I’m starting to think the media team at Land Rover HQ has a crystal ball—at least for predicting the weather. Each time I receive a press loan for a few days, the skies darken and frightening weather rolls in—usually in the form of snow, fog, ice, and thunderstorms. This time I was picking up a 2023, four-door, V8 Defender D110 SE in Yulong White from a garage near LAX. My plan was to spend a few days in the city, and then drive up to explore the canyons over Santa Barbara. What could go wrong?
I don’t need to tell you that everyone and their uncle has written about the new Defender. It’s a solid, capable vehicle that looks good and may even hold value if not plagued over the coming years by reliability issues. But I have to say—it’s very easy to look foolish in one. Let’s be honest here—this is a vehicle used by the world’s special forces, the United Nations, the Red Cross, and a plethora of other military, emergency, and rescue teams. It’s a Humvee for people who make fun of people in Humvees. So how on earth can it be justified as a suburban SUV as anything other than a status symbol? You could say the same about Range Rovers, but then the Range Rover is geared toward comfort and luxury. The fact that it just happens to be a monster off-road is a bonus most owners will never enjoy.
A modern vehicle closest to the original intention of those first Land Rovers from the late 1940s (designed for farming and light industrial use) is the Jeep. 75 years after they were used in World War II, you can still take the doors off and put the windshield down. For people who battle sand, ice, snow, rain, or mud for a large part of the year—a Jeep would be a fine and significantly cheaper option to the Defender. But those safety ratings don’t seem to be changing. The 2022 Jeep Wrangler still bears cringe-worthy scores in at least three categories according to the Institute of Highway Safety. I could live with that reality if I resided in Colorado or Utah—but a Jeep in the suburbs? With kids in the back? ON THE BROOKLYN QUEENS EXPRESSWAY!
For most people who buy Land Rover Defenders, the reality is that a Toyota, Lexus, Subaru, or Lincoln SUV would do the same job and leave a chunk of money for your wee one’s college fund. So what’s the appeal? Is it the high price tag? The connection to Range Rover? The fact that celebrities drive them? The romance of the brand? For me it’s the latter. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I grew up in the mountains of North Wales where every farmer had a Land Rover. They were tough cars for tough, but civilized people—like the Queen. Forty years ago, the Land Rover was a vehicle for every use and every person. It fit in perfectly with its surroundings, whether than happened to be a Welsh field of sheep or the gates of Buckingham Palace. For me, and perhaps for many people, it’s Land Rover’s heritage that matters as much as the vehicle itself. That’s why, driving it around Hollywood and Beverly Hills, I might have looked like a fool—but I didn’t feel like one. I felt like I was part of something bigger than myself. It was all in my imagination of course, but isn’t most happiness? I also felt just that bit safer if there happened to be a freak snowstorm—which there actually was a few days later.
When the snow and ice descended on Southern California however, I was staying at a small ranch off San Marcos Pass, just outside Santa Barbara. It wasn’t ‘off-road’ as such, but the long driveway to the house would have been a challenge for anything without some ground clearance and at least AWD. As there was no cell service or internet, getting stuck would mean a long walk or a long wait. A few hours after I descended from the mountains, heading for the freeway back to Los Angeles, San Marcos Pass was closed, due to ice and fog. Understandable, as this is a road where a miscalculation in steering could result in a 1000+ feet death plunge. It’s hardly worth mentioning that the Defender 110 SE handled beautifully. I felt lucky to be in it, and knew that if I came across anyone in difficulty, I would have been able to help them. But in normal life, I live in New York City. Apart from a few ski trips every year, I just wouldn’t feel right owning a fiercely capable $80K+ SUV for the weekly shop. I would feel….like an idiot.
But wait! Hold on! There’s good news!
If you go onto the Land Rover website, a basic four-door Defender 110 starts at…..$53k. That’s not bad for a brand new car, especially one that’s safe, capable off-road, and fun to ride around in. I would feel less of a fool cruising out to the Hamptons or over to New Jersey to see my mother-in-law in a 2.0L, P300 Defender with stock white steel 18” rims that came in around 50 grand. And if you’ve actually seen this entry-level Defender, it looks much closer to the original farm vehicle of the 1940s, and less like something from a James Bond film. The trouble is, most of the Defenders you see on the road at the moment have been accessorized to the point of vulgarity, with options the owners will probably never, ever need. I’m sorry to say this, but it seems like a form of luxury price-gouging. If you search Land Rover USA’s current inventory for available models, you’ll find needlessly aggressive looking vehicles around $80k+. In my humble opinion this seems like a self-defeating marketing strategy, when, for a few thousand dollars more, Land Rover clients can just opt for a Range Rover. It’s not unlike the current Rolex craze, where most of the $10k+ Submariners and Explorers being worn today won’t get any closer to the ocean than the bathroom at Red Lobster.
The D130 SE I drove in California is somewhere between the base model and the beefed-up versions that dealers are pushing. As someone who grew up with Land Rovers in the family, and saw them used as farm and military vehicles, it’s the base model Defenders that really exude the class and heritage, and are still perfectly in concert with their updated technology and engineering. As for a model like the Defender 110 Carpathian edition, which comes in around $118k, you couldn’t pay me to drive that on a daily basis, unless I wanted people to think I was a dictator on holiday.
Thankfully, the Land Rover website allows you to ‘build’ your own Defender. According to sources, the wait time is between 3 and 6 months depending on the model and options you’ve chosen. But if you want one today, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any base models for sale on dealer lots. Frequent searches within 1000 miles of my NYC zip code show around 900 new vehicles with not a single one under $60k, which I believe is as unfortunate for people like me, as it is for the brand.
2023 Land Rover Defender 110 SE
Four-door, five-passenger full-size SUV
Base price: $60,600 (Defender 110 S)
Price as tested: $98,475 (includes destination and delivery
Engine:
Transmission:
Horsepower:
Torque:
Wheelbase: 119 inches
Overall length: 197.6
Width: 78.6
Ground clearance: 11.5 inches maximum
Approach and departure angles: 38 and 40 degrees
EPA MPG: 17 city/22 highway/19 combined
