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

Interior

An Upscale Truck

Step inside, or should I say, climb inside (with the air suspension raised to its highest setting), and it feels like Land Rover has aimed for an interior that is both luxurious and utilitarian. And I believe they have simply nailed it. With exposed body sections like the twin grab bars on the dash covered in leather, structural door liners with star-head bolts, washable floor and a rather deep, dinky instrument binnacle evoking of the original defender. It’s a feeling of robust luxury – especially with this model’s car’s beige tanned leather interior.

There are fewer obviously plush surfaces than you’ll find in the most luxurious among its SUV competition (like a Range Rover, a Mercedes GLS or the Volvo XC90) but fit-finish, spaciousness and material choices clearly position it above a Jeep Wrangler or even a Toyota Land Cruiser. The Defender is (unlike the Jeep) super-roomy too, with a wide cabin and loads of rear legroom with recline function. The 110 version features a third child-seat row making it a good 7 seater alternative. It also has a six-seat option, with a folding jump-seat in place of the central armrest area making it the fantasy ride of choice of a seven-year old. There are a lot of storage spaces in the dash and some under the central console. The boot space at over a 1000 litres can be expanded up to a staggering 2300 litres with the second and third row folded – perfect for moving lock-stock-and-barrel to Manali in case of an unforeseen lockdown again! While all controls feel large and easy to operate, what puts the new Defender finally at par with a modern hatchback - is its new Pivi Pro infotainment system featuring a large touchscreen and a crisp display for a lot of the sub menus and smartphone mirroring functions. All the infotainment electronics such as the ‘Clearsight interior rearview mirror, a 3D surround camera, a dozen USB ports, crisp off road visualisations, and multiple driving aids position the Defender right up to modern premium-car standards.



TopGear Magazine February 2024