{"id":26067,"date":"2020-10-01T12:08:08","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T16:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=26067"},"modified":"2020-10-01T12:08:08","modified_gmt":"2020-10-01T16:08:08","slug":"payne-rugged-meets-refined-in-land-rovers-remade-defender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2020\/10\/payne-rugged-meets-refined-in-land-rovers-remade-defender","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Rugged meets refined in Land Rover\u2019s remade Defender"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Jeep light transport vehicle, General Dwight Eisenhower once said, was “one of three decisive weapons the U.S. had during World War II.”<\/p>\n

Over 70 years later it inspires three of the most important SUVs in the U.S. auto market.<\/p>\n

The Jeep Wrangler, Ford Bronco\u00a0and today\u2019s tester \u2014 the 2020\u00a0Land Rover Defender \u2014 all have their roots in the World War II Jeep. In an SUV-crazed market, their war-era history still resonates with customers. The Wrangler is the direct descendant of that Jeep. Ford also built Jeeps during the war, a legacy that ultimately inspired the Bronco.<\/p>\n

And Land Rover? Its first model was built in 1948 on the Jeep warrior\u2019s chassis.<\/p>\n

Today, that vehicle has evolved into the Defender SUV. But while its sister Wrangler and Bronco are mainstream badges, the Defender is aimed at a higher demographic. It\u2019s a Wrangler for the luxury class.<\/p>\n

Like many Americans, I thought Land Rover was exotic even before I knew what it was. The \u201cSeries I\u201d SUV (before marketing came to its senses and called it Defender) co-starred in the movie \u201cBorn Free\u201d that I watched umpteen times as a kid. Rover\u2019s occupants were beautiful people with English accents. Lions lounged on its roof. It drove across Kenyan grasslands. Cool.<\/p>\n

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By contrast, my first memories of Jeeps were windshieldless, machine-gun-toting Army vehicles. The Bronco? It won Baja 1000 races in the Mexican desert. Crazy, rugged stuff.<\/p>\n

Turns out\u00a0the modern variants pretty much follow the stereotypes. The Wrangler and Bronco can be stripped naked of their body panels for extreme off-roading. I\u2019ve tested the Wrangler through the muck of Flint\u2019s ORV park;\u00a0rode\u00a0shotgun as Bronco navigated the dirt and dust of Holly Oaks park. They feature articulated suspensions, so they can crawl over rocks at all kinds of weird angles. The Defender has none of these things. While plenty capable in the sticks, this is a more refined tree chewer.<\/p>\n

So, naturally, I took it the grasslands of Kenya \u2014 er, Charlevoix County \u2014 up north.<\/p>\n

Alas, I didn\u2019t see any lions or Brits, but the Defender impressed with its off-road refinement. Start with the adjustable air suspension.<\/p>\n

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The Defender already comes with impressive\u00a08.5-inch ride height. But as I encountered the long grass and uneven terrain, I wanted more. I toggled the suspension-lift button on the dash and Rover hiked its skirts to 11.5 inches. The transition took just seconds, upping the Defender\u2019s specs to a class-competitive 38-degree approach angle, 28-degree breakover angle\u00a0and 40-degree departure angle.<\/p>\n

The Defender also comes with an encyclopedic range of drive modes including Grass\u00a0and\u00a0Sand, Mud\u00a0Ruts, Sand\u00a0and Ocean\u00a0Bottom\u00a0(kidding about that last one). I selected Grass\u00a0and\u00a0Sand\u00a0and grunted happily along \u2014 splitting narrow tree lines, climbing grades, navigating rocks. The gnarly, off-road tires \u2014 Goodyear Wranglers \u2014 clawed the earth.<\/p>\n

On a couple of occasions, deep ravines turned me back. If I want to go that rugged, I\u2019ll slap 40-inch monster tires on a Jeep, thank you very much. The Defender is for more civilized outings.<\/p>\n

At $72,180, my tester was dressed in classy jungle green over a body that can best be described as premium Lego.<\/p>\n

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The vehicle\u2019s traditional, boxy design (\u201cA shape a child could draw,\u201d says Land Rover design chief Gerry McGovern) has been cleverly updated to match its modern electronics. Like Lego blocks, the pieces fit in place. Snap in round\u00a0LED headlights embedded in glass blocks next to a block grille. Snap on black plastic strips\u00a0on the hood. A white roof. A body-colored\u00a0C-pillar block that defines the side view.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t miss it.<\/p>\n

And not just because of its design. This is a big vehicle. Nearly 10 inches longer than the compact Wrangler, the mid-size Rover is six\u00a0inches wider and four\u00a0inches taller. This translates into five\u00a0more inches of shoulder room inside \u2014 78 cubic feet of cargo with the rear seats down.<\/p>\n

Like its famous ancestors, Rover comes in two-door (90) and four-door (110) variants. Unlike Defenders of yore, the brute is built on a unibody which Rover engineers say eclipses the old ladder frame for strength. It felt plenty solid off-road, but the Defender was quite comfy on my drive up Interstate 75. Made to shed its doors, the Wrangler is noisier than Defender, which could pass for a normal SUV. It’s an off-road wolf in sheep\u2019s clothing.<\/p>\n

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This being luxury class, the Defender inline-6 is supercharged and turbocharged for gobs more power than Wrangler\u2019s six. The result is 395 horses trampling the grasslands (a 296-horse turbo-4 is also available).<\/p>\n

Echoing the exterior, the interior is Lego simple.<\/p>\n

We motorheads love boy-toy touches on our sports cars like giant rear wings (Subaru WRX STI), flared fenders (Dodge Challenger Widebody)\u00a0and hood intakes (Mustang GT500). Defender gives off-road motorheads some bling, too.<\/p>\n