LAND ROVER DEFENDER 110 SE - 2.0L 240HP DIESEL AWD AUTO by Tony Yates
The old Defender as we all know it has been around for a long time and is now very much part of the British way . For example ; the Queen still owns one , the Army still use them , and so do all my mates in one form or another . Some of them own a 1960s version , while one friend is right up to date with the latest version you see before you .
I ’ m an outdoors type of guy , so I used to own one , but it spent much of its life parked in a lock-up garage as I rarely had time to take it out because it had no heater , no carpets and my family complained it was too loud and cold - so they made me sell it and buy something more realistic for all our summer camping trips to the lakes . So , in order to keep my family happy , I went out and bought an old Toyota Hilux just for good measure . As you can imagine , they we ’ re not impressed .
Then , the borrowed Defender arrived on my drive - and suddenly , I was told I needed to immediately go out and buy one . This was good feedback from my family , apart from I didn ’ t have the 50k + kicking about in my back pocket . So , unfortunately , this idea was very short-lived . Shame really that I only had it for a few days – because my family started talking about getting dressed up like we ’ re going on an Arctic Expedition and heading off to the Peak District for the weekend .
To be honest , I know nothing of what a Land Rover can do off-road . Yes , I dabble doing a few muddy lanes like most of us , but I have no concept of what High or Low Range means or what a diff lock is – Yes , I know if I press a button inside the new Defender , things happen and I am no longer stuck , but that ’ s about the limit of what I understand of the greatness that the Land Rover engineers have created .
So , this time , I ’ m going to try and give you an overview and not a review of the new Defender , but saying that , I still think I ’ m going to struggle because I ’ m still chatting about everything else .
Power and Efficiency : To find out exactly how good the new Defender was , I decided to take a leisurely drive into Hereford whilst pretending to be a farmer going around his daily life . This was just what I needed - as it gave me the chance to play with that brilliant 240HP 2.0-litre diesel engine with 430Nm of torque and a 0-62 time of 8.7s . You also get a decent top speed of 117mph . So , there you have it . A brilliant engine that ’ s also connected to a wonderful automatic transmission that connects to all 4 wheels to the road .
On and off-road : So , what do I know about going off-road ? Not a lot truth be told . This of course is not uncommon because I have one friend who has a Land Rover Series 1 and another who has a Discovery , and both have about the same amount of knowledge as me . One thing we all do agree on though is that if you do buy the new Land Rover Defender , it will be brilliant .
Let ’ s face it , every manufacturer has tried to pull off what Land Rover did so well all those years ago , but to be honest , they all failed badly . For me , there is nothing on this earth that can compete with a Defender . I also know that you will say ; ‘ What about the Toyota Land Cruiser or the Isuzu D Max ’ Yes , they are good , but can they really match up to the Land Rover Defender .
Just remember , no matter how rubbish you are on the muddy stuff , the new Defender has got your back . Why waste time shopping for some new clothes – when you could be spending the whole weekend with the family having fun with the Defender and finding out just how good it is .
Interior & Tech : Key features include : 20 ” Style 5094 , 5 spoke , Gloss Sparkle Silver , Premium LED headlights with signature DRL , LED tail lights , Automatic Headlight Levelling , Auto High Beam Assist ( AHBA ) Keyless Entry , 12-way heated , electric memory front seats with 2-way manual headrests , Meridian™ Sound System , Interactive Driver Display , Smartphone Pack , Connected Navigation Pro , Emergency Braking , 3D Surround Camera , Driver Condition Monitor , Lane Keep Assist , 360⁰ Parking Aid , Traffic Sign Recognition and Adaptive Speed Limiter , Wade Sensing , Cruise Control and Speed Limiter , Blind Spot Assist , Clear Exit Monitor and Rear Traffic Monitor .
In summary : Go straight down to your local Land Rover dealer as soon as possible and ask for a test drive . Also , whatever town I stopped in during my travels , people stopped me in the street to ask me what it was like to drive and then tell me all sorts of stories of how they had a series 1 back in the day . One gentleman even managed to go as far as to say how he spent his first wedding night stuck in a field in Wales because his new bride decided it would be more fun doing a ‘ bit of off-road driving ’.
Price ( From ) £ 53,810
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