The 2022 Land Rover Defender swaddles the driver and passengers in finery and comfort while presenting to the world a mighty shell of hard, heavy, carved steel.
It is swank-looking, handsome, and masculine. It’s also refrigerator-square as are all Land Rovers, and my tester was Fuji white. Eggs and orange juice and chicken came to mind while eyeballing it in my driveway.
Nonetheless, in this compact beauty shall you ford rivers, plow through snow or put on the Ritz at dinners, social engagements or clubs.
Let’s take a l0ok.
The Engine
Three engines are offered, each with all-wheel drive. There’s a turbocharged 4-cylinder, a turbo-and-supercharged six-cylinder (my tester) and a supercharged V-8.
My six cylinder engine was eager at speed, less so from dead stops and early acceleration despite its turbo and supercharger. It took a day to get used to slight play in the pedal, but once acclimated, it was more than adequate. I’d like to try it on a track. I’d also like to try the 8-cylinder. The shifting is especially smooth and imperceptible, brakes outstanding.
The engine excels at highway speed, with plenty of passing power and whomp where whomp is needed. The Defender’s closest competitor is probably the Wrangler, but they are two entirely different machines, one rough-and-rugged, the other refined and genteel. Many options are available, and you can spend as much as $112,550 if you spring for the V8 Carpathian.
Inside:
It’s lovely and well made, awash in leather and upscale appointments everywhere you look and feel.
Little touches like exposed rugged rivets in the door offset the otherwise white-glove flavor of the cockpit. There’s a handsome and substantial magnesium beam running the full width of the dashboard as well as a trapezoidal extension of the dashboard delivering a spot for various switches and buttons to control the climate and the driving mode. Rear seats can be folded down, making a nice big cargo bay, but only so much. It is a midsized SUV, so perhaps best to move up to a large Land Rover like, say, the Discovery if more room is needed.
The drive:
I barely felt a single crater, divot, pebble or coffee cup during the week's test of this $62,750 (Base price) chariot. Busted-up streets were smoothed out by the utter quiet of the Defender’s cockpit combined with its mighty 20-inch tires, sport-tuned suspension and crisp, near-perfect handling.
It also gets crummy mileage, typical of Land Rovers, returning about 18 MPG city/highway combined, less so if you’re taking it off road. A gas-sipper this is not, but no one ever said it was. Next year the company’s launching their first electric.
The Meridium sound system is one of the best-sounding units of this type you’ll find – the bass is boomy, the top is crispy, and your music fills the car without the thudding common to some systems. At its base trim, the Defender features wireless smartphone charging, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto.
There is much information available in front of you in the Defender’s screen, way too much to list here, but download this app to your phone and go over, step-by-step, all of what your Defender is capable of, from lowering suspension at speed to keeping you stable off-road, and soon you’ll appreciate anew what a quality vehicle you’ve bought.
Safety:
Visibility, eyeball-wise, was ok, not outstanding. There is a camera offering instant views of practically every inch of your body north, south, east and west, though, and you can use them to assist, although you will get a message saying you ought not to use the cameras exceeding 25 MPH.
The Defender comes with standard automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, standard lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist, available adaptive cruise control and more.
Warranty and Maintenance Coverage
Like all Land Rovers, the Defender arrives with a standard warranty package covering four years or 50,000 miles. A Powertrain warranty covers four years or 50,000 miles, and there isn’t any complimentary scheduled maintenance.
Conclusion: The Defender is an outstanding ride of its type, and a singular offering in a crowded world of midsize luxury SUVS – not an easy task.
