The infotainment system bids me “Good Evening, Joe” in the morning, and “Good Afternoon, Joe” in the evening. The keyless entry works maybe 1/3 of the time, failing to sense the key fob if it’s in my pocket rather than my hand, which is the point of keyless entry. The side-hinged rear door has no remote release, and a soft-close powered latch that you need to befriend, entice, tickle and cajole to open -- like a Schlage key in a finicky front door lock -- especially if the Defender is parked nose-first on a downhill grade. And that rear door has also now developed a rattle. The engine stalled when pulling away from a stop sign, due apparently to a failure of the stop/start function. All this in my first two weeks and 638 miles with the new Defender, during which I’ve managed an appalling 12.9 mpg that, given the state of the world in general, and the state of my state specifically – as you may have heard, California is on fire – makes me feel like a bit of an ass-hat for leasing the 2020 Land Rover Defender 110.
That said, there’s a lot to love here. I’ll get to that in just a minute.
My much-beloved 2016 Range Rover Sport that I turned-in to get into the Defender had its foibles, too. The “Check Engine” light was illuminated for roughly half my time with the Sport, due to failed oxygen sensors which would take a few weeks to arrive once ordered by the dealer, then another few weeks to secure a service appointment, a process I didn’t repeat after the first failure because, well, it’s a lease. During my last months with the Sport, its air suspension developed a mind of its own, jacking itself up to off-road height when parking at, for example, the supermarket. So buying the Sport once the lease and warrantee expired seemed, even to me, despite my love for the thing, unwise.
And yet, here I am again, sewing myself back into a long-term contractual relationship with a Land Rover. Which begs the question, why? Why in a world of cars now uniformly perfect do I give Land Rover a pass? Broadly speaking, anyone who drives these cars forgives them for their occasional bugaboos, and exorbitant repair bills later on. They are, in this way, the modern day Jaguar, which were forgiven in their heyday because they were gorgeous inside and out, drove beautifully, and had a unique character. Today only Tesla ranks beneath Land Rover in initial quality amongst mass-produced brands, and yet both enjoy a cult-like following. And I rather miss Jaguar in its heyday.
The Sport was one of the most surprisingly rewarding cars I’ve ever had, and my first SUV. Large but not massive, it was elegant, fast, green over tan and beautifully appointed inside, cosseting rather than cavernous. Little tablets of high-gloss wood surrounding the window and lock controls on the door-mounted armrests, plus more wood on the center console extending to the rear seats, which were heated, a very nice touch. A wonderfully lofty but not disconnected ride quality, it was great around town and also tops for long road-trips, sailing along at 90mph loaded to the gills, it was sublime.
Design is a big part of what draws me to the new Defender. I just can’t take my eyes off the thing: it’s part old-school Land Rover, part locomotive, and part fortress. Its sheer, square edges make it feel very, very now. Great design continues inside, where utilitarianism meets outdoorsy luxury. Mine has a green leather interior – Land Rover calls it “Khaki” – which suits the Pangea Green exterior, which is brought inside with body-colored door panels. There is plenty of technology on-board, too, much of which was not functioning properly during my first week with the Defender. After a trip to the dealer, and a series of fixes and updates, almost everything except the infotainment’s time function (“Good Evening, Joe” in the morning, etc.) – which corrects itself a few minutes after start-up -- is now working. There is no fix yet for this issue at the time of my writing, as an over-the-air (OTA) system update expected for late September has yet to be released.
Getting one of the first cars produced by the new assembly line of a British manufacturer during a global pandemic means it’ll have some niggles. Who’d have imagined?
While certainly more roly-poly than the Sport, the Defender drives very well, albeit like the tall-bodied, off-road capable truck that it is. Ride quality, assuming you’re not looking for agile cornering – which unlike the Defender, the Sport could manage in a 6/10ths kind of way -- is also very good. Mine is a p400 HSE with the 6-Cylinder producing 395hp, and there’s plenty of power for all occasions, with a slight lag when setting off from a start until the supercharger and turbocharger work their magic.
Have I made the right choice with my Defender? I’ll feel a bit more certain once it knows the time of day.
