Ian Lamming doffs his cap to the cleverness of the latest Land Rover Defender 90
SOME cars are just pure genius and the new Land Rover Defender is one of them.
It’s an exercise in awesome marketing and should be hailed so in all the design text books. Lessons, lectures and seminars should proclaim it an exemplar to be followed and recreated in other aspects of commercial life.
It’s as if the designers sat down and unpicked the human psyche for its like and dislikes, adopted the former and rejected the latter. As a result the Defender 90 is a car which, quite simply, everyone loves.
I suppose the starting point is the heritage, a second-to-none history that starts in the 1950s and runs through to today.
Old Land Rover was the defender of the righteous, of Queen and country, it carried troops to troublespots, it helped put food on the country’s tables at the hands of countless farmers. It plugged the mud, it rocked the rocks, it towed the trailers.
With that as a starting point great responsibility fell upon the shoulders of the Land Rover design team who needed to encapsulate all of this but bring it technically and mechanically into the 21st century.
As if by magic that’s exactly what they have done and the short wheel base Defender 90 is the result.
Nothing looks more like the old Defender than the new 90. From the front it’s hard to separate it from the 110 and 130 but immediately from the side it’s only a three-door and reminiscent of the Corgi version that used to ply its way around my toy farm.
Strangely, the 90 has voluminous amounts of room in the rear, to the point where my 16-year-old boy actually took his eyes off his phone long enough to comment on how much leg room he had in the back – a startling revelation (not the room, more the fact he noticed).
Where it suffers is the boot space which is limited but if number one son walks home then this isn’t a problem as the rear seats can be dropped making the load bay capacious.
In the front, 90 is like its larger stablemates and a very nice place to be. My friend recently swapped from her Discovery to a Defender and absolutely loves it. I never thought I would see the day but she now claims she will drive one forever.
That’s because the interior somehow manages to blend traditional and utilitarian with hi-tech luxury. There are many design cues paying homage to the original but they have been luxurified and that’s not even a real word, but I’m sure you know what I mean.
The shapes, tactile trim materials and colour palette are a joy to the eye – stimulating and relaxing at the same time.
The controls are functional and intuitive cleverly blending very traditional knobs and switches with the latest touchscreen technology. It is all super-clear and easy to use which makes Defender relaxed and enjoyable to drive.
It’s impossible not to enjoy being behind the wheel. The trusty twin turbo 3.0 litre six cylinder diesel is lusty with an aural quality you simply do not expect from an oil burner. It is spirited and torquey offering blistering performance and overtaking ability, yet frugal too; I managed 37mpg on several occasions.
The ride is comfortable and just the ticket for our bombshell cratered roads, thanks to electronic air suspension, with high comfort levels taking away the pain of traversing our shredded asphalt. But you know the 90 also has the incredible technology to go off-road if the need arises or tackle on-road antics caused by our inclement weather, including floods, mud and snow.
Alpine light windows in the roof and the side-hinged rear tailgate with externally-mounted spare wheel can’t fail to be popular with buyers old and young and in Pangea Green with matte protective film the Defender looks uber cool and on trend.
You may be able to see the nuts and bolts of the interior but the excellent Pivi Pro infotainment centre and internal view mirror that switches from glass to rear TV screen, puts the 90 very much at the forefront of the latest technology.
The new Defender may have become a licence to print money but seeing them so commonly on our roads does little to detract from what a special vehicle they are. No wonder everybody loves them – they are pure genius.
