Finally, after some rigorous testing through very demanding terrain worldwide, Land Rover have revealed the all-new Defender SUV. This 21st century model poses to be a capable off-roaded as well as being a smart & feature loaded product for the luxury car segment. And the body profile still remains an unmistakable Defender, reminiscent of the past. If that isn’t enough, customers can have their Defender personalised as well. With 7 decades of leading the SUV space, the new 2020 Defender is back to prove its mettle.
Dubbed as the Defender 110, this new model retails as in 5, 6 or 5+2 seat configuration and the boot space can vary between 1,075 – 2,380L depending on the seat arrangement. The Defender 90 model claims to pack in 6 occupants in the size and scale of a hatchback.
Based on the D7x platform, this chassis is made of lightweight aluminium and boasts a monococue construction. It is the stiffest that the brand has ever manufactured. This new body structure is 3x more stiff compared to an old-school body-on-frame chassis. The SUV rides on fully independent air suspension along with other coil sprung setup as well. All this will support the future electric engine options. The 2020 Defender has been put through more than 62,000 tests in temperatures ranging from 50-degree heat to sub 40-degree cold; all in a bid to offer a true blue SUV to enthusiasts.
The 2020 Defender will have a permanent all-wheel drive and a twin-speed automatic gearbox. There would be a centre differential and an optional active locking rear differential backing its SUV nature along with modes to drive through sand, rocks and snow. The 2020 Defender has a ground clearance of 291mm with approach, breakover and departure angles of 38, 28 & 40 degrees to the 110 variant. The SUV comes with 900mm water wading ability with Terrain Response 2 4×4 system.
Powering the new model will be a P300 petrol engine which is a 4-cylinder block, P400 6-cylinder block with mild-hybrid, D200 4-cylinder diesel and a D240 diesel engine. The diesel motors will have an efficiency of 7.6L / 100 km. Land Rover is also working on PHEV – Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle variants of the new Defender.
Although a big brawny SUV, the 2020 Defender has a co-efficient of drag of just 0.38 Cd.
The new Defender available in 90 & 110 variants will be available sold as First Edition, X, S, SE & HSE packs.
