Land Rover Defender

• Rating:
• For : Iconic shape, unbeatable off-road, strong residuals
• Against : Cramped driving position, vague on-road handling, expensive

Styling

Instantly recognisable and still a head-turner today, the Land Rover Defender is the epitome of form following function. It's boxy, sturdy with panel gaps you could put your hands through, but that makes owners love it even more. Two-door models are less practical than their four-door brothers, but they look much better.

Interior

Best described as utilitarian, not much has changed inside the Defender in over half a century. The driving position is cramped - only the seats are adjustable - and you'll find yourself pinned to the driver's door. A Jeep Wrangler is better in this department. At least the durable dashboard has logical controls, mainly because there aren't many of them. Most cars get electric windows and a CD player and remote central locking, while further up the line-up you can specify alloys, extra speakers and even sat-nav.

Driving and Performance

In the rough stuff, there is nothing to touch a Land Rover Defender. With an incredibly solid chassis, amazing axle articulation and ground clearance plus, of course, four-wheel drive with low-range gearing, it will cope with almost anything you can throw at it. On the road, it's a totally different experience. The car bounces all over rough tarmac. The steering isn't very responsive and has lots of turns lock-to-lock too, while cornering is best done slowly. The 122bhp 2.2-litre diesel is smoother than the old 2.4-litre - although it's not really very refined in modern terms, but it has lots of torque for towing (up to 3,500kg) and is reasonably flexible.

MPG and running costs

One thing is for sure – a car that has lasted 60 years pretty much unchanged is very simple. And that means it's cheap to fix, should anything go wrong. And while it costs at least £24,000 to buy a Defender new, strong used demand means it'll hang on to a lot of that value. Fuel economy isn't too bad at around 28mpg, but high CO2 emissions of 266g/km mean this is a very expensive car to tax.

Practicality

Forget your Renault Espace - the Land Rover Defender is a true Multi Purpose Vehicle. There are three wheelbases offered (90, 110 and 130, although the latter is mainly for commercial buyers) with a range of 14 bodies, ranging from a conventional station wagon to a convertible and pick-up, not to mention the more specialist vehicles used by services as varied as the army and Forestry Commission. Inside owners can choose from between two and seven seats, while there is simply loads of boot space.

Safety and reliability

Like the rest of the car, the Defender isn't exactly hi-tech, so don't expect even the most basic of safety features. For example, there are no airbags (not even as an option) or ESP. ABS and traction control are available on higher spec models. The Defender's defence is its solid construction. As for reliability, it is so simple it is unlikely to go wrong. Ever.