Motoring in Spain - Land Rover Defender
Masterful ruggedness
Land Rover Defender Masterful ruggedness
AN ENORMOUS LEAP FORWARD IN PRACTICALITY
IT WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A DIFFICULT TASK, BUT H!’S MOTORING CORRESPONDENT CHARLIE FLINDT DISCOVERED THAT THE DESIGNERS HAD DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB ON THE NEW LAND ROVER DEFENDER.
You have to feel a bit of sympathy for the unfortunate person given the job of updating the Land Rover Defender. It is, after all, perhaps the most iconic vehicle on the road. Yes, you can name as icon Minis, Beetles, E-Types – plenty of other cars that have become famous and recognised − but the Defender is a truly unique blend of ruggedness, practicality, longevity and charm.
In the sixty years since its first incarnation, its reputation has grown as the king of the rough stuff – and its fan base has grown with it. Land Rover has a following whose dedication is as famous – or infamous – as the vehicle itself.
They’ll stay up late into the night, lubricated by numerous pints of Grinwold’s Old Gutblaster, arguing about whether the grommet on the Series 2A widget-bar had a left-handed or right-handed thread. Dozens of magazines carry thousands of pages of discussion and debate, not to mention all those mail-order companies who can whisk a right-handed widget-bar grommet to you in the overnight post.
You can see why redesigning the Defender would be a high-risk business. I imagine the head of Land Rover walking nonchalantly into the design office. "Right. Who wants to redesign the Defender?" There would then be a lot of nails being inspected, shoelaces being tied, notes from mother being produced and cries of "not me, Sir, I did the last one."
But whoever got the short straw has done a very good job. I have just been driving the new Defender around a great selection of terrain, from fast motorway to some of the scariest and most slippery off-road courses I have ever seen.
But the embarrassing bit was right at the start. I walked out of the hotel, past a row of Defenders, and thought, "I wonder why all those old Defenders are parked there?" They were, in fact, the new Defenders. But to the casual observer, they looked just like the old ones. I was probably a bit bleary eyed and hung-over, so I failed to notice the external clues, like the extra lump on the bonnet. And this is where the design team have done so well; no-one is going to object to the new shape, because it’s basically the old shape. Lots of square corners, instantly recognisable grill, and aluminium panels that look second-hand straight from the factory.
What the designers have done, though, is have a cold, hard look at the old Defender’s weak spots. For instance, it’s a brave man who calls the old engines and gearboxes anything but untrustworthy. So out goes the Td5, and in comes the Ford Transit engine and gearbox; the perfect robust unit, tried over millions of miles the world over. Having an extra bulge in the bonnet is a small price to pay for reliability.
The next problem area was the driving environment. It was cramped, uncomfortable, with a dashboard that was crying out for an update. Now, the seats have been moved in to give a bit of much-needed shoulder room, and the dashboard has at last left the 19th century, skipped the 20th and arrived in the 21st. Suddenly, driving a Defender is now easy, comfortable and easy. And there’s a phrase you never thought you’d read
Shoving the Transit engine under the bonnet has upped performance levels dramatically. So much so that Land Rover have had to fit speed limiters to match top speed to the tyres’ ratings. Never again will motorway work be a chore. You still know from the wind noise that you’re driving something shaped a bit like a brick, but the embarrassment of the slow lane is gone.
And then there’s the off road ability. We were going up slopes and down gullies with ease and style that defied belief. Some of the drops were terrifying, with slopes that were too slippery for tyres to have any grip – so it was simply a case of getting the wheels in the existing ruts, point and go. It really is the king of the muddy stuff.
The new Defender is a masterpiece of clever re-design. What has been kept are the iconic bits that we all know and love – the shape, the image, and the mud-plugging ability. The changes that have been made have been in areas which have been crying out for revision: the engine and gearbox and the ergonomics.
What Land Rover have done to the Defender will broaden its appeal enormously. The Defender now represents an enormous leap forward in practicality: it is now easy and pleasant to drive, comfortable and – one hopes – reliable. Owning a Defender will no longer be a chore.
Our Land Rover enthusiasts may not approve of such a change, of course. They will regard the Defender as having gone all soft. We’ll ignore them, though, and let them get back to their left-handed grommets. Or was it right-handed?
LAND ROVER DEFENDER 90
Engine: 4 cylinder, 16-valve diesel Power: 90kW Maximum speed: 132 kph Performance, 0 to 100 kph: 15.8 seconds Combined fuel economy: 10 ltr/100 km SUMMARY: A motoring icon perfectly updated.
