The Classic Land Rover Defender It is a myth of the SUV. In 1948, 42 years before it was called Defender and 30 years before Land Rover existed as an independent brand, the original Land Rover was the first 4×4 vehicle in automotive history designed for civilian use, which makes it the first modern SUV (with permission from the American Jeep, intended for military use) and the father of all SUVs and SUVs that came after. In addition to going through his details and his incredible story through the most important anecdotes of his more than 70 years, we ask ourselves the question of whether It was every bit as good an all-rounder as legend has it and we pitted it against the new 2021 Defender 90, with all its electronics, to see who is stronger against complicated obstacles. In addition, we tell you on video.
A generational gap separates these two vehicles, a gap that goes from the purest and simplest work vehicle, without compromise, to the exclusive luxury SUV that exceeds (in the case of the test unit) the price of €100,000 and has enough electronics to send a rocket to the moon.
Land Rover Defender 90 classic: the incredible story of a working machine
The history of the Land Rover starts in 1948. After the Second World War, the British company Rover was preparing to resume the manufacture of its luxury sedans but ran into two problems: they had no steel and they did not have enough customers to buy the cars they had made until then. In a time of scarcity, luxury sedans made no sense.
Rover decides to build a vehicle based on the idea of the American Jeep, but for civil use in the field and in industry. It is a bridge car to manufacture a few units for a few years, until the waters return to their normal course. They named it “Land Rover” because it was a country Rover, just like that.
From there, Rover finds a global success that it did not count on and the demand is much higher than anticipated. The Land Rover is made of aluminum because steel is so scarce that it is used only for the chassis and mechanics, it is square because it is the cheapest way to manufacture it from sheets and it has the rivets on the outside because aesthetics does not matter exactly. .. and from there came a design icon? You are right.
Initially, the headlights are embedded in the front grill and it is sunk between the two wings. It is not until 1978 when the optics go to the side wings, but not because of a design issue but because North American regulations require that the headlights go to the sides of the body. For his part, the front grill sticks out in 1979when Land Rover is forced to put the V8 engine of the Range Rover to compete with the much more powerful 6-cylinder Toyota Land Cruisers. If they don’t pull the grill out, the V8 simply won’t fit under the hood.
About the Land Rover brand, was created as such in 197830 years after its own birth as a vehicle and until 1990 the model was not called Defender, just after the Discovery was launched in 1989 and Land Rover had to name the other model in its range, no less than 42 years later of its release.
This is one of those cases where chance led to a universal design and not so much the talent or inspiration of a genius.
If we analyze your interior designsuffice it to say that the seat is not aligned with the pedals, nor the latter with the steering wheel, nor the latter with the control panel: everything is where it fell by chance. The Defender is one of the worst built and most uncomfortable cars you can imagine, even though our model is already one of the “modern” ones and at least had springs instead of leaf springs. I don’t even want to think what the previous ones would be like.
Defender 90 2021: a luxury SUV with incredible capabilities
The 2021 Land Rover Defender 90 couldn’t be more different from its grandfather. It retains some aesthetic features that identify it as a Defender, but its approach is already that of a luxury SUV with a self-supporting chassis (heavily reinforced), 4-wheel independent air suspension and a traction system with reduction gear and central and rear locks (our unit is a P400 that has both) and an electronic traction control governing everything.
Despite being a luxurious car, its aesthetic has an adventurous halo inside and out which makes it a very attractive car, in which its 4×4 capabilities are totally real. As we will see below, It’s a very capable car off-road that can face any obstacle with incredible 4×4 dimensions and superb traction capacity.
Comparison 4×4
The time has come for the 4×4 comparison, but in this case the question is very simple: we are talking about an old suv, no front or rear locks or electronics that allows us to redistribute the torque to where there is traction, so the moment two wheels on different axles run out of traction, the classic Defender will be stuck. In the meantime, modern Defender gets center and rear locks plus electronic traction control…
We came in the dubbies and the modern Defender plods along in total silence devoid of effort and, much less, mechanical suffering.
The turn of the classic Defender arrives and things change. It’s tremendously loud already at idle and you can hear the chassis twist as you drop the wheels. In this case, the suspension set is much greater thanks to its rigid axles, but these dubbies are so deep that the wheels do not reach the bottom of each hole and on the first strong bridge crossing He stands still with two wheels spinning in the air and the other two sunk into the bodywork without being able to do anything. A rear lock would get us out of here with little effort, but the Defender has never had any locks other than center, so we need momentum to get ahead with a little momentum.
On to our next hurdle, which is “Blender“, again the modern Defender advances with total authority over very deep undulations with which it seems to play without ruffled hair. Its game of locks and traction control makes it imperceptible from inside that nothing special is happening under the car, that it does not stop or even doubt at no time. The obstacle is very difficult, but makes it look like a paved road.
It’s time for the classic Defender again, which in the first cross ditch he already says goodbye to the obstacle. Our 1997 Defender 90 300 tdi has excellent 4×4 sidetracking and huge suspension articulation, but in a deep enough hole, combined with a steep uphill grade, the open diffs get us stuck just like dubbies, only here it would take a lot more momentum to move forward, which we are not willing to do with this museum piece.
conclusions
The classic Land Rover Defender is a universal icon and a true pioneer who left his name engraved in stone in automotive history as the first SUV for civilian use, but if we look at its history we realize that almost everything was the result of chanceif we analyze its design we see that It’s full of “bummers” and as a 4×4, despite being a car that is very resistant to long-term abuse and very capable of driving on roads of any condition, nor was he the invincible SUV that many still see in him.
For his part, the new Defender is born from a completely opposite approach as a luxury vehicle, but under that appearance, a luxury car is hidden. impeccable design and with 4×4 capabilities that very few cars in the world would be able to beat.
