Not dead yet!
A count-down has started in … the days of the Defender are numbered. In two… or at the most three… years the assembly lines will stop for the last time. This 65-year-old veteran of the British automobile industry will have been built over two million times and has reached the retirement age. And this probably explains why it is suddenly even more popular than ever. Rover sold almost 25 thousand Defenders worldwide, far more than predicted. And the way things are looking the result for 2011 should be even better.
Heart transplant
But as of next year there are new rules to be observed, at least for the market of most significance for the marque, . Here even ‘light commercial vehicles’… a category in which the Land Rover has been included since 2010… must conform with the Euro 5 emissions regulations. This involves a bit more than minor tinkering… a heart transplant is called for. This means a brand new engine. Under the hood there will no longer be found the 2.4 litre four-cylinder diesel which has powered the Defender since 2007. Now there is to be a smaller capacity 2.2 litre power plant. The new Defenders will also have for the very first time a particle filter in the exhaust system. But in spite of the reduced capacity of the engine… designated ‘Puma’ and sourced from Ford… the output remain 122 horsepower and will deliver 360 Nm of torque, the highest of any vehicle in its class, according to Gary Taylor, head of Defender production. “We have also improved the engine’s sound insulation”, points out.
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- Under the hood there will no longer be found the 2.4 litre four-cylinder diesel which has powered the Defender since 2007. Now there is to be a smaller capacity 2.2 litre power plant.
Significant progress
Although on paper all this sounds like downsizing, in practice the driver will find that his Defender runs better than ever. The new diesel is smoother, picks up faster and seems generally more civilized than its predecessor. Now the car is more or less comfortable even for longer journeys provided that the driver has found the right seating position at the steering wheel. The fuel consumption is something the engineers were unable to improve and the averaged value remains at ten litres per hundred driven kilometres, but given the car’s weight and its lack of aerodynamics this cannot be overly criticized.
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- The price of admission to the world of the Defender starts from just 26,690 Euros.
Invincible off-road
For those who rush to the defence of their Defender fuel consumption plays only a secondary role. For most often this vehicle is used as a work-horse and very often off road in tricky terrain. And what the Defender is capable of doing when the going gets tough is almost unbelievable and makes one wonder about the laws of physics. Even the most difficult tracks and inclines are mastered with ease by this unique automobile thanks to permanent all-wheel-drive and… when called for… manually selected gear reduction and rear-axle locking. The 45 degree climb is without peril, the deep furrows of field or forest are no obstacle to the Defender’s march forward, no more tricky than the daily drive to the office. Even if the water to be forded is half a metre deep the Defender rolls on and the occupants stays dry.
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- The seating position in the Defender is not everybody’s cup of tea. But Landy fans no that small sacrifices are called for when driving this off-road veteran.
No modernity, please!
These are the capabilities and the unmistakeable character of an automobile dearly loved by its fans, And they are not in the slightest concerned that their Defender has been subject to not of the technological advances introduced of late by the automobile industry… and these indignities it will never have to undergo. Quite to the contrary, lovers of the Landy have no call for ESP, self-heating seat-belts or parking beeper systems, nor any need of electronic aids such as uphill or downhill assistants, rear-view camera or Terrain Response selector. All of these absent features help to ensure that this unique British auto can be had from just 26,690 Euros.
