The new Land Rover Defender is only the second all-new model (well, three if you count the Land Rover Series models that came before, but then it wasn’t called a Defender... long story, don’t ask) in a lineage that dates all the way back to 1948. It remained virtually unchanged in its seven decades of continuous production —that is to say, it was a bit of a living fossil and an oddball in the Land Rover line-up.
Unlike the new car, which rests on state-of-the-art aluminium underpinnings (the stiffest one Land Rover has ever made if you must know), the old Defender used a ladder-frame chassis, something more suited to trucks. And its spartan, rough-and-tough demeanour meant it stuck out like a sore thumb among cars including the Evoque and the Discovery/Discovery Sport.
You see, in the ensuing 70 years, Land Rover has become a premium car manufacturer, and the old Defender, cool though it may be, was certainly not a premium car.
The new one, on the other hand, is very much a premium car. And you’ll only have to look towards its price tag to see that it is one. The First Edition test car I was handed the keys to costs SGD314,999. Granted, it’s one of those special-edition things only sold during its first year of production, and it comes with unique 20-inch alloys, more granular configuration of its off-road modes (including a Wade programme that allows it to ford into the water up to 900mm deep), a chiller box in the centre console and some additional trim bits.
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Esta historia es de la edición October 2020 de Esquire Singapore.
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