Earth realm is getting more challenging by the day and the Land Rover Defender 110 is an apt solution. Its size is dwarfed only by how monumental an achievement it actually is. It’s not often that a car manages to drop my jaw with the way it goes about business.
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
From sketches to renders to concept form and then production and, now, a road test. The new Land Rover Defender, for long known as the DC100 concept, has taken a familiar shape, yes, but pictures don’t tell of capability and the Defender is far more capable than many, many other vehicles.
It’s massive! Over five metres long if you factor in the rear-mounted full-size — 20-inch with 275/60 Good Year Wrangler — spare and with a wheelbase spanning over three metres. The bold grille and simple yet expansive surfaces look neat thanks to the curvature of the metal. The pronounced wheel-arches look even more purposeful when the car is raised to its highest ride height. The tail-lamp clusters are nothing short of modern art, with a captivating rear signature when illuminated. Of course, styling is only one of the aspects and while there are several elements to accentuate its credentials — high bonnet, large vents, and butch wheels and tyres — it’s what’s inside and underneath that truly makes a difference.
The Land Rover Defender 110 is a cavern inside. Until now, I hadn’t measured a second-row shoulder-room more than 1.5 metres. The Defender has 1,510 millimetres of it — enough to seat three large adults comfortably. It is a seven-seat, three-row SUV, though, and there are a multitude of choice appointments to make sure it’s as comfortable as it is capable. Getting into the driver’s seat, I was at a loss of words for the interior layout. It seemed elegantly classy yet reassuringly robust, thoughtfully purposeful and optimally spacious. Truly an embodiment of a choice personal philosophy: “a place for everything and everything in its place”. The steering wheel feels nice to grip and has a lot of controls seen in larger and more expensive Range Rovers. The centre console’s wood trim adds to the appeal and the sheer amount of storage spaces for bits and bobs as well as concealed storage areas make for a satisfyingly safe feeling that made me instantly fall for this moving fortress. The thick doors, large windows, and comfortable, multi-way adjustable seats are but some of many features worthy of appreciation.
The keyless entry and go is a personal preference and I was glad the Defender had that standard; in this SE trim level at Rs 90 lakh? Sure. Nothing good comes anywhere near cheap any more and the Land Rover Defender is truly one of the good ones. It’s more than a utilitarian tool for the rough and a farmer’s daily, that’s for sure. The new Defender is, dare I say, a cutting-edge vehicle that can — and will, easily — do absolutely everything. The P300 powertrain is a 2.0-litre, four-pot turbo-petrol from the “Ingenium” umbrella. It makes, as the name suggests, 300 hp with an accompanying 400 Nm of peak torque, with the output flowing through an eight-speed automatic transmission and Land Rover’s hardest-core four-wheel-drive system with the works.
Fire up the engine, though, and there’s nary a sound. The cabin noise insulation is excellent and it’s a peaceful affair as I get going; like taking your pet studio apartment for a walk. Prod the right pedal and it is far from slow, though! The Land Rover Defender 110 P300 hits 100 km/h from standstill in 8.1 seconds and gets up to 191 km/h. Not that you’d find too many places to do that sort of illegal speed, but it’s easy to get up to the speed limit and stay there. The meaty torque band and properly intelligent gearbox make for quick and linear acceleration with optimal shift timings and efficient management of systems. It feels like a proper amalgamation of mechanical and electronic engineering doing what both do best — together. It’s a good feeling.
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