Road tested by Hugh Maguire.
Price: Defender Trophy €130,300
Pros:
Almost unbeatable off-road ability
Feels Special and distinctive
Clever tech.
Cons:
Not so frugal if you can’t plug-in consistently.
Quite a small battery only range.
Small loss of boot space due battery.
The name Land Rover Defender refers to one of the most iconic off-road vehicles ever made. Its origins hark back to 1948 when the Land Rover Series 1was launched by the British company Rover. It was designed by Maurice Wilks and was meant as a rugged, simple of design, utility vehicle.
The Land Rover series 2 and then series 3 followed. In 1983 the Defender name first appeared to differentiate the Land Rover from the other models in the brand such as Discovery and Range Rover.
So the current Defender carries the burden of living up to the iconic name of its predecessors.
The current Defender 110 was introduced back in 2020 and was then given a significant refresh for this model year. The version I am reviewing here is the latest refresh model but also a special edition model called the ‘Trophy”.
The Defender Trophy was launched to celebrate Land Rovers heritage of participation in competitions such as the Camel Trophy. Hence the choice of “Deep Sandglow Yellow” as one of the two colour options. The yellow paintwork is a modern interpretation of the colour that became synonymous with the Defenders participating in the Camel Trophy series.
Essentially then this is a cosmetic upgrade with a few extra details such as a big side step, a snorkel and a ladder as the visual clues as to what the Trophy model represents. So the key questions I want to answer for you are:
Can a plug-in-hybrid still be a real Defender? Is the Trophy worth the premium over the standard Defender?
The model on test is powered by the 2.0 litre Ingenium petrol plug-in hybrid (P400e). While on the topic of the engine lets deal with the elephant in the room here. It is worth pointing out that the version of the Ingenium engine that earned a bad reputation for reliability was the diesel and not the petrol unit powering this car. Since around 2019 Land Rover made improvements to that diesel engine which have largely solved the main issue related to timing chains stretching.
First Impressions.
Two colours are available in the Trophy edition namely, Deep Sandglow Yellow as on review here and Keswick Green. I had mixed reactions from people when they saw it. Some loved it others thought it was a bit “too much”. For me I actually liked it and thought it looks pretty cool and distinctive.
I was less keen however on the gloss black painted steel wheels. Yes I get it they are supposed to mimic those on the original Trophy Defenders, nevertheless they cheapen the style and I would personally order the car with nice alloys instead. Overall though I genuinely like the style additions to the Trophy. It is distinctive and definitely scores on the “adventure”theme.
What is it like in the cabin?
Climb inside and initial impressions are of a very nicely designed and well finished interior. Land Rover have managed to perfectly blend the utilitarian with the luxurious. The upholstery is real high quality leather which is such a refreshing change from the vegan rubbish now seen in many cars. In contrast to the excellent seating and aroma of real leather is the painted metal line in exterior colour on the door panels with exposed bolts running around the edge of the door panels both front and rear. I think it looks excellent and cleverly blends the feeling of it being both premium and rugged. The dash in front of the front seat passenger also brings the external colour to the cabin and is embossed with the word Defender. It all looks pretty cool!
The Defender Trophy has all the standard features of the “normal” version, with the Trophy version adding 20” Style Gloss Black Wheels with all-terrain tyres, black contrast roof, LED headlights with signature DRL, a Meridian sound system,14 way heated and cooled memory seats, Ebony Windsor leather upholstery, Trophy badging inside and out, the aforementioned snorkel, side folding lockable ladder and black side steps.
The dashboard is of course digital but the instruments can be configured to look analogue with round dials which I think looks excellent.
The 13.1 inch central touchscreen functions well with easy to access menus using Land Rovers upgraded Pivi Pro infotainment. There is a full 360 degree camera view which is helpful on tight off road sections or just when parking. It all looks modern and premium. There are also super functions such as trailer assist and great common sense use of tech.
Given that you could be bouncing around on rough off-road locations it is good to see plenty of real buttons for the climate controls, suspension ride height, and off road modes.
The driving position is perfect offering a commanding view of the road ahead and accommodation is vast with lots of leg and headroom both front and rear.
The load area is generous as you might expect but the battery sits beneath the boot floor so it is slightly raised reducing space slightly (it holds about 860 litres) when compared with the non-hybrid versions.
What’s under the bonnet?
As this is a plug-in-hybrid power comes from a 2.0 litre 4 cylinder Ingenium turbo and an electric motor powered by a 19kWh battery driving permanent AWD via an 8-speed automatic gearbox. Combined power output is some 300PS with 625 Nm of torque. I found performance to be very good on or off road. I was concerned that petrol power might lack the torque needed for towing or for example using hill descent where engine braking is helpful but the electric motor boosts torque so my concern was unfounded. In real world driving I got 31km from a fully charged battery.
I did not get to charge fully before every trip. The key to max efficiency here is to charge before each trip and in that case you will return about 6.8 litres per 100km. If you haul around the battery uncharged my results were an average of 11.8 litres per 100km.
What is it like to drive?
Smooth quiet and refined on road and extremely capable and frankly almost unbeatable off-road. I found it cruises silently, and manages to handle twisty bumpy country roads equally well. You do of course feel the mass and it feels big on small country lanes. The air suspension soaks up the bumps with aplomb but its no sporting SUV, there is a bit of body roll in corners and certainly this Defender encourages a leisurely pace. It tows up to 3,000kg which is 500kg less than the diesel powered versions.
Hugh’s Verdict.
So to my questions at the start. Can a plug-in-hybrid still be a real Defender? From my extensive testing the answer is most definitely yes. However I think if you plan to tow a lot or travel long distances (so charging is not so easy) then go for the diesel Defender.
If you can home charge, most driving is shorter trips and you want that EV smoothness in traffic pick the PHEV.
Finally then is the Trophy priced at €130,300 worth the €10k to €30k premium over the standard PHEV (€99k to €120k)? Basically they are the same car so you pay quite a bit for the Trophy edition. If having a more distinctive individual version is what you seek then yes. I have to say I was very impressed with the overall abilities of this Defender. It has to be on your shortlist if looking for a competent, capable, rugged but luxurious 4×4.
If pure value is high on your priority list then you are probably best to choose the standard Defender PHEV.