Overall rating:

If the Defender were a horse it would have been sent to the glue factory decades ago. Land Rover has extended its life with the addition of a new engine, but you'd have to really want, and need, a Defender to live with its compromises.

Key Facts

Model tested: Land Rover Defender 90 XS Station Wagon
Pricing: £29,495
Engine: 2.2-litre turbodiesel
Transmission: six-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Body style: five-door off-roader
Rivals: Mitsubishi L200, Toyota Land Cruiser, Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
CO₂ emissions: 266g/km
Top speed: 90mph
Power: 122bhp at 3,500rpm
Torque: 265lb.ft at 2,000rpm

In the Metal:

The Land Rover Defender still cuts it, the chiselled looks, no-nonsense stance and exposed rivet and screw build underlining it's a product from a different era. There's pleasure to be had from its honesty though, it appealing in the way a heavy metal Victorian bridge or steam engine might.

If the exterior is a pleasing hint of past times and engineering the interior is a stark reminder of the austerity of purpose. Forget soft touch materials, or ergonomics, as the Defender's interior is about as firm, unappealing and uncomfortable as you could imagine. Little wonder Land Rover had us driving it almost exclusively during the night... The interior is woeful, as is the driving position.

Driving it:

The word crude barely covers it, as the Defender is unlike anything else to drive. It's a workout on wheels, with little performance in return for all your input. Steering it is difficult as you're pressed up against the door, and the range of movement on the seat limited. It's not comfortable, in any of the seats. The new engine is an improvement, but you'll be too busy being bounced around and trying to achieve something approaching a smooth gearshift to notice. Driving it is like operating a canal lock gate: big chunky controls, lots of noise and patience. It leaks too, a power-wash proving too much for the seals around the doors.

Nonetheless, that crudeness is what makes it epic off-road, the Defender still the go-to vehicle if your goal is to get somewhere you can't in any other vehicle. That said, more modern pick-ups, and Jeep's Wrangler Unlimited, aren't too far behind the Land Rover in the mountain goat stakes, and are a completely different proposition on the road.

What you get for your Money:

The Defender is a tool, an effective tool, but a hugely crude one. Luxuries are limited; a Comfort Pack is offered for £1,650, adding air conditioning, a CD player with auxiliary input, electric windows and remote central locking. Revolutionary stuff in a Defender, as are anti-lock brakes, which you have to pay for as part of the Off-Road pack.

Worth Noting

Land Rover has added acoustic damping under the bonnet, to improve refinement - though you'll barely notice. There's a higher top speed too, the Defender now able to reach 90mph. You'd have to be mad to get anywhere near that.

Summary

A new Defender is already at least a decade overdue, and Land Rover's fiddling with this 2012 model does little to hide that fact. Sure, it's an icon and it's amazing in the muck, but you'd have to really need that ability to put up with all that comes with it.