Land Rover Defender: Nostalgic abstention
Cars and mobility
The new defender has arrived and his task is not easy.
By Stéphane Wamat
Have we ever seen such a radical generational change in the automotive world? From rustic and rudimentary, the Defender is technolo-gic and quite refined, although it tries to conse a raw side, through its design and its inner plastics, but above all by its look always as square. It is undeniable that the new defender will never have as much charisma as his forefather, but we must also be fair: he has it too and when you are two metres tall in the presence of his two metres, it impresses.
Let’s make a case for it once and for all: The Defender is no longer the quirky, anachronistic and endearing object that made it successful until 2015. In fact, all that made him adorable to some was a repulsive one for others: his driving position of another age, his spartan finish, his lack of soundproofing, his road rhyme hardly safe on wet roads … Today, none of this is. The new Defender is spacious, quiet, rigorously mounted and lined with electronics. His list of options is almost as long and as rich as that of a Range Rover.
The new Defender is therefore a resolutely modern vehicle, pleasant and safe on the road, but always offers more sensations than four-wheel drive as an SUV. So you still feel like you’re driving something special. And for those interested, the Defender has once again become one of the most capable off-roaders in the world, even better than its grandpa, electronic aids.
The new Land Rover Defender is available with a 2-liter diesel with 200 or 240 hp, a 2.0-petrol engine with 300 hp or a 6-cylinder 3.0 gasoline engine with 400 hp. It starts at 50,800 Euro TVAC in the basic short version, and can easily exceed 110,000 in long full options version. Sure, it’s the connection between the high-end Jeep Wrangler and the entry-level Mercedes G-Class.
Read also – Land Rover imagines a Defender melting in its mouth
The expert opinion of the eco-driving expert
Eco-driving and Land Rover Defender: The paradox is funny. Our aim is not to chase the most economical vehicle here, but to check whether the official figures are sustainable. With the 6-cylinder Defender, they’re pretty much. Land Rover promises an average of 11.2 l/100 km and the average test 12.2 l/100 km. That’s certainly a litre more, but it should be noted that the test took place mainly in the city and on the highway, where the Defender is hardly favored by its “aerodynamics”. From experience we can say that if we had also been driving on a secondary network, the average would have been less than 11 litres or very close to 10 litres. Not bad for a machine of this calibre.
The opinion of the Lamarche family
“To put it bluntly, the ultimate test wasn’t very convincing: when they discovered this new Defender, the kids didn’t scream admiringly, as they still do when you come across an old model. It was a bit the same for the parents, but if you put the emotional aside, we find it pretty cool. We could not have imagined making 800 terminals for the holidays with the old one, but yes, fingers in the nose! We also like what scares purists: this interior that mixes raw sides with the latest technology. It’s very fashionable for the house, so why not for the car? And then, with the old defender, it’s as if the builder told us, “Limited to adventurers, go your way!” This is where we feel concerned. We could make it our everyday car without having to pay for off-road equipment that we don’t need. However, the prices tell us that we will not get away with less than 70,000 euros for something properly equipped, with the options that are fun. It starts to look expensive! »
Specifications (Long version 110)
L/l/h (mm): 5,018/2,008/1,167
5, 6 or 7 seats (depending on the version and configuration)
2,361 kg
6-cylinder engine. 3-litre turbo petrol
Power: 400 hp
Torque: 550 Nm
Conso WLTP: 11.2 l/100 km
CO2-WLTP: 255g/km
Price: 70,400 Euro TVAC
