It looks fantastic and offers a properly luxurious cabin, but is the new Defender still good off-road? James Ward hit the Flinders Ranges to find out.
The Defender nameplate is a hallowed one – inextricably linked with adventure and exploration over decades.
While classic Defenders are undeniably rugged and bare bones in their design, the modern interpretation of the iconic car has more creature comforts than its predecessors. As such, the Defender has become a more common sight around town – with its decidedly luxury bent attracting an entirely new buyer set to the brand.
As a long-time Defender lover and Land Rover enthusiast, I was surprised to realise I hadn’t taken one off a paved road in quite some time. Obviously, I had to fix that. And what better way to fix it than on a certified Defender Experience in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges?
For three nights, our small group of adventurers headed into the mobile-reception-free Australian Outback to see how the luxury SUV lived up to the reputation carved out (literally) by its predecessors.
The Defender Experience is open to anyone, even those who don’t own a Defender, and all you have to do is get yourself to Adelaide. For $5500 per couple, the team will transport you through the picturesque South Australian countryside to the Flinders Ranges and provide accommodation, chef-prepared meals and enthralling entertainment, oh, and your very own Defender.
My ride for the journey was a Defender D300 X-Dynamic HSE – the reigning Best Luxury Off-Road SUV at the 2024 Drive Car of the Year awards.
It’s powered by a 3.0-litre, six-cylinder turbo diesel engine outputting a peak of 221kW and 650Nm, with four-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission.