Some folks have been sort of salty about Land Rover reimagining the Defender a number of years in the past. They have been mad that it was greater and extra trendy and had options like unbiased suspension and infotainment. They lamented the brand new automotive’s complexity, and whereas on some degree, I get that nostalgia for an easier previous, the factor is that the brand new Defender is superior and arguably a greater car in each manner.

Severely. It’s actually good. Land Rover nailed the combo of rugged aesthetics with sufficient creature comforts to justify its worth. It additionally did a wonderful job of maintaining it purposeful off-road however nonetheless very nice to drive on-road. That is very true with the 2023 Defender 110 SE V8, which, regardless of being actually expensive at over $107,000, is an unbelievable automotive to reside with.

The beating coronary heart of my take a look at car is its now-ancient, however all the time pretty 5.0-liter supercharged AJ133 V8. It’s been round since 2009, and whereas it’s on its manner out, the 518 hp and 461 lb-ft of torque it produces nonetheless really feel related, even when it would by no means actually mild your hair on hearth. It’s not sluggish or ponderous, nevertheless it by no means feels as wanting to do something as its energy numbers would have you ever imagine.

That engine is paired with a nicely-tuned eight-speed computerized transmission and full-time four-wheel drive with electronically selectable low-range. This factor continues to be a Land Rover, in any case. Along with its off-road {hardware}, you additionally get Land Rover’s glorious terrain response system that lets you choose the kind of floor you’re attempting to traverse, after which let the SUV type issues out for you. It’s very cool.

The Defender’s suspension is, unsurprisingly, a height-adjustable air suspension system. It’s actually well-tuned right here and provides glorious trip consolation and an enormous vary of peak adjustment that makes moving into and out of the SUV loads simpler whereas additionally providing first rate floor clearance if you depart the pavement.

Aside from all its capabilities and the historical past of its nameplate, what sells me on the Defender is its presence. Presence in a Land Rover product is completely vital to its success, significantly in America. Patrons right here should buy plenty of vehicles that may do what a Defender or Discovery or Vary Rover will do on or off-road, typically for much less cash, however the cause that folks return to the model is the way in which it makes you feel and look when you’re in it.

The Defender has been profitable right here as a result of, greater than anything in Land Rover’s lineup wanting the full-fat Vary Rover, it offers that sense of being effortlessly higher than the vehicles round it. It straddles that line of sophistication, model and functionality that Land Rover actually acquired proper with the LR3 and LR4 fashions however misplaced with the fifth-generation Discovery. Driving the Defender, particularly one with a velvety-smooth V8 burble, makes you are feeling particular.

Would I essentially belief this new Defender to get me throughout Africa and again? No, however I can’t say I’d have trusted the previous one to try this both. That’s why folks purchase Land Cruisers, in any case. However that’s additionally not how most individuals use their SUVs more often than not, and the Defender seems like a automotive that understands that and has tailored accordingly. It pays homage to the previous with sufficient winks and nods to be convincing with out being fully accountable to it. If you need essentially the most brutal, barebones SUV able to climbing over something, go purchase a Jeep Wrangler or, even higher, an Ineos Grenadier.