Land Rover Defender 110 Review — Luxurious & Tech-Savvy SUV With Legendary Off-Road Capabilities

So how do you differentiate between the Defender 90 and 110? The Defender 90 is a three-door variant and the 110 is a five-door one. We received the Defender 110 SE variant for a couple of days and drove it in the city and on the highway and here is what we have to say about one of the best luxury off-roaders in the world.

Design & Style

It is only when you see the Defender 110 in person that you will notice how big the SUV is. Honestly, images really don't do justice to it when it comes to the vehicle size. The 'Pangea Green' colour along with the blacked-out badges on the SUV look fantastic. The Defender already has enough road presence, but with the blacked-out badges it looks much bolder.

Up front, the SUV gets an LED headlight unit with DRLs that look pretty awesome and are extremely bright. The top-end variant gets an LED matrix headlight unit. It also gets integrated LED fog lights placed in the lower half of the bumper.

Speaking of the bumper, the Defender gets a large bumper which, along with the lines and creases on the bonnet, further accentuates the vehicle's muscular stance and gives it a great stance. You also get the blacked-out, bold 'DEFENDER' badge right in the centre on the bonnet. Overall, the front end looks absolutely magnificent.

When viewed from the side, the large 20-inch alloy wheels grab one's attention. Buyers can choose between different wheel designs for their Defender. The car is so big that a bigger set of wheels will actually enhance the overall looks. However, this will affect ride quality and off-road ability. The lower variants of the SUV come with 19-inch wheels and one can also opt for a set of 21-inchers too.

At the rear, you get an all-new vertical design for the tail lights and they look awesome. The full-size spare wheel is attached to the boot itself and because of that the boot feels slightly heavy, but again, it looks badass.

Other than that, you get the brand and variant name badges. Also, there is no chrome present on any of the models. The Land Rover Defender does get brushed aluminium trim to accentuate its styling. The Defender won the 2021 World Car Design Of The Year award. That in itself is proof of how brilliant the Defender is in terms of design.

Interior & Important Features

Step inside the car and you will be welcomed with a lot of cabin space. The big panoramic sunroof and the side Alpine light windows let so much light inside the cabin that it automatically starts looking bigger. There are three interior colour options available with the Defender. With the Pangea Green colour option, the car gets an all Black interior, while the other colours get lighter shades.

One thing that we noticed is that the Defender has a total of 14 USB and 12V charging sockets combined. It also comes with a 230V charger in the boot that helps you power some home appliances such as laptops, speakers, and maybe even a small refrigerator, etc. The front seats on the top-end variant are ventilated and both the passenger and the driver's seat have memory functions.

The steering wheel is also electrically adjustable and comes with an auto feature. The auto feature adjusts the steering wheel according to the driver's seat height to reduce the stress on the shoulders.

It also gets a 10-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The touch response is great and there is no lag. It also gets a fully digital instrument cluster that provides truckloads of information about the vehicle. The steering wheel is wrapped in leather and is chunky. The steering mounted controls help the driver focus on the road.

Other driver assistance features on the off-roader include cruise control, a 360-degree camera, 3D Meridian surround sound system, wade-sensing for water wading while off-roading, and driver condition monitoring. The SUV features standard safety equipment such as airbags, ABS, traction control and more.

There are a total of six cameras on the exterior of the Defender along with sensors all around. It has an excellent 360-degree view, which also helps greatly during offroading. There is one camera present behind the IRVM, which helps in the functioning of the active lane assist and adaptive cruise control.

On the other hand, there is a camera present on the shark-fin antenna that displays the video on the IRVM (through a switch). This feature comes in handy if there is excess luggage in the boot and you can't see behind through the mirror.

Now the best part is the amount of ground clearance that the SUV has. At the normal height, it has a ground clearance of around 218mm, which is a lot. Since the car has active air suspension, in off-road mode, you can raise the ride height, which takes the ground clearance up to 291mm! Once it is raised completely, it is difficult to get in or out of the SUV. But, with that clearance, it can take on any terrain that is thrown in front of it.

Engine & Performance

The Land Rover Defender that we drove was powered by a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol 'P300' engine. The unit produces around 296.3bhp of power at 5,500rpm and a peak torque of 400Nm between 1,500 and 4,500rpm. The engine is paired with an eight-speed automatic gearbox with power being sent to all four wheels.

For the diesel fans, the Defender is also available with a 3.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine producing 295bhp of power at 4,000rpm and 650Nm of peak torque between 1,500 and 2,500rpm. It also comes paired with a standard eight-speed automatic transmission unit.

The company also claims that the Defender 110 SE is capable of accelerating from 0 - 100km/h in 7.4 seconds. Both the diesel-powered 90 and 110 models come with an electronically limited top speed of 191km/h.

The new Land Rover Defender also features the brand's latest-generation 'Terrain Response 2' feature. This allows customers to optimise their driving experience via various modes - General Driving, Grass, Gravel, Snow, Mud & Ruts, Sand, Rock Crawl & Wade. The Defender has water wading capabilities of up to 900mm.

Now if you drive the car in off-road mode, which is the highest setting on the air suspension since the car sits very high, there is some amount of body roll on the road. The best suspension mode to drive in is the Normal mode. In that, the suspension settings are very docile and each and every bump and pothole is absorbed by the SUV.

Also, the NVH level on the Defender is fantastic and after all the windows are shut, it just cuts you out from the outside world.

Safety & Key Features

The Land Rover Defender is a thoroughly modern car and is probably the best-equipped off-road-oriented SUV in the market at the moment. The SUV is equipped with the best in terms of technology and is loaded with safety features as well.

Land Rover Defender Key Features

• 360-Degree Camera with ClearSight
• Pivi Pro Connected Infotainment System
• 10-inch Touchscreen
• Cabin Air Ionisation
• Heated & Cooled Seats In All Three Rows
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Blind-Spot Assist
• 12.3-inch Instrumentation
• HUD Displaying Speed, Navigation Directions, Etc.
• Activity Key



Land Rover Defender Safety Features

• Six Airbags
• Autonomous Emergency Braking
• Driver Condition Monitor
• Lane Keep Assist
• Wade Sensing
• 5-Star Euro NCAP Safety Rating



DriveSpark Thinks!

The new Land Rover Defender looks absolutely amazing and is one of the most capable luxury off-roaders. The SUV can literally take on any terrain that is thrown in front of it. If you are willing to spend some money on a car that looks badass, can drive over anything and offers comfort at the same time, then, the new Defender will be a perfect choice for such buyers.