Land Rover Defender D250 Review: The Engine Suited For The Job
Last year we drove the Defender P400, an exquisite piece of kit which was quite thirsty. So with the D250, is this the right tool for the job?
The Defender was one of our favourite cars last year. It’s tough, drove beautifully and still managed to capture a certain character and charm in its shell. However, the 3.0L straight six petrol engine powering the car didn’t quite feel like the right choice. It felt too sporty and was too thirsty to use on a daily basis. And that’s why it just fell short on entering our most memorable cars of the year ranking.
The off-road icon
The Defender has been known as being one of the biggest off-road icons to have ever explored the world. This generation has been a real revolution for the Defender in every way imaginable. The overall shape is much more rounded off but still very noticeable as a Defender. Short overhang for steep approach? Check. Big ground clearance thanks to the air suspension? Check. Big spare wheel on the back? Check. The new Defender really is how you reinvent an icon the right way and you can tell by the way people respond to seeing it.
However, at 5 meters long (spare tire included), it’s still a massive car. Be mindful parking with that spare wheel as it’s easy to miss when using the parking camera. If you’re still after these looks, the Defender 90 might be more of your English cup of tea. Being a 3-door car, and half a meter shorter, it is more useable in urban areas.
Diesel power plant
The Defender D250 is, as it says in the name, a diesel with 250 hp. Power comes from an all-new 3.0L straight-six Ingenium diesel engine, one producing a maximum torque of 570 Nm’s from as low as 1.250 rpm.
This makes it really enjoyable to drive on a daily basis. Never do you really have to stomp the throttle for the car to get a move on and it’s great. Plus weighing in at nearly 2.4 tonnes it still really gets decent fuel economy.
Throughout the week the Defender would average 8.5 L/100 km on the highway and an average of 9.4 L/100 km which is very impressive considering the high winds and bad weather during that week.
The D250 is definitely the way to go for use on the daily driven Defenders. Maybe the plug-in hybrid will be even nicer but mostly if you’re not driving too much each day, or end up far from charge points.
On the road it’s very comfortable and almost feels like it floats over rough roads (and the sea). The steering wheel is nice and big, which means you don’t have to give it a lot of input to maneuver the car around. It rolls a bit through the corners but very respectively considering the large travel distance of the suspension. After all, it’s not really a performance car but a genuine 4x4.
Take it off the asphalt and the Defender is just as much home off the road as it is on the road. Thanks to Terrain Response 2 the car will always search for the most available grip in milliseconds. And with a wading depth of 900 mm, it can go properly deep in water too. Kinda scary actually, as testing showed us.
Practical, durable interior
Inside, the Defender is this really open and rugged. Tonnes of storage combined with different kinds of materials. Wood, neoprene like they use in scuba suits, metal, soft plastics. A very nice and interesting choice of materials really and it blends in together very well. The car feels spacious and tough. The infotainment screen is of a very high resolution and has a lot of cool extra features (wade sensing, dimensions list, 360° 3D cameras, yaw and roll, etc.) It’s amazing how much features the little screen packs. It’s maybe a little too low in height which is why there’s now the option to go with a 11,4-inch optional screen.
We’ve already spoken about how there’s an abundance of usb-ports in the car but we’ll say it again, we’ve counted at least 10 spots to charge a phone or other electronic devices with a 230V plug being optional as well. There’s even plugs in the back of the seats!
And speaking about those seats, they are very comfortable but after 3 hours of sitting in the car you might want to move a bit about since your buttocks do tend to become a little sore.
Oh and finally, the fridge inside the center console is such an underrated luxury to have. So nice.
The right powertrain for the job
Although the D250 is 150 hp down on the P400, the diesel really is the one to get. The higher torque from more low down in the revs really helps push the car along way easier in day to day use, and off-road use. It’s also reasonably good on fuel economy.
The D250 makes the Defender the great car we imagined it to be. You don’t need anything more than this. It’l cross every terrain you wish without any hassle, every day you ask it to. And you’ll do that in total control and comfort thanks to all the little cool gadgets the Defender offers.
The Defender icon is now truly reborn and now comes with a suitable engine for its infamous off-road status.
