Overview

Resurrecting an iconic car is never easy. Many brands have tried to revive well-loved nameplates over the years, with the failures seemingly outnumbering the successes. The reborn Land Rover Defender definitely falls into the success category, transforming from a capable but archaic utility vehicle into one of the best luxury SUVs.

And that’s why today’s Defender is a smooth, sophisticated – and expensive – off-roader. Its rivals are a selection of SUVs including the Toyota Land Cruiser, Ineos Grenadier, and even the significantly pricier Mercedes-Benz G-Class. But it offers more choice than most, available in three guises: the stumpy three-door 90, five-door 110 we’re covering here, and the giant Defender 130 that seats up to eight. The Hard Top commercial version went on sale in 2020.

The 110 is a roomy five seater, but you can optionally equip it with a pair of additional rear pews, to make it a seven seater. Alternatively, you can have an additional fold-out jump seat up front in place of a centre console to seat six at a pinch. That makes the Defender 110 uniquely adaptable in its class.

The Defender’s engine range consists of turbocharged, mild hybrid straight-sixes, with a plug-in hybrid and powerful V8s bookending the efficiency and performance offerings respectively. On the road, it’s comfortable and far better to drive than the old Defender, whilst retaining impressive off-road capabilities.

We’ve driven the Defender extensively both on-road and off-road and sampled almost all of the engines. To find out what the Defender is like both on and off road, how practical it is and what it’ll cost to run, keep reading our full review over the next few pages. If you want to know how we test, we have a dedicated page for that.