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Land Rover Defender Pros • Fabulous styling! Land Rover has perfectly amalgamated history with contemporariness • Solid, rugged and indestructible feel. You'll love driving the Defender. It oozes character • Interiors portray extreme thoughtfulness in design & offer loads of practicality • Wide engine range includes a 2.0P, 3.0P and 3.0D. V8 petrol is on the horizon too • Air suspension offers very good ride comfort • Comes fully loaded with kit & technology. Rugged, but has all the modern goodies • Offroad capability is top-class! • 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating & equipment Land Rover Defender Cons • 2.0 petrol feels strictly 'adequate'. Get the larger 3.0 motors if you can • Workhorse 2.0 diesel (usually the best seller in India) isn't on sale • 2.0 Petrol AT's low fuel economy (again, the 2.0 diesel will be missed) • Some interior parts don't feel luxurious, keeping the price tag in mind • Land Rover's questionable long-term reliability • Expensive, especially the higher variants & bigger engines • 3rd seat row is too small & tiny to be usable The Defender has been an iconic name ever since it came out in the mid-1980s. It’s known for its off-roading prowess and the ability to almost go anywhere. In fact, the body shape didn’t change until the 2020 model, when an all-new Defender was introduced. This is what we have driven, and what was recently launched in India. We get both the 3-door 90 version and the 5-door 110 version, akin to the original Defender. There are 4 and 6-cylinder options in both petrol and diesel, and a V8 Defender was recently introduced too (not yet in India though). The new Defender has some major changes. It has now shifted to a monocoque from the body-on-frame construction, and it also uses air suspension now, though a regular coil spring suspension is available too. Land Rover has tried to bring the Defender up to date with the latest tech and comfort while keeping its off-roading credentials intact. And it has done it well credentials and the need for it to take abuse. But, I believe the air suspension has been heavily updated and revised and will get the job done. The suspension is something I really loved about the Defender - the way it eats up the roads. Smaller bumps in the city are taken without one even feeling them inside and the larger bumps for which we would have to slow down in most cars, just make the Defender roll slightly from left to right. The suspension is comfortable & pliant and does its job silently. And that too with 20" wheels!! I think it's a great contributor to the effortless way the car munches miles. It just feels tough. High-speed stability is surprisingly good, and the Defender even holds its line in the corners as long as the driver isn't being too crazy with the tall SUV. One has the flexibility of adjusting the height from regular mode to a lower access height, to a high offroad mode which provides a maximum clearance of 291 mm and some good approach and departure angles (for the few who will actually bother to take it offroad). What is also surprising is the aplomb with which the suspension handled the offroad trails I managed to take the Defender on. I was absolutely comfortable inside. All in all, the Defender is a special car. It's one which can be used as a daily driver that's comfortable to drive in the city, it's good to cruise on the highway and covers distances with ease, and it can manage to take quite a beating off paved roads. Apart from that, with the road presence and brand value, it's got appeal for sure. Just make sure to get a 6-cylinder engine at the very least, although the 2.0P will do for most regular non-enthusiasts. No doubt, the Defender is a wonderful car. It's one tough off-roader that even gets all the creature comforts right. As for the looks, there's not one person that will detest this car design. It's a design that is worthy to be praised and even 15 years down the line, this design would not get old. About the engines, you are right, the 2.0 Diesel would sorely be missed. In addition to that. the 3.0 Litres a significantly more expensive than the 2.0 Petrol. But even for the price it commands, this car is a superb package. Although, I wouldn't be picking this car over its more conventional rivals at this price. But I sure can tell that no car is capable to defeat the defender in off-roading. Suspension seems just about right and those handling dynamics this car boasts of is just w-o-w. Once again, a wonderful review of an equally wonderful car.