The first Land Rover Defender
was an automotive icon that was heralded for its utilitarian looks and
go-anywhere, do-anything capability. The original was so rugged that
some owners would wash out the interior with a garden hose. Although you
might not get away with hosing down the insides of the new one, the return of the Defender for 2020 is still a big deal for people who want a small but extremely capable SUV.
The
new model looks to be a leader in its segment both on- and off-road.
That said, production for the new car hasn't started yet, so we won't
get our hands on the real thing for some time. While we're left
wondering what it's like to drive, MotorTrend staffers descended on the Land Rover
configurator to build their ideal Defender. Everyone had to pick a 110
model to spec because we aren't getting the 90 until later next year.
There are hundreds of ways to customize the new car, too. Want something perfect for off-roading?
You'll need the Explorer Pack and some stubby all-terrain tires. Going
for a more urban feel? Skip the roof rack and raised air intake and opt
for the Meridian sound system and three-zone climate control instead.
There's no right or wrong way to spec a Defender; the only sin here
would be opting for an Evoque instead.
Given our druthers, here are some of the ways we would build our perfect Defenders.
I'll
start us off. I'm a city boy born and raised, so I'd never even use
half of the Defender's off-road capability. That's why my build has a
focus on city driving. Remember what I said about the only sin being
picking an Evoque? For some people, this spec will be sacrilege, but we
live in a world where most SUVs never see anything but paved roads.
Sorry, not sorry.
First off, I'm sticking with the base
four-cylinder because gas is expensive in SoCal, and I don't need the
extra get-up-and-go of the 3.0-liter six. The first option box I'd tick
is the Urban Pack; it only adds a few things like the metal pedals and a
spare wheel cover. That keeps the outside free of useless clutter like a
roof rack and mud flaps. Next I'd take the black exterior pack. Acorn
leather and 14-way heated and cooled seats will keep me nice and cozy as
I sit in L.A. traffic, and the Comfort and Convenience Pack plus the
three-way climate control will certainly make my time on the 405 a
breeze. I went with a white top and Tasman Blue body simply because
it'll compliment the tan interior-plus contrasting roofs are just cool.
After the addition of some 22-inch black five-spoke wheels, I'm looking
at $69,162.07 all in. Pricey, but I'm willing to bet this is what most
Defenders will end up looking like. - Nick Yekikian
Any SUV I buy has to be overland ready, and that's what I kept in mind when spec'ing my 2020 Land Rover Defender
110. Despite dropping $12,000 on options, I think I deserve a pat on
the back for my Defender configuration; it's quite simply everything I
need and nothing I don't. I started off with the base four-cylinder
(because the plug-in hybrid isn't on sale yet), and then dropped about
$4,300 on the Explorer Pack, which includes everything from extra body
armor to a snorkel and roof rack. That's a tremendous value for all that
kit, considering the same equipment would cost triple that on the
aftermarket. I then splurged on green paint with a contrasting black
roof, the black exterior package, and 18-inch steel wheels with
all-terrain tires for their superior strength and ride quality.
I
couldn't resist splurging on the interior, adding the front bench seat
purely for the novelty, heated seats, and a three-zone A/C to keep my
pups comfortable in back. I rounded out my Defender with every single
off-road package available (again, it'd cost way more to replicate the
same feature set on the aftermarket) and a tow hitch. For $63,221.55 (I
love that the Land Rover configurator includes cents), I'd get what
looks to be a tremendously capable SUV for not much more than a loaded Jeep Wrangler Rubicon—and for significantly less than a Toyota Land Cruiser or Mercedes-Benz G 550. - Christian Seabaugh
The Defender is meant to be an elemental go-anywhere vehicle, so it
seems stupid to option one up as a Range Rover wannabe. So hold the
fancy Windsor leather, oak and walnut veneers, top-heavy pano-roofs,
matte paint, Meridian audio systems, and giant alloy rims. I'll take a
base 110 with steelies and the $4,287 Explorer Pack to heighten the
authenticity with mud flaps, wheel arch protection, a raised air intake,
and a side-mounted gear carrier. I also can't resist the $710 Pangea
Green paint with an $870 contrasting white roof and a $600 black-out
trim package. Inside I'm super bummed the fabric upholstery only comes
in black, but I livened things up with a $200 white cross-car beam. My
only other must-haves were the $1,630 towing package (which also buys
the highly desirable All-Terrain Progress Control and configurable
Terrain Response 2 off-road enhancing systems), the $1,275 Driver Assist
Pack (radar cruise control is addictive), a cargo net, and carpeted
floor mats for when we're doing city duty. All in, I'm at $60,932. - Frank Markus
Going against the grain, I'm building a Defender ready to tackle
Southern California's mall parking lots and smoothie stands. My Defender
will make the rappers and Kardashians of the world take notice.
Unfortunately, the bank account doesn't benefit from a make-up empire or
reality TV show, so I'll opt for the base Defender 110 model with an
MSRP of just under $50K on my beer budget.
When it comes to the
exterior, I'm aiming for the murdered-out look. Luckily the Santorini
Black exterior metallic paint ($710) fits that bill nicely. And of
course, the Black Exterior Package ($600) is a must-have. When it comes
to wheels, no self-respecting baller would be seen with anything less
than 20s. Thankfully Land Rover has seen fit to provide a set of 22-inch
dubs in gloss black ($4,700) for the Defender. On the inside the Ebony
Windsor leather interior ($6,725) would be great, but I must practice
some restraint and go with the regular fabric seats. Here's a curveball:
The Smokers Pack ($50) adds a lighter socket and ashtray. Why? Because
this option will make my Defender ultra-rare, and it would be a great
conversation piece. My baller on a budget total comes in at
$57,385…boo-ya! - Tom Rosquin
Land Rovers are luxury commodities. Their owners should have an air of
mystique about them. So a Santorini Black exterior is a must, although
going with the cool Acorn leather interior is also a must in sun-soaked
SoCal. Because I'm urban most of the time, the added sidewall of the
19-inch wheels helps with ride comfort. And also because I'm urban and
need to dodge and weave through traffic, the sub-6-second 0-60 mph time
of the 3.0-liter turbo is a must, as well as smart
cruise control for when there's no beating the slog. If you have a
Landie, then you likely have a doggie, so the Country Pack (with the
cargo separator and the portable rinse system) is how you keep the Sir
Barksalot from muddying up the rest of the car (which will be leather
everywhere, of course). A refrigerated center console will keep the
bubbly chilled until we reach our destination, and the thunderous
Meridian sound system will keep us entertained along the way. - Mark Rechtin
Looks rather plain, doesn't it? With intention, I assure you. I am
truly enamored with the Defender, so I tried to spec it out the way I
might actually buy it. That starts with the base model P300 AWD
Automatic and the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine as I'm hoping the
inline-4 will be the lightest, simplest, and therefore most reliable of
the powertrain options (which include a twin-charged, mild hybrid
straight-six as well as a probable plug-in hybrid model). I skipped the
accessory packs. Even though there is value to them, I couldn't stand
some of the sillier options like the goofy side-mounted gear carriers
mounted near the vehicle's rear corners. They don't appear to hold much,
but they do seem to block your view out of the rear side windows, which
is kind of essential when off-roading.
Despite trying to keep the
costs down, I still managed to add nearly $12K in accessories, like the
blacked-out roof and trim package. I would probably go for that in real
life, especially if the dealer offered a badge delete option (no need
to spell out Defender across the nose). Coolest feature I love aside
from the 18-inch steel wheels? The front jump seat. More car makers need
to bring back the front middle seat, especially as shift-by-wire
becomes the de facto way to control the transmission. Why not put your
honey, honeychild, or pup where the mechanical shift linkage used to be?
The question is, why can't you select the jump seat and the optional
third row to make the Defender an eight-passenger (3/3/2) off-road MPV.
Because I dream less of transcontinental overlanding and more of Baja
surf camping trips these days, I kept the options light. The Off-Road
Pack ($1,345) swaps the all-seasons for knobbier tires, a power outlet,
and a brake-based torque vectoring system, and goes well with the towing
pack ($1,630). My accessories are similarly surf
focused—longboard-appropriate crossbars ($342, which didn't make it into
the pictures for some reason), the longer, Classic mud flaps ($107 each
for front and rear sets), along with two pricey items: a raised air
intake snorkel at $834 and the integrated air compressor ($974). I
rationalized those costs by adding the winch, a relative steal at
$233.58. Why did I avoid the power rinse system ($406.98)? Because I
have one already. So, would I buy this $61,716.58 Defender? Not before I
drive it. - Ed Loh
For my Defender, I initially thought I'd want a 110 with steelies and
nothing else. But the more time I spend playing around with the
configurator, the more I realized that's not at all what I wanted. I
went with a Defender 110 X, with the six-cylinder engine—because power.
Next, I went with a brown (Gondwana Stone) exterior with the $3,800
satin protective film because I would bash this thing off every shrub
and rock I could. Ask Land Rover; they know me. Ideally, I'd like black
five-spoke 18-inch wheels so I could get meatier tires. All Land Rover
will sell us are big 20-inchers, though, so I'll have to look to the
aftermarket. There are 19-inch wheels available on the configurator, but
they ain't for my rig! 18-inch wheels probably won't clear the brakes.
Anyhow, 20s will work.
I wanted to get some of the available
accessory packs, but the ones that add stuff I'd want (roof rack,
snorkel) also add tons of crud I don't (spare tire cover, mud flaps,
that weird box that hangs off the C-pillar). As such, my car looks a bit
more stripped than I thought it would going in. But you know what? I
like it. Especially with the matching interior. Now, if I can just
figure out how to delete those preposterous rectangles from the side
glass… - Jonny Lieberman
A Defender should stand for one thing only: rugged capability. So why
did Land Rover have to make the new one so damn stylish? I tried to
balance this polarity into my 110 build, with a simple silver exterior
contrasted by a black roof, grille, hood lettering, and wheels. As rad
as those basic steel wheels are, I couldn't resist bumping up to
split-six-spoke 19s also finished in black. Off-road tires are a must,
of course. Seats dressed in Khaki leather with its greenish hue seemed
appropriately classic yet distinctive, and I chose the refrigerated
center console compartment to keep beverages cold while traveling
through the desert sands.
This being a Defender, I had to check
every off-road option box I could find. That meant standard and advanced
off-road capability packs to add the electronic differential,
brake-based torque vectoring, and Land Rover's suite of dirt-oriented
technology. The raised snorkel, four-corner flaps, and deep-sided rubber
floor mats will only encourage me to get muddy, and the portable rinse
system hose attachment will let me spray it all down. Still, road
driving is an inevitability, so I added adaptive cruise control. And
since my mountain bike will likely accompany me on most Defender drives,
a roof-mounted carrier system bolts to the top crossbars. Time to get
out there and get lost. - Alex Leanse
Old Defenders, Land Cruisers, and Patrols surrounded me as a kid. That's one of the reasons the 2020 Land Rover Defender
is so nostalgic. My ideal configuration starts with the 110S trim with
19-inch alloy wheels, all-terrain tires, and a Pangea Green exterior.
From there I'd add heated and ventilated front seats, two-tone Acorn
Windsor leather upholstery, and virtually every option package available
except the cosmetic-focused ones for maximum comfort, capability, and
safety. Jaguar
Land Rover's 2.0-liter turbo-four makes a healthy 296 hp and 295 lb-ft
of torque, which is plenty in my book and should serve well for crawling
over rocks and going through trails. Total price for my ideal 2020
Defender? $62,865. Not bad considering you can load this truck up to
over $80,000. - Stefan Ogbac
