New Land Rover Defender 2020 review

The Defender sets a good first impression on cushioning the blow. There are traditional Defender cues – a big slab of dashboard with a grab handle at either end, with the instruments in their own little binnacle. The steering wheel is huge, driving position high, seats large (that’s new) and visibility good (that’s not new). You can see where the car ends, where its sides are, and the door mirrors are big, too. As well they might be: while the old Defender was as narrow as a Ford Fiesta and as long as a Ford Focus, this new model is 2105mm wide across its mirrors and 5018mm long, including the spare wheel – a luxury car footprint with Land Rover’s longest wheelbase, at 3022mm. The 90 is half a metre shorter in both wheelbase and length.
Interior materials feel good, albeit this is a higher-spec car. There are some exposed structural elements and Torx-head bolts to enhance the adventurous feel; although that’s better achieved by the amount of storage space and charge outlets the Defender brings you, which, as you’ll know if a lot of you are travelling for a long time, is what really matters. And there’s a new infotainment system. Touchscreen, yes, but it’s good. No, I mean it. For the first time in a Land Rover, it’s genuinely quick, clear and confident.

You can have two or two-and-a-bit seats in the front, with a middle jump seat you’d use to get a lift home from the pub but for no longer than that. There are three seats in the rear with massive head and leg room – the top window is a nice touch but no more than a distant porthole – and you can spec two seats in the spacious boot (although not with the jump seat). The boot, at 916 litres to 2233 litres with the second row folded, is cavernous, and although you’d probably get a wider access hatch if the tailgate lifted, rather than swung sideways, remember it’s a Defender.

The control weights are not traditional Defender. They’re light, positive, progressive and, as we mooch out into the countryside, it feels easy and laid back. I think that’s important in a car that claims to be so capable; a Land Cruiser manages it in similar fashion. If you’re going to spend a long time in one of these, in abnormal road conditions, you’ll want a car that’s ergonomically easy to rub along with. You can make a case on a car’s various ultimate off-road credentials (and see the hard numbers, above left) but reducing fatigue counts.
The ride feels easy, too, on big empty roads where it lopes along with plenty of breath in its lungs. The steering doesn’t tell you much or self-centre greatly but it’s accurate and stability is good.

A few caveats: we’re largely on rough roads – a brief stretch on asphalt suggests the Defender is an engaging road drive too. The steering gains weight and response as forces build, the ride’s composed, pliant, but with tight body control and well-contained roll. And we’re on knobbly tyres rather than more road-biased ones. Also, there’s a roof rack and ladder and a bunch of kit on top of the car, which probably doesn’t help dynamics, so I’m impressed that the Defender feels so sure-footed.

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