OCTOBER 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 75
6
They’ve tested it to destruction
Nick Collins describes the Defender’s test criteria as ‘the toughest
we’ve ever subjected a vehicle to’, with more than 62,000 tests, and around
200 hacks between them covering about 750,000 miles in some of the
world’s least popular holiday destinations, ranging from 50ºC desert to
-40ºC frozen lakes, and at altitudes up to 10,000ft.
Andy Deeks has led the durability and robustness programme, and says
it’s halfway between Land Rover’s typical full-size SUV programme and
the more extreme batterings to which military vehicles are subjected. ‘For
example, we usually drive over one-inch concrete sets, but for Defender
they’re two-inch sets,’ he reveals. Real-world testing has been supplement-
ed with endless test-rig abuse. ‘We instrument a vehicle up and collect all
the data as it runs around [on test tracks],’ explains Deeks. ‘That includes
structural inputs into the suspension, the ride height, wheel height, speed
and yaw. We try to hit all the potholes and exacerbate all the inputs.’
This data has been fed into multi-directional test rigs, which clamp
prototype vehicles at their wheel hubs and harness their bodies with active
restraints, to simulate them being tossed around. The rigs have run 24
hours a day, seven days a week, for eight weeks – comparable to 150k miles
of constant driving.
Both software and hardware has been uprated to suit. Constantly
variable dampers can better manage temperatures as they pummel up and
down over particularly harsh surfaces, thanks to a sharper electronic brain.
Steel subframes taken from the Discovery feature sturdier weld lines to
prevent cracking, and new braces are welded for
extra strength. The bushings and balljoints for
suspension control arms are more durable, and
the front lower control arms are increased in both
stiffness and length. Structural undertrays are
also stiffened. ‘The hardware can withstand the
kind of severe off-road impacts only a Defender
will encounter, including repeated 200mm kerb
strikes at 25mph,’ says Collins. ‘The wheels can also
withstand seven tonnes of vertical load.’
7
No Land Rover is better off-road
That’s the claim, but then achieving any-
thing less would be a failure for Land Rover’s most
rugged vehicle – and, as we’ll see, the previous
model still holds the upper hand in some areas.
Key hardware includes permanent all-wheel drive,
a standard twin-speed auto transmission (giving a
low-ratio gear set for snail’s-pace travel over par-
ticularly tricky terrain), a centre differential, and an optional active locking
diff for the rear axle. A choice of wheels measuring 18 to 22 inches are fitted
with all-terrain tyres as standard. More aggressive off-road rubber will also
be available up to 20 inches. The tyres provide the greatest contact patch of
any Land Rover, as well as the deepest sidewalls. Tyre diameter is increased
to 815mm from a Discovery’s 798mm, so the final-drive ratio has been
reduced. The test car we rode in wore Pirelli Scorpion tyres, measuring
255/60 R20.
Air suspension can lower by up to 50mm but also extend by up to 75mm
in normal use, with a further 70mm boost to 145mm available in extreme
circumstances, say if the body needs a brief extra lift to avoid grounding
out. Maximum suspension articulation is rated at 500mm, and you can
drive along 45º slopes like Terry Grant practising his two-wheeled stunt
antics on stabilisers, and easily climb 45º inclines. Air will give the best
off-road performance, coils (only available on the 90) the cheapest point
of entry, though you can imagine the simplicity of coils appealing to those
wanting a rugged workhorse too. Both are pretty handy.
Inherently correct foundations help. The 90 with coil-spring suspen-
sion records approach and departure angles of 31 and 38º respectively,
and ground clearance of 225mm, or 38/40/291mm with air suspension in
its fully raised setting. Nonetheless, the previous Defender 90 recorded
47º approach and departure angles, and 323mm ground clearance. Land
Rover cites the challenges of making the new Defender compliant
with today’s emissions and safety regulations, and is adamant the new ⊲New DefenderI keep wrestling with the idea of buying the new Defender, but the question that
keeps popping into my head is: ‘Why?’
I always wanted one of the original models and eventually remortgaged my
house to buy one. Now, 17 years later, and with 200,000 miles on the clock, it’s
still running strong. I like to keep it smart, but the mild dents and ripples in the
bodywork add character. It still tows 2.5-tonne trailers with ease and I’m fine
wading through headlamp-deep water.
So, what does the new model bring to the table? Cleaner engines and the ability
to exceed the speed limit. And more comfortable seats. Which sounds remarkably
like its stablemate, the Discovery. But unlike the current Discovery, the new
Defender does look like a Land Rover should.
For me the stumbling block is the price: a Defender is a workhorse and though
I’m happy to pay more for quality tools, I’m not prepared to pay over the odds.
Neil Watterson, editor, Land Rover Owner InternationalLocking centre
diff standard.
Locking rear diff
optionalBut the old one is
better at driving
straight at and off
steep inclines