DEFENDER OF THE FAITH
evo India|April 2020
Land Rover’s all-new Defender proves to be worth the wait and is now as capable on-road as it is off it. It’s no driver’s car but as a do-everything machine it’s hard to fault and we wouldn’t be embarrassed to have one share garage space with a more traditional Evo car
STUART GALLAGHER
DEFENDER OF THE FAITH

HIT’S NOT THE CAR THAT WILL APPEAR on many, if any Evo reader’s list of dream cars for a dream drive, but we’ve always said that The Thrill of Driving comes in all shapes and sizes, on and off-road, and we think you’ll be interested in how this all-new Defender fares. Available as both a five-door 110 and three-door 90, the new Defender is offered with a variety of four-cylinder 2-litre petrol and diesel engines and a 3-litre mild-hybrid straight-six petrol, and while it the latter that we spent most of our time driving it is the former that will be coming to India. And it’s really rather good. Impressively so, an example of what’s achievable when you set out to design and build a car fit for the purpose it’s meant for rather than crudely adapting what you have in the parts store and pretending it’s something that it clearly isn’t. Rivals could learn a great deal from this approach.

Land Rover’s Ingenium mild-hybrid engine was first introduced in 2019 for the Range Rover and now finds its way further down the food chain in the new Defender to join two four-cylinder turbo diesels (the D200 and D240) and a P300 four-cylinder petrol. This P400 mild hybrid is currently the only straight-six available in the Defender, although a diesel will arrive soon enough, with the 3-litre unit featuring both a conventional twin-scroll turbocharger and a 48V electric supercharger. There’s also a belt-integrated starter motor in lieu of an alternator, with a 48V lithium-ion battery that stores recuperated energy as the car slows.

This story is from the April 2020 edition of evo India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the April 2020 edition of evo India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM EVO INDIAView All
evo India

FAST STEAD

This Skoda Octavia RS 230 is fast enough to blow your mind but not its engine

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2021
Ford Fusion
evo India

Ford Fusion

Practical, great engine and dynamics, but weird styling ensured buyers stayed well away

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

Mahindra Bolero Neo

Armed with an iconic badge, a fresh face and a mechanically locking differential, the Bolero Neo could just be the compact SUV you’ve been looking for

time-read
5 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

RISING FROM THE ASHES

The third generation Suzuki Hayabusa is one of the fastest production motorcycles in the world, and a bike that truly deserves to be ridden flat out at the High Speed Track at NATRAX

time-read
7 mins  |
August 2021
BIJOY KUMAR Y
evo India

BIJOY KUMAR Y

Bijoy is quite looking forward to what the recent space launches could mean

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

DOA: HSV HRT 427

This racing-inspired 7-litre Holden Monaro garnered more than enough interest for its limited production run to sell out. But sadly the sums didn’t add up

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

Mini Cooper S Convertible

Mini gives the Convertible a more modern front end, more technology on the inside and a very bright paint scheme

time-read
5 mins  |
August 2021
evo India

VW Taigun GT

Good news! With two GT variants, Volkswagen are set to make the 1.5 TSI motor even more accessible to us enthusiasts

time-read
8 mins  |
August 2021
THE DOCTOR CHECKS OUT
evo India

THE DOCTOR CHECKS OUT

As Rossi decides to hang up his boots after 26 seasons, we take a look back at his journey through MotoGP

time-read
2 mins  |
August 2021
“IF THE RATING IS DONE, NATRAX COULD BE ONE OF THE TOP THREE PROVING GROUNDS IN THE WORLD”
evo India

“IF THE RATING IS DONE, NATRAX COULD BE ONE OF THE TOP THREE PROVING GROUNDS IN THE WORLD”

Speaking to Dr N Karuppaiah, additional director and centre head, NATRAX

time-read
4 mins  |
August 2021