Test Drive: 2024 Defender 110, which displaced Wrangler and Bronco.
Rivals around the world have their sights set on the Land Rover Defender. However, this British car still stands alone.
We spent a week living with the 2024 Land Rover Defender 110 and its family. What did I learn? It would be a mistake to dismiss this competition icon.
Why. I found the Defender to be nicely screwed together, and I liked its powerful turbo six powertrain options and its packaging and controls. However, life with these controls can be confusing and the turbo 6 has a time lag, and being a Land Rover, some studies suggest that it is more likely to be an electronic gremlin than some rivals.
Below are the pros and cons I have experienced in living with the 2024 Land Rover Defender 110.
2024 Land Rover Defender 110
This car is so well put together that it made me nostalgic for the Mercedes-Benz of the 90s. I can't think of any other modern car, other than the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, that feels so solid, but the editor-in-chief insists that the Polestar 3 is on this level. From the door handles working and not wobbling, to the doors themselves closing with a solid thud; nothing feels like it came out of a box marked Fragile. All the buttons are clicky, both in feel and sound. On the side of the dashboard is a grab handle that makes getting in and out easier. Even if you shake the entire SUV with it, the handle itself does not move.
Try the same handle on a Ford Bronco and the plastic might peel off the center console. neither the $90,000 Jeep Wrangler nor the Ford Bronco sounds or feels like this. the G-Class costs another $80,000 more.
The 2024 Defender 110 comes standard with electronic gremlins
During the week I spent with the Defender 110, the voice command button on the steering wheel was unresponsive most of the time. This button controls both voice commands for the infotainment system and Siri for iOS devices. When it works, it works, but not often. For about half the week, the unlock button on the door handle was unresponsive. I had to take the key out of my pocket to unlock the Defender with the remote control, but then the touch to unlock button would randomly work fine. The Defender was essentially new with just over 7,000 miles on the odometer.
This is common with Land Rovers, as demonstrated in the JD Power vehicle reliability study.
I feel the turbo six in the 2024 Defender 110 is powerful and underrated
The Defender is sometimes equipped with a 296 hp 2.0-liter turbo four, which my colleagues consider pokey. I have driven a Defender with a supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 engine that produces 518 hp and pulls like a starving dog on a leash. In fact, the 3.0-liter turbo six (395 hp) in my tester is the sweet spot. Power is nothing short of muscular and underrated. It's quick, and the turbo six sound is great at idle and under acceleration, and not as nasally as the Lexus GX's turbo six.
The 2024 Defender 110 is not fuel efficient, but in real-world driving it seemingly matches EPA fuel economy
EPA fuel economy is 17 mpg city, 20 highway, 18 combined, so the turbo 6 is not particularly efficient. Over the course of about 270 miles of mixed suburban driving the Defender averaged 16.4 mpg. That's not great, but the six-cylinder drank less than the V-8 .
A battery-electric powertrain in this thing would be killer, Land Rover. That's because the turbo six has noticeable turbo lag, followed by an adrenaline rush of power at about 2,200 rpm; the BMW and Mercedes-Benz turbo sixes are smoother than this. Even Sterantis' new Hurricane turbo six in the Jeep Wagoneer has a smoother power delivery.
The Defender has a shelf on the dashboard and a USB plug to store items on the move
Slip behind the wheel of the Defender and you'll be excited to find buttons and knobs for essential climate and audio functions. Forward visibility is excellent thanks to the upright greenhouse with tall glass and thin A-pillars. A spare tire mounted on the tailgate obstructs rearward visibility, but my test car came with a $570 digital rearview mirror that streams camera images to solve this problem. On the right side of the dashboard is a recessed shelf that can hold anything from a compass and portable GPS to wireless devices and smartphones. Rear seat passengers (in this case my kids and their friends) loved the high seating position and the roof-mounted Alpine windows that let in light from the sky.
2024 Land Rover Defender 110
At best, none of the hard controls are too confusing to actually use. The temperature control dials combine multiple functions, ranging from heated and cooled seat controls (my tester did not have the latter) to an off-road drive mode. All of these are controlled by buttons, and the buttons direct the knobs' actions. Press this to use that, click that to control that. Implementing changes is tedious and requires thought. To make matters worse, these controls are obscured by the sun, so depending on the lighting conditions, the function of each button may not be clearly visible.
Among the $80,000 to $90,000 Ford Bronco and Jeep Wranglers, the Defender does not seem unreasonable at $62,275 including the $1,475 destination charge for the 110 four-door configuration. At $82,053 when tested, the Defender's price seems about right, thanks to options ranging from $750 for turbo six and off-road driving mode to $1,600 for air suspension and adaptive dampers.
After my first ride in a 2024 Lexus GX, I said the automaker is targeting Land Rover. I stand by that. But as I got behind the wheel of the GX, and behind the wheel of a $90,000-plus Jeep Wrangler and Ford Bronco, and lived with the Defender, some of the advantages and hassles became apparent.
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2024 Land Rover Defender 110 County
Base Price: $58,375 ( includes $1,475 destination charge)
Price as tested: $82,053
Powertrain: 395 hp 3.0-liter twin six, 8-speed AT, full-time 4-wheel drive
EPA fuel economy: 17/20/18 mpg
The hits. : Rugged build, real buttons and knobs, functional design, powerful turbo six
Disappointments: thirst, incomprehensible controls that wash out in sunlight, electronic gremlins
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