Land Rover Defender review (2020 - 2025)

The original Series I Land Rover arrived in 1948. It gradually evolved into the Series II and III, then into the Defender in 1990, which was the model that remained on sale until 2016. It’s arguably the most recognisable motor vehicle there has ever been. Replacing it with an all-new version was therefore no easy feat, and there would inevitably be critics grumbling about how wrong Land Rover had got it, regardless of what it came up with.

Whereas the familiar old Defender was a truly utilitarian machine beloved of the military, off-road enthusiasts and utility companies – but also families and the fashion conscious – its replacement is a different sort of device altogether. It’s more closely aligned to the model the Land Rover Discovery used to be in its earlier years, before it moved upmarket and became closer in philosophy to the Range Rover. Like the early Discovery, the Defender is now a family car with peerless off-roading capability, but also the modern comforts that SUV buyers have come to expect.

Not that Land Rover would ever describe the Defender as an SUV. Over the years the company has steadily positioned itself as a luxury marque, whereas before it sold affordable and rugged four-wheel drives to farmers and rural folk. Accordingly, and much to the frustration of some and, at the time of writing, new prices started at more than £50,000.

The Defender 90 is the short-wheelbase model and the Defender 110 the long-wheelbase version with more passenger space (90 and 110 used to refer to the old Defender’s wheelbase length in inches, but that’s no longer the case).

The 110 has seven seats while the 90 offers five, although you can also have a ‘jump seat’ in either model, which is located between the two front chairs and bumps the seat count up to eight and six.

Land Rover launched the Defender 130 (another residual numerical reference to the old model’s wheelbase) in May 2022 which is the most practical of the lot. It has eight seats – two in the front and two rows of three – and up to 2,516 litres of luggage space with all the seats folded down. In short, it’s massive, but you’ll pay for the space, because prices started at £73,895 when it was launched.

It may have become a more luxurious and sophisticated car, but the Defender remains a true Land Rover and is still, therefore, a formidably capable 4x4. In fact, the company says this is its most competent model away from the tarmac. Air suspension allows you to vary the ride height (though lower-spec models have fixed coil springs) to ensure adequate ground clearance, and two locking differentials transfer torque to where it can be put to best use. Meanwhile, Terrain Response, which is a whole suite of off-road driving modes, means the Defender can deal with wading, to rocky terrain, to wet mud, and everything in between.

It's also really good to drive on the public highway. It’s comfortable on journeys long and short, quiet on the motorway, the light steering and standard eight-speed automatic gearbox make it entirely undemanding to drive and, when you up your pace on a flowing B-road, the handling and steering precision are both good enough that you can clip along at alarming speed.

Engine-wise, the petrol line-up starts with the 296bhp, 2.0-litre P300, while the P400 has a 395bhp, 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine, and a mild-hybrid system – basically a big battery that acts as an electric supercharger and saves the engine some work.

The four-cylinder diesel engine range starts with the 197bhp, 3.0-litre D200, and rises through the 247bhp D250 and 297bhp D300. If you want a plug-in hybrid, then the 400bhp P400e model has you covered.

There are plenty of trim levels to choose from, but some are only available with certain engines. The range starts with the entry-level Defender (which doesn’t have any letters after its name) then ascends through S, SE, and HSE. Then there are the slightly fancier X-Dynamic models, which also come in S, SE and HSE guises and, finally, you have the top-spec X models. Some versions were also produced in First Edition trim, for the early adopters, instead of X models.

The previous Defender was so many different things to so many different people and, as part of its efforts to recognise and replicate that with the latest version, Land Rover offers various body styles, seating layouts, powertrains, and optional upgrade packages (see Three Things to Know, below). There’s also the Hard Top model, a commercial vehicle aimed at high-end tradespeople and artisanal businesses, complete with more versatile cargo areas and van-style panel sides.

With an upmarket vehicle come upmarket running costs. The diesel models should return around 30mpg and the more powerful petrols something in the low-20s. The plug-in hybrid will achieve far better figures than those, but only over relatively short journeys and only if owners regularly charge the batteries. Insurance groups range from 31 for the D200 variant to 44 for the P400 model. Road tax is also on the pricey side.

Servicing and maintenance can also be expensive due to the cost of parts and the elaborate nature of the Defender’s electrics. Land Rover does offer service plans so owners can guarantee the cost of servicing at a fixed price and spread the cost over time.

It would be unfair to judge the Defender’s reliability too harshly at this point because it was relatively new at the time of writing. Land Rover has certainly built the Defender to be tough and it gives the impression of being a strong and robust machine.

However, Land Rover’s reliability record has been far from spotless in recent years. The 2021 What Car? reliability survey ranked it 29th out of 30 manufacturers, and its models – which did not include the Defender – typically languished at the bottom of their respective classes, due to a range of mechanical and electrical failures.

New Land Rovers are covered by three-year, unlimited mileage warranties and roadside assistance is included as standard, meaning that should any faults arise during that term, Land Rover itself will be obliged to put things right. Owners can choose to extend that cover beyond three years at extra cost.