British luxury car manufacturer Land Rover has launched the legendary three-door Defender 90 in India with prices starting from Rs 76.57 lakh (ex-showroom). The five-door Defender 110 arrived in the country in late 2020. Here is everything you need to know about the all-new three-door Defender 90.
Design
The Defender was awarded World Car Design of the Year 2021 a few months ago. This off-road oriented SUV has an ultramodern design but still bears the timeless qualities of the previous generations.
It utilises a monocoque platform rather than a traditional body-on-frame architecture which is usually used in SUVs. Despite being built upon a monocoque, it is first and foremost a pure off-road SUV.
Land Rover seems to have designed the Defender range with a four-corner fundamental. The front-end features Defender lettering and below that a set of two parallel horizontal grille slats. Besides, there are all-LED headlights with crescent-shaped daytime running lights. At the back, a spare tyre is mounted on the boot while there are square-shaped quad taillights too.
Interior
The Defender is not just an off-road vehicle but a luxury SUV as well. It has a plush cabin with numerous features. Land Rover now offers a full-digital cockpit in the Defender which includes a 12.3-inch driver display and a 10-inch infotainment touchscreen. It is based on Land Rover's latest Pivi Pro connected car system.
The brand offers a wide range of trim levels with the SUV here and hence the entry-level variant has the seats upholstered in fabric whereas the top of the range models features leather upholstery for the seats. Additionally, this three-door Defender 90 can accommodate six passengers inside because of a bench seat in the front row.
Features
The Defender 90 is equipped with plenty of features such as six airbags, a panoramic sunroof, heated side-view mirrors, auto-dimming driver side-view mirror, dual-zone temperature control, 3D surround-view camera, ClearSight inside rear view-mirror (available in certain models), ClearSight ground view-camera, all-wheel drive, all-terrain response control and hill descent control. There is another feature that makes it a king of luxury off-road SUV league - wading depth. The Defender 90 has a wading depth of 850mm with coil spring and a massive 900mm with air suspension.
Moreover, the three-door Defender 90 is available in a variety of ten exterior paints - Fuji White, Hakuba Silver, Tasman Blue, Santorini Black, Yulong White, Pangea Green, Gondwana Stone, Eiger Grey, Silicon Silver and Carpathian Grey.
Engine and Transmission
The three-door Defender 90 is available with three different engine options. There is a 1997cc four-cylinder petrol engine that makes 296bhp and 400Nm of torque and a 2995cc six-cylinder petrol that develops 394bhp and 550Nm of torque. On the other hand, Land Rover also offers a 2996cc straight-six diesel motor that generates 296bhp and 650Nm of torque.
The 3.0-litre petrol and diesel engines are paired with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system that includes a belt-driven starter generator providing an additional power boost to the car and also offering a start/stop system.
Did you know?
For adventure buffs, Land Rover provides additional packs such as Explorer, Adventure, Urban and Country that offer additional accessories as well as distinctive exterior paint choices.
Meanwhile, Land Rover is working on a hydrogen fuel-cell powered Defender and a trial run of the prototype vehicle will begin sometime this year.
