Land Rover Defender 2015 Review

Anyone doubting the reality of time travel has obviously never experienced a Land Rover Defender. Forget your DMC DeLorean. This, my friends, is the real deal.

Climbing (and without grab handles or side steps I do mean climbing) into the cabin of the 'Landie' is a zeitgeist of post-war nostalgia: A melange of basic gauges, slab-cut hard surfaces, forgotten ergonomics and meagre amenity levels.

Seated hard against the too-thin-for-comfort door – contemplating not only the "what ifs" of a side impact, but also the rudimentary controls – I settle in for a three-hour trek north, joining my colleagues in a gathering of epic off-road proportions.

On-road the Defender is exercise in patience, of constant steering corrections and unremitting bolt-action gearshifts. With just 90kW and 360Nm available the Defender's Ford-sourced 2.2-litre engine makes unhurried progress which means using the six-speed manual gearbox is a must. There's little low-end torque, in relative terms (i.e. when sampled alongside any number of much-newer comers), and with taller gearing prompting quick up-shifts to match the flow of traffic, the Defender is a car you really have to drive.

It's only after hitting the dirt does that the Landie begins to make sense. The tedium of just matching the speed limit, droning tyres and endless wind noise is replaced by stones ricocheting around the aluminium rear guards as we head deep into the Alpine National Park. The engine that had been so sluggish on-road is suddenly in its element, cooperating with gearing now strangely ideal for the rugged terrain of 'double black diamond' tracks.

Here, a strong chassis, long suspension travel, short overhangs and hectares of axle clearance (250mm) provide the Defender with an unfettered run over gnarly rutted terrain. There's virtually no stopping the 110 on difficult ground, and despite what seems like slow progress, I find myself waiting for my colleagues again and again as we climb and descend the path to Wonnangatta Station.

Placing the Defender on narrow trails is a cinch. Vision is outstanding in every direction with near-vertical glass providing unrestricted views of its four corners. The Landie dawdles easily onward down the ominously-named Devil's Staircase, though in spite of its abilities is hindered by an embarrassingly wide turning circle (14.4m), forcing second (and sometimes third) goes at the rocky, steep switchbacks.

Loose surfaces will cause the Defender's oh-so-basic traction and stability control to intervene, and though we could switch off the former, the latter still seemed to intrude. Select low-range and it buggers off, though as it's unnecessary to engage '4L' most of the time, the fact we needed to use it at all quickly became a hindrance.

We were also surprised that the diff lock was reluctant to stay engaged. On one particularly steep ascent the shift lever popped out as unexpectedly as Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl – an inopportune location for a 'break' in motive traction to say the least. With live axles front and rear, it's also intriguing that the larger radius anti-roll bars (arguably so necessary on-road) seem to inhibit the Defender's toeholds in ruts or rubble. Perhaps a disconnect function a la Jeep Wrangler would be of benefit.

But in spite of its (mostly age related) shortcomings, the Defender's go-anywhere attitude saw it conquer the path in and out of Wonnangatta with relative ease. It returned unscathed from our two-day trek – no bush pin striping, no bits of broken undercarriage and no need for towing. We couldn't say the same for all in attendance...

On the practicality side it's amazing to find more room inside the 'filing cabinet' than out. The 110 is deceptively large, if rather narrow, offering room enough for four burly road testers, and their kit. The robust, utilitarian rear deck – accessed via a very handy fold-out step – is more covered-ute than station wagon, and provides four nifty tie-down points and fold-out-of-the-way rear seats perfect for, oh I don't know, chain-sawing firewood.

The Defender's other equipment levels are satisfactory, not brilliant, with feeble wiper/washers clearing just enough windscreen to see out of. The heater is quite powerful, though the AC only just does the job. The controls are all rather basic, and the headlights adequate, though not outstanding. Land Rover has equipped the Defender with an Alpine audio system in the latest Defender, though this too is beyond the task of competing with mechanical, road and wind noise at freeway speeds.

Novice buyers, or those unfamiliar with cars of yore, may also find the lack of assistance from clutch and brake pedals a little confronting. Both disguise what are actually very progressive, well modulated pedals. The drive-point of the clutch is easy to find while the four-wheel disc brakes are competent with plenty of stopping power both on and off-road.

While science (and science fiction) invests millions in the pursuit of time travel, you'll only need to part with $54,290 to experience it for yourself. It's a lot of money for a basic, if competent off-roader, and when compared to the Jeep Wrangler the sticker price borders on ridiculous. That aside, we're quite sure there's very few capable of rivalling the Defender off-road. It's sad to think that this time next year it'll be only a memory.

Related reading: motoring.com.au's Offroad SUV reviews