`
What’s underneath the car?
The answer you’ll get might
come as a surprise to you
a
of the new Defender appears to
deal with bigger impacts and how
composed the body feels when
subjected to bigger speeds and lateral
loa d s , i s w h at ’s u nde r ne at h t he c a r:
and the answer you’ll get might come
as a surprise you.
“There have been a few Defender
replacement projects over the
years,” explains Deeks, “but with
this one we elected to use the same
aluminium model platform as the
other bigger Land Rover models use.
It ’s c a l le d ‘D 7U ’. T he pl at for m h a s
been through a programme of wide-
ranging design and engineering
overhaul – but it’s a monocoque. It’s
relatively light and very stiff, andthose are attributes we need. But
there’s no ladder frame here, and we
don’t have rigid axles.”
There is quiet in the cabin as I
digest that bombshell, but for the
sound of mud and stones crackling
and pinging off the underside of
the car. No rigid axles, eh? And no
separate chassis? Lordy – there’ll be
much muttering among the green
welly crowd on that score. That’ll be
why it feels so comfy, modern and
dynamically sophisticated, then.
So how on earth do you set about
making the most rugged, capable,
go-anywhere SUV in the world when
you’re starting from there?Deeks provides the answer, all the
while f licking the big Defender from
one side of the test track to the other
w it h a n e c onomy of m a nu a l l y e xe r t e d
e f for t w h ic h , t o w it ne s s , m i g ht
convince an old Defender owner
to put one half of their body out to
pasture in the lower field.
“Compared with the hardware
you’ll find on a Range Rover or
Range Rover Sport,” Deeks explains,
“there are reinforced suspension
subframes, as well as new stronger
s u s p e n sion a r m s , ba l l joi nt s a nd
bushes. We’ve got bigger wheel
arches, more suspension travel,
more wheel articulation and more
ground clearance than on any other
Land Rover. This car was designed
to exceed the usual Land Rover
capability targets that our other
models are engineered up to. And
it has been engineered for better
durability and reliability than any car
that Land Rover has ever made.”
Like its predecessor, the new
D e fe nde r w i l l b e s old i n shor t a nd
lon g-w he e lba s e v e r sion s c a l le d ‘9 0’
and ‘110’ – although those numbers
no lon ge r c or r e s p ond t o e x a c t
wheelbase lengths in inches. Both
versions have shorter overhangsand better approach and departure
angles than any other current
Land Rover (the improvements in
breakover angle and turning circle
are the only reasons you might prefer
the shorter of the two for proper
of f-r oa d i n g). W he e l s w i l l v a r y f r om
18in to 22in, with both all-terrain
and mud-terrain tyres on the options
list and bespoke ‘terrain response’
traction control software tuned to
make the most of the extra off-road
ability those tyres offer.
The car’s four-wheel-drive
d r i v e l i ne , me a nw h i le , w i l l h av e a
more hardcore standard specification
than on a like-for-like Discovery, with
electronic locking differentials likely
for both axles. Land Rover wouldn’t
be drawn to confirm whether low-
range transfer gearing would be
available, or whether the first gear
of the car’s eight-speed automatic
gearbox was intended to be short
enough to take care of even the most
testing of off-road demands. Butmo de r n aut o ’ b oxe s b e i n g a s t he y a r e ,
t he r e ’s a go o d c h a nc e it m i g ht.
“ T he s u s p e n sion h a rd w a r e i s
related to the stuff on those other
cars, but it’s very differently applied
and tuned,” Deeks goes on. “Steel
coils are standard fit, air suspension
is optional. But we’ve got special
controls monitoring the adaptive
dampers, for example, to ensure they
don’t overheat when working really
hard. If you have the air suspension,
w e r e c k on t he c a r i s b e t t e r a ble t o
k e e p it s w he e l s on t he g r ou nd a nd it s
body clear of obstacles than it would
on rigid axles anyway.”
At that, I wish he would spear off
the track we’re on and drive directly
up t he side of a r o c k f a c e or s a nd
dune, or go boulder-crawling, in
order to prove the point. That’ll be
for another day, I guess. Instead,
Deeks continues aiming at the
potholes, working the Defender’s
s u s p e n sion h a rd i nt o e a c h one but
with little drama or coarseness onimpact, and he begins to explain why
the idea of a reliable modern Land
Rover need not necessarily be such a
challenging contradiction.
“ We k now w h at r e put at ion ou r
cars have, and what some people ◊
ACCESSORIES
Expect plenty of ’em
- from winches and wading
gear to extra spare wheels
and ‘lifestyle equipment’. If you
can imagine a use for them on an
off-roader, expect to be able to buy
them. Land Rover will use them as
a route towards personalisation,
and there should be plenty
of profit in them for
dealers.
BODY
“A lightweight
construction,” is all
Deeks would say – so
expect aluminium,
possibly with some
composites here
and there.
7 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 45
NEW DEFENDER FIRST RIDE