By Sala Masindane

We kickedoff our SUV tests for the year 2022 in the latest iteration of the Defender 110 which is the D300 X. Our previous time with the D240 proved to one of enjoyment but also the realisation that the Defender is no longer a one-dimensional vehicle.

What is different?

The Land Rover Defender 110 X is identifiable externally with the following key features: a two tone Hakuba Silver body colour with black dominating the windows, panels and roof, 20-inch off-road wheels, and standard Matrix LED headlights with signature daytime running lights.

Inside, it includes a standard panoramic roof, a 10-inch touch display with Pivi Pro infotainment system, Rough-cut Walnut veneer finishers, Ebony Windsor leather and 7 seat configurations.

The interior is a great space to be in with USB ports for all the passengers even the last row. It does,however compromise the luggage space for all 7 occupants when traveling. A trailer will be needed for those longer trips, but you can tow a decent size off-road trailer thanks to the shunt on offer here.

Drive and Performance

Powering our test unit is a 3.0-litre straight-six turbocharged diesel engine that pushes out 221kW of power and 650Nm of torque. This is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. The time spent with the behemoth SUV has us re-thinking the lack of excitement when it comes to diesel engines. It is smooth and accelerates quickly off the mark for a 2.5-ton vehicle. It delivers decent fuel consumption too, with the test car returning 11.5l/100km after a week of town and highway driving. Land Rover claims that it will sip a little as 7.6l/100km in a combined cycle, which I do find optimistic, but there’s no doubt that you can achieve this figure on a long highway sojourn. The Defender 110 proved exceptionally capable as a daily run around and although it’s large and cumbersome at times, the range of camera systems and technologies available in the vehicle make it quite easy to drive after just a few hours in the driver’s seat.

Final word

Away from the engine, which just dominates the experience of the latest Defender as it’s so darn good, is a refined and extremely capable off-road vehicle as to be expected. If you have the need for an all-round SUV and have R1,706,400 to spare, then this would be one to consider.