Land Rover Defender 90 Review - Does It Still Live Up To Its Name?

Exterior

The Defender comes in many different configurations to suit your needs, the one which we have for review is the Land Rover Defender 90, the shorter wheelbase version, with all the accessories fitted.

Starting on the exterior, the most obvious thing to see is the all blacked out look, which in my opinion looks fantastic! The subtle hints of silver on the bumpers, which lead to the smaller details on the ladder and interior all complement each other brilliantly. This Land Rover Defender 90 is kitted out with a hard top, roof rack, side ladder, side saddle box and a snorkel, and is fully prepared to go on any adventure thrown at it! The accessories all seem very robust too, and you can tell that no corners have been cut with the build materials too!

Interior

The quality this shows follows through into the interior too, with the steering wheel having a grippy texture in the middle, to the tough trim on the door cards, and plastics all around the vehicle. This spec has got a full leather interior, which again its great to see that Land Rover have considered it to be robust too. The full leather interior makes the driving experience very comfortable, relaxing and mainly enjoyable. You can tell that this just hasn’t been thrown together, its been designed down to the final detail!

Entertainment

The infotainment system is in a stand out class of its own! Before even using it, the subtle natural curve to the screen reduces glare on the sunny days, and makes it feel very integrated into the interior. When you start using it, you instantly notice how fluent it is. There’s no lag between inputs and the resolution of the display makes it very pleasing to view to the eye. On the system, you can control every aspect of the vehicle, from its offroad settings to personalised vehicle settings for each driver. Some of the exceptional stand out features I noticed, was the 360 degree cameras, which you can change the view and perspective of. The rear view camera is a must have on any vehicle this size, however being able to easily park with cameras looking out at all angles seriously helps. The biggest benefit of the cameras is when you come to a blind junction. Rather than having to creep forward to put you and the vehicle at risk, the cameras right on the front are able to look left and right for you. This stops you doing that awkward pose towards the windscreen in those scenarios. The sound system is also exceptional, with a Meridian sound system on board with extremely deep bass from the subs, to crystal clear highs, which aren’t overpowering make it a very enjoyable system to listen to for those long road trips ahead!

A fun feature of the interior is the front seats. You can fold the arm rest up to have a third front seat for those journeys where you need to take an extra passenger. I can’t imagine it would be comfortable for a long drive, however this is mainly for purpose rather than glitz and glam.

What is The Land Rover Defender 90 Like to Drive?

The driving experience is really where the Land Rover Defender has managed to keep its name! If you have driven an original Defender, you’ll know very well that the most comfortable position is with the window down, with your elbow sticking out, just so you can make a turn. Obviously this newer version is larger, so you don’t have to do that anymore, however we won’t stop you if you do. You’ll be glad to know that the turning circle on the new Land Rover Defender 90 is significantly better than its older cousin, and with the short wheelbase of the 90, you could compare the driving to a Go Kart! (That’s more of a figure of speech than anything). The suspension is soft and comfortable, however when getting up to higher speeds, it quickly firms up to stop the body roll. The excellent driving experience doesn’t just stop at cornering, this model is powered by a inline 6, 3L diesel engine, which puts out 300bhp and 650nm torque. Having the first couple of gears on a short ratio, I can confirm that this picks up speed quickly, 0-60 in 6.7 seconds, considering it weighs over 2 tonnes.

If you are looking for the next ultimate adventure vehicle, which is also capable of your daily tasks while looking incredibly stylish, this is the vehicle for you! If you haven’t driven a Land Rover Defender 90 before, this is the one you need to drive first!