FirstDrive/2007 Land Rover Defender:The original of all SUVs, the Land Rover Defender, has had a major makeover. Paddy Comyntook it for a drive
Choosing to buy an SUV these days can be somewhat hazardous. The decision can leave you brandished as something of an environmental terrorist, intent on leaving generations to come submerged in rising tides. You might get scorned for choosing your Volvo XC90, BMW X5 or Toyota Land Cruiser to pick up the kids and do the shopping. And heaven forbid if you buy a Range Rover.
However, back in 1948, long before we knew anything about global warming or got our undergarments in a knot about CO2 emissions, Rover's technical director Maurice Wilks sought to turn around the ailing company's fortunes.
He had been using war surplus vehicles on his farm in Anglesey, Wales and was impressed by their capabilities and saw the potential, especially to the export market of a small, four-wheel drive utility vehicle. A war-surplus chassis was fitted with a Rover engine and gearbox and a simple aluminium body. The Land Rover was born.
From the Series I, II and III, to the Defender, this simple work horse served countless farmers, crossed continents, repaired power lines, transported pontiffs, put out fires and kept the peace across the globe. It was never flash, never anything but functional, and by and large was never bought by anyone that didn't really need it.
And there was a reason for this. The Defender, as it became known in later years was blunt and brutal. It had the sort of "hit-with-a-hammer" repair-ability and basic mechanical ingenuity that made it perfect for people who needed to cross impossible conditions in something that was dependable and failing that, easy to fix.
In latter years they have also become somewhat cool and something of a cult vehicle. But they were horrendous to drive. They were noisy, uncomfortable, bereft of creature comforts and safety equipment and if you drove one on a motorway you needed therapy afterwards to recover. But that has all changed.
Land Rover is in a bit of a pickle when it comes to their Defender. It has a small but fiercely loyal and dependent following that want it to be just what it is, but it simply had to improve in some vital areas.
The result is the 2007 Defender. And before you start writing in - no we haven't printed the wrong picture, this is the new one and visually there is not an awful lot to tell it apart from the old one.
Except of course at the front. The bonnet is new, because it houses a new engine and at the front it now says Land Rover instead of Defender. This new engine is a 2.4-litre common-rail diesel engine with 120bhp and 360Nm of torque borrowed from the Ford Transit and mated to a new six-speed gearbox. This engine is not only quieter, but more fuel efficient and better for towing and off-roading too. There is a lower first gear for greater off-road control and a higher top gear for better motorway cruising.
However, the major changes are inside and underneath. Starting at the back, the previous Defender had seats that folded down and faced each other. These were neither comfortable nor particularly safe, so these have gone and have been replaced with standard forward facing seats - two in the Defender 90, and up to five in the longer Defender 110.
At the front, driver and passenger are treated to a new fascia. This is based on a single, large and durable moulding and features previously unheard of options such as air conditioning and a useful audio system. There are new gauges derived from the Discovery and now feature a tachometer and digital odometer. The cabin is also 20 per cent quieter thanks to upgraded sound insulation.
On the road, it's these tactile changes that hit you first. This is a marginally more comfortable place to be, and the cabin feels significantly better than before. The engine is quieter and more refined and the gearchange no longer requires two hands and a weightlifter's left leg. Steering and suspension changes make the car more composed than this writer would have thought possible, and motorway driving is much less hazardous than before.
Compared to most SUVs its on-road manners are still pretty poor, but compared to what it was, it is a revolution. But as with any Land Rover event, the Defender launch saw it and us put through our paces through ravines and rivers, just to show us what it is really about. Its ability to tackle nature is astonishing.
Sales of the Defender average about 25,000 per year, with Ireland selling 1 per cent of these. The 2007 short wheelbase model arrives next month with the longer wheelbase model coming in the summer.
There were no prices released yet, but we were told by Land Rover Ireland that we can expect a mere 2 per cent price increase, which is good considering the raft of improvements. With that in mind, expect a starting price of €31,000 for the commercial version and €40,000 for the 90 Station Wagon.
Factfile:
BODY STYLES:Short (90) and Long (110/130) wheelbase, Pick-up and anything else you want within reason
ENGINE:122bhp / 360Nm four-cylinder 16v 2.4-litre diesel
TRANSMISSION:Six-speed manual
MAX SPEED:131km/h
0-100km/h: 15.8 seconds
FUEL CONSUMPTION:10 L/100km (28.3mpg)
CO2 EMISSIONS:266 g/km
EXPECTED STARTING PRICE:€31,000
LIKELY LAUNCH:Next month