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Since January 2016, the Defender was no longer in production. It was a sad day indeed, but what was worse was the fact there was no official information on a replacement. We had seen the DC100 concept a few years earlier, but the reaction wasn’t great. We then started to see pictures of camouflaged test mules, and a particularly cute looking shortened Range Rover sport. Something was happening. On the 27^th December 2018 Land Rover made an announcement. The Defender replacement would be launched in 2019 with customer deliveries starting in 2020. I for one, was excited. I had placed a dealership deposit 4 years earlier with the aim of being the first customer in my local area.

I read everything I could about the new vehicle and come the launch I was glued to the Land Rover you tube channel watching the live reveal. I, for one, was not disappointed, styling cues such as the barrel sides first seen on the Series 2 and the bonnet bulge from the later Puma Defenders were all evident. But this is when the Nay Sayers started. Was it going to be a Defender?

Having a deposit on one gained me access to a private unveiling and in October 2019, I went to the Halewood factory for a VIP reveal. One thing Land Rover do well is pomp and circumstance and the event was a joy. Champaign upon arrival, media videos and finally the removal of the cover to show us a Defender in the metal. It was all very exciting as I spent the next hour or so looking at every nook and cranny inside and out. I was impressed.

When the order book was opened, I jumped straight on the configurator and specified my model. A Defender 110 D240S with a modest selection of options.  Within the next 24 hours the order was placed and the waiting game started. Come 2020 the world changed when Covid happened. Luckily for me my Land Rover had been built prior to the global lock down, so only ended up being 1 week later than my original delivery date.

I am lucky in the fact my local dealership is only 2 miles from my house, and one day whilst working in my home office I had a message from a friend who had just driven passed it. The first Defenders had arrived. I jumped straight into my Evoque and drove to the dealer only to be stopped at the gate due to Covid restrictions, by the security guard. A bit of blagging later I was stood next to my Defender. It had arrived, along with several others. One email later to the dealership and my collection day was set. July 12^th, and yes, I was the first customer to take delivery.

It has now been almost five years since the first customer cars were delivered, and my Defender has been my daily drive ever since. It has done all the usual family car things as well as be a tow car for the caravan and car trailer. Now many new Land Rover products never leave the tarmac, but my Defender was not going to be a pavement princess. Within 65 miles of it being collected the interior was full of mud from my children’s feet and it had completed its first greenlaning trip. It has since done pay and play sites and green lanes and is a regular on the UK Land Rover show scene. It has even done the infamous mud run at the Billing show, and no it didn’t get stuck.

But back to the question in hand. Is it a Defender. This question has certainly divided opinion and I have had my fill of people asking me that very question and sharing their own viewpoints. I even had a long discussion with TV’s Jimmy DeVille about it at one motor show (Spoiler alert; he does not think it should have been called a Defender). The internet is full of people saying Land Rover has lost its way, has sold out and that the new Defender should have been called the Discovery 6 or worse, the pretender. I have heard it all, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

To answer the salient question, we need to ask another. What should a Defender be? Well, the original premise of the Land Rover was to be a workhorse, and it spent several decades doing just that. So, from that perspective is the L663 Defender a Defender. Short answer no. Yes, it can be a workhorse, but it isn’t its main purpose. Look at the conversations and modifications of the old Series Land Rovers and Defenders, all done to tailor them for specific needs. The L663 cannot be modified as easily as an old ladder chassis platform so in that respect it is not a Defender. You will not for example, see one with a 50-calibre machine gun protruding from its roof driving across a battlefield. But let’s have a reality check here. Land Rover hasn’t really done military contracts since the late 1990’s, so that market didn’t really exist anymore. The world had also started to use four door pickups for their everyday workhorses. They were cheaper and dare I say it more reliable. So again, this market had shrunk. Why design a vehicle for markets that aren’t there?

Towards the end of its life the original Defender had become a lifestyle vehicle to many. Many companies will take you money and deliver you a Defender that is more comfortable and has cosmetic enhancements. Indeed, Land Rover offered a limited-edition Autobiography Defender as production came to an end and is now offering bespoke rebuilds via it’s Works division. People wanted a Defender that could go anywhere, fulfil their spirit of adventure and still be able to have a civilised drive home. This is what the market had become, and this was not lost on Land Rover as it developed the L663. Whether they should have retired the Defender name and called it the Discovery 6 is another matter. The Discovery was always available as a family 7-seater and had become increasingly more luxurious. Yes, the Defender in 110 format could be fitted with additional rear seats, but trust me – anyone with the gift of height would struggle to use them making it a 5 + 2 seater rather than a fully-fledged 7 seater. The interior of the L663, whilst not exactly spartan, isn’t what you would call luxury. It has not got carpets and can be washed out with a sponge and a bucket. I know this. Remember the children’s muddy footprints?

So is the Defender a true Defender. Well, it replaced what the Defender had become, not what the Defender was so in that viewpoint yes. It will go anywhere the old one would, in more comfort. It has been a sales success, and the roads are now full of them going around. The majority will never see anything more difficult than a muddy puddle. I recently had to use Land Rover assist, and as the mechanic peered under the bonnet, mud all around the engine from various escapades, he said it was nice to see one actually being used. This is the sad truth with the majority of Land Rover vehicles nowadays. Whilst extremely capable, they will remain a statement rather than a workhorse.

Is the new Defender really a Defender? For me yes, but one thing is for sure – the debate will continue.

Do you agree or disagree? Email admin@lrlife.co.uk to share your opinion. If it’s not too rude we may even publish it 😊