 was poised to fight for the limelight with the Ford Bronco, the assault has now come from another direction. While we still wait for a high-performance Bronco, the pricier Land Rover Defender V8 is here now and it is a 518 hp beast available in both three-door or five-door configurations.
It’s been less than a year since Land Rover brought back their Defender. But the British marque has already updated the 2021 line-up to include a new trim level and a plug-in hybrid.
The 2020 Land Rover Defender 110 recently made its way to our local shores as one of the most anticipated cars of the year, received with mixed reactions before its limelight was stolen by far more retro Ford Bronco and maybe the upcoming Jeep Wrangler V8. We had a go at it on UAE sand to see if the modernised new model does justice to the nameplate.
The old Land Rover Defender became legendary for its offroading prowess while offering a minimum of modern conveniences. It was never particularly suited for markets outside Europe though, with its pathetic diesel engine (a weak petrol V8 option died a quick death by the late 90s), its unsuitability for extreme desert driving, its sky-high price that dwarfed more capable rivals, and its propensity for being unreliable even after half a century of development time. Owners and fans may vehemently disagree, setting a low bar for their expectations, but even I wore the Land Rover blinkers for several years before coming to my senses.
There has been a lot of speculation, and negativity, on what the upcoming 2020 Land Rover Defender will look like, especially as there is no way the Defender can continue its classic looks in a modern safety-conscious world. With numerous spy shots hinting at something that looks like a previous-generation Land Rover LR4, the reincarnation of the legendary off-roader is largely expected to become the new boxy option to the blobby new Discovery. And the wait to see what the new Defender looks like is almost over, as a leaked image of the Defender surfaces, presumably from the instrument cluster of a pre-production prototype.
A Japanese body kit design company, DAMD, has designed a frock for the Suzuki Jimny that turns it into a mini Mercedes-AMG G-Class or a mini Land Rover Defender.
Diesel-powered cars are quite popular in Europe, Asia and parts of the United States. They’re known for their fuel economy, immense torque and characteristic rattling engine note. Diesel has generally been the domain of commercial vehicles in the GCC. However, over the last few years, a few carmakers have sort of offered diesel cars in the UAE, usually on special order, such as the Audi Q7 W12 TDI, the Porsche Cayenne Diesel and the Land Rover Defender. Now we’re hearing that diesel cars, privately-owned ones at least, are not allowed to be newly registered in Dubai any more.
The iconic Land Rover Defender, around for more than half a century with only minor changes, is about to be discontinued, at least in its United Kingdom home market.
Electric cars seem to be everywhere. And even though they haven’t flooded the GCC market yet, we have a feeling that we’re not too far off. And something that could support this statement would have to be the news that the electric powered Land Rover Defender has passed the “real-world scenarios” test.