Category: Large 4x4s 
Price Range: £21,875 to £25,450
Off-road ability, huge towing and load-carrying capacity, utilitarian charm, a design classic.
Few modern safety features and few modern comforts.
We love it, but it reminds us why SUVs were invented.
It's rather unfair to try to rate the Defender with reference to its rivals: like the Caterham Seven, Bristol Blenheim or a Morgan Roadster, it's a survivor from another age, an anachronistic car which rationally should make no sense at all, yet is somehow extremely appealing. The Defender dates right back to the original Series I Land Rover of 1948, and while virtually all its components have since been changed, the basic formula hasn't. This is a full-time four-wheel-drive vehicle for heavy-duty work, not a leisure-orientated lifestyle SUV for the school run.
These 2007 updates are the most substantial overhaul in many years. They bring a new Ford 2.4-litre diesel engine and six-speed manual gearbox, plus an improved heating and ventilation system, a higher bonnet to accommodate that engine, a new one-piece dashboard and facia unit, and new seats. There are still 14 different body styles to choose from: the 90", 110" and 130" wheelbases with hard top, station wagon, crew cab and pick-up configurations, with up to seven seats, as well as conversions to create ambulances, lifeboat haulers or other special requests.
Prices start from £18,465, with an average £400 increase model-for-model across the range.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Land Rover Defender
wrote on 10 04 2008
wrote on 13 08 2006
wrote on 05 06 2006