Defender of the faith

LAND ROVER TAKES US ON AN EXPEDITION TO THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA TO SEE IF ITS NEW DEFENDER WAGON CAN LIVE UP TO THE NAMEPLATE

- MATT RAUDONIKIS

IF VEHICULAR TRAVEL on the African continent conjures up images of an open-top or boxy white Land Rover bumping along muddy tracks then you might be left wondering where the British marque’s new Defender fits into the scheme of things. The Defender nameplate is, after all, the successor to the Series Land Rovers that were instrumental in exploring Africa and used by institutions such as the Red Cross, UN and other NGOs to transport their personnel through the untamed terrain of the Dark Continent.

Ever since Land Rover stopped making the old utilitarian Defender in 2016, people have wondered what a new Defender could be in an era where the brand’s products have moved noticeably upmarket. Can a new luxury Land Rover live up to the Defender name and the 70 years of heritage behind it?

The 680-kilometre route takes us down the treacherous Van Zyl’s Pass and along the Skeleton Coast on the South Atlantic seaboard in a part of the country known as Kaokoland. It’s an area that is largely unpopulated due to its harsh environment, with only small villages of the Himba and Herero people scattered around the desert scrub.

The vehicles on this trip are long-wheelbase five-door Defender 110 wagons with either D240 four-cylinder diesel or P400 in-line six-cylinder petrol powerplants. The Defender will also be available in short-wheelbase three-door 90 variants from later this year.

With the 2020 Defender just months from our shores, it’s no coincidence that Land Rover has brought us to Africa for our first drive of the all-new vehicle. This is not a traditional model launch drive but a true expedition over rugged terrain in the far north of Namibia.