Cars/ First-drive/ 2020 Land Rover Defender | First Drive Review | BBC TopGear India

2020 Land Rover Defender | First Drive Review | BBC TopGear India

The off-road Icon is Back

For

Modern Design, Comfort, Off-Road Capability, Personalisation

Against

Almost Range Rover money, LR’s Reliability Record

Driving

(R)efined Dynamic

We drove the 110 long wheelbase version with 5 doors (a 90 short wheelbase 3-door version is due later) featuring a turbocharged four cylinder 2.0 litre petrol engine mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. It puts out 296bhp and 400Nm of torque. Of course, every model features all-wheel drive and locking differentials for navigating treacherous terrain with LR’s legendary auto terrain response system.

But a diesel heart is sorely missed. As the small displacement petrol unit feels puny for a car that weighs almost 2.3 tonnes of SUV, with a real world 0-100 km/h dash in 9-ish seconds and as big 4×4’s go, it does gulp a lot of fuel. What is remarkable, is that the Defender doesn’t feel like a hardcore off-roader, especially when it’s on the road. There’s none of the vagueness or coarseness associated with its competition and everything feels tied together. It absorbs hard shocks, and the wheels don’t shudder over corrugated surfaces and you can travel in luxury car comfort. Almost. It’s no great handler or even very engaging to drive with a slightly disconnected steering feel. A Sport mode has been given a miss, but drive it smoothly and it’ll cruise just fine on the expressway. Where it simply scores is when the tarmac ends; set the terrain response system to ‘Auto’ and you will appreciate its four-wheel drive system with a sorted ride quality enhanced by its air suspension setup. Most owners would seldom take their Defender for an off-roading excursion, but in case they do or have to drive across rain battered roads turned mud tracks - their posterior won’t be complaining of too much side-to-side movement or feeling every boulder’s creaking sound underneath.



TopGear Magazine February 2024