Walk to a giant SUV ready for the apocalypse. Climb into the plush driver’s seat with plenty of room to spread out. Enjoy the perfect balance between premium quality and the certainty of a cab. A 518-horsepower V-8 starter is available. Then dash to a parallel parking spot that doesn’t fit the Honda Civic.
This is a one-stop shop for the 2023 Land Rover Defender 90. By cutting the rear doors off the large three-row Defender 110, Land Rover maintains the strong yet refined feel of this off-road icon – but without Bulk accompanies every other thrill-seeking SUV. And combining the two-door bodywork with a classic Land Rover silhouette further enhances the Defender’s already powerful element of greatness.
These are impressions of a week with this unique Land Rover from Wapcar automotive news.
OVERVIEW
Land Rover sold the original Defender internationally under various names from 1983 to 2016, although Americans could only buy it from 1993 to 1997. It was just a working horse. , just as luxurious as a pickup truck dropped in 1983.
The company revived the Defender for the 2020 Model Year; The two-door Defender 90 joins the four-door Defender 110 for 2021, and a new eight-passenger, longer Defender 130 for 2023. Rear and one are looking for interior details, but it’s a Land Contemporary Rover below. That means its powerful all-terrain capabilities come from sophisticated electronics as well as from indestructible hardware; that means it has the fit and finish (interior and exterior) you’d expect from any other premium luxury SUV, and that means its on-road driving is very comfortable and balanced.
PERFORMANCE AND CAPABILITY
The Defender’s base engine is a 296-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that delivers an estimated EPA of 18 mpg in mixed driving. Land Rover estimates it will hit 60mph in a pleasantly quick 6.7 seconds on the Defender 90 and 7.0 seconds on the larger 110. A widely available upgrade is the much more lively six-horsepower 395 3.0-liter, whose 0-60 time drops to 5.8 seconds for the 110 and 5.7 seconds for the 90. Plus, it also has Better mileage from mild hybrid assist 20 mpg in mixed driving.
Our test car was a Defender 90 with its supercharged 5.0-liter V8 producing 518 horsepower and 461 pound-feet of torque – enough to easily accelerate the boxy SUV to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds (5.1 seconds on the 110 version). We found the engine to be toned without jitters and sound without being obtrusive. It drinks an estimated 16 mpg EPA in mixed driving and is only available north of $100,000, so the Defender doesn’t have to count cents.
Unlike the experience of driving a 470-horsepower Jeep Wrangler 392 — a platform that feels like no need to go too fast — even our short-wheelbase Defender inspires self-confidence. confident with a steady ride, direct and responsive steering as well as calm handling. The Land Rover is less exciting, but that’s because you don’t feel like you’re going to die. Make your choice. Defender offers a quiet and relaxed cabin, and is easy to drive; it’s not a performance master on the road like the BMW X5, but it does better than you’d expect.
And if you’re in the mood for dread (and you have a closed route or freeway available), Land Rover quotes the V8 Defender’s top speed as 149 mph. The other Defenders have a top speed of 119 mph, while the Wrangler 392 hits 112 mph.
This off-road performance is more than impressive considering the Defender’s off-road capabilities. Along with 8.5 inches of ground clearance (with a height-adjustable suspension that can be raised to 11.5 inches), the Defender includes a choice of nine off-road driving modes, an electronically locked differential and low-range transmission.
Video Stream is a Land Rover and Defender staple that can handle depths of nearly 3ft. It’s not as rough a utility machine as an old Land Rover, but thanks to a combination of physics and engineering, the Defender will outrun other capable luxury SUVs. good – except for the other Land Rovers.
EXTERIOR DESIGN
Defender 90 is a timeless piece of SUV history. It’s tall without being long – at 180.5 inches, a few inches shorter than the Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4, but it’s also 77.5 inches tall (10 inches taller than these crossovers) and 79 inches wide. ,1 inch (6.0 inches wider than Honda or Toyota). The Defender 110 has the same width and height but is 197.5 inches long, while the 130 is a 211.7-inch Tahoe.
Defender is the only current Land Rover that does not adopt the more rounded details of a modern Range Rover. The front is upright and has square headlights. The spare wheel is proudly attached to the revolving rear door. The taillights are separate bright spots. Our Carpathian tester wears a semi-matte finish that Land Rover says is tough and eye-catching.
All in all, Defender looks like something you’d take on a hunting trip, or a cop driving through a movie set in some back-and-forth future. It won’t blend in with the rest of the traffic, especially given the novelty of the D90’s two-door body.
INTERIOR DESIGN
Many beautiful Land Rover interiors first, then trucks. Extra thick leather covers their dashboard and door panels, and you’ll be embarrassed to put your feet on their thick floor mats with mud on your shoes.
The dash is intended to be durable rather than elegant, with angular details, a gear selector that sticks out at your fingertips and “DEFENDER” printed on the passenger side. The contact screw heads and the easy-to-wash rubber floor mats of our test car got the job done.
However, there is nothing low in this approach. Materials may not be luxurious but their quality is top-notch. And we don’t have any complaints about the way any trim fits together or the feel of any moving parts.
Infotainment is like a mixed bag. The standard 11.4-inch touchscreen looks sharp, but like on other Jaguar/Land Rover vehicles, the interface can be a bit see-through when trying to dig into its functions. Same with its digital gauge cluster. You can switch to Android Auto or Apple CarPlay when you just want to get things done.
The novelty is the panoramic camera, which restores a 3D view of the SUV and its surroundings, working even at highway speeds. While most of these systems will automatically shut down above about 15 mph, Defender only provides a message that it’s not recommended.
If nothing else, it’s an impressive display of the system’s processing power – it can track this 3D rendering from a collection of cameras as Defender glides down the highway speed. It also entertains your passengers. Unlike most luxury SUVs, the Defender includes this camera as standard equipment and it includes settings suitable for off-road use.
PASSENGER AND CARGO ACCOMMODATIONS
The defender has a commanding position and large open space of a large SUV. Again, you won’t find a compact SUV that looks as massive as this from the driver’s seat. And unlike the two-door Ford Bronco or the Jeep Wrangler, the D90’s rear seats not only have enough leg room for two adults – but thanks to its width, even three. You have to go through a folded front seat to get into the back, but it’s doable.
The limit is luggage space. Land Rover has prioritized passengers over cargo capacity, placing the backseat just inches from the swinging shop. The result is only 10.5 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, which is about the same as what you’ll find behind the Defender 110’s third row of seats.
That space is also less than the two-row Wrangler. door (12.9 cubic feet) and less than half what you get in a two-door Bronco (22.4 cubic feet). So even though you can bring five adults in the Defender 90, they’ll need to carry most of their belongings in their laps.
Folding the rear seats frees up a useful 44.6 cubic feet. That’s more than Jeep’s quote for the two-door Wrangler (31.7 cubic feet) but less than the two-door Bronco (52.3 cubic feet). You will also face extremely high load floors in Land Rover.
This is about $3,000 less than the equivalent Defender 110s. It’s not trivial, and it’s a break from two-door coupes that cost more than comparable sedans, but unlike many Land Rover buyers who would choose their luxury SUV over that price difference. The
Every Defender is a luxury SUV, with the exception of the 110 Standard which gets cloth seats instead of leather and steel wheels instead of alloys. (Pure purists may want a Defender 90 Standard, but we’d be grateful Land Rover didn’t sell the low-volume two-door model across the entire lineup.) The S comes in the leather, and alloy. 19-inch, 12-way power supply. adjustable front seats and 10-speaker Meridian sound system.
You’ll find a similar set of standard options and features available across the Defender range, with the engine being the most significant difference between trim levels.
