Land Rover Defender - Interior, design and technology
Impressively designed, well-equipped and with the latest on-board tech, the Land Rover Defender is a thoroughly modern 4x4
Land Rover has done a great job bringing the Defender into the 21st century. There’s a nod to the previous model regarding the overall look, but make no mistake, this 4x4 is definitely at the cutting edge in terms of off-road ability and on-board tech.
The proportions mimic the old Defender, but everything is bigger, chunkier and designed with function in mind. Inside, there are exposed screw heads, powder-coated aluminium surfaces, a magnesium bulkhead, strips of body-coloured metal, and even a moulded rubber floor covering that’s designed to be washable. While it’s not the usual Land Rover level of luxury, it brings a unique utilitarian look to the cabin that’s very cool, yet it feels just as well screwed together as anything else on sale, and has enough soft-touch materials in all the right places to maintain a premium ambience.
Standard equipment for the S trim includes 19-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, heated seats, wireless smartphone charging and power-folding door mirrors. Stepping up to X-Dynamic SE adds 20-inch wheels, privacy glass and a black contrasting roof, along with silver exterior trim, while X-Dynamic HSE trim adds a heated steering wheel, fancier matrix LED headlights, Windsor leather seats and a panoramic glass sunroof. High-end X models feature additional trim upgrades in the cabin, along with a black-coloured roof and bonnet, a 700w version of the Meridian sound system with an additional four speakers and a head-up display.
What is the Land Rover Defender like inside?
The design of the Defender’s interior does a great job of complementing the exterior. Land Rover could have made too many cheesy nods to the old car, or festooned it with a bewildering amount of futuristic technology. But we think it has managed to get the balance just about right.
What is the interior quality like?
The interior quality in the Defender is excellent, which will be good news to those using it for family transport, or bunging tools or pets in the back. The Resist and Resolve seat upholstery makes it easy to keep the Defender clean inside, and you can relax in the knowledge it’ll take some serious tampering for any trim pieces to become loose.
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
JLR's Pivi Pro infotainment system is the slickest we’ve yet seen from the firm, and comes with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone connectivity as standard. The system allows for over-the-air software updates, which is something we found particularly useful when we ran a Defender 110 P400e, saving us from having to take a trip to the dealer. Entry-level models are fitted with a 10-inch touchscreen, while higher-end X-Dynamic HSE and above versions get an 11.4-inch display. The bigger screen also comes standard in the Defender 130.
We’ve found the system to have a reliable phone connection and swift response times. We’d still prefer to have physical buttons, or a dial, like the iDrive set-up used by BMW, and the screen is not angled towards the driver at all, but at least it is easier to operate than most rivals’ infotainment systems.
In addition to the Pivi Pro infotainment, entry-level Defenders feature Land Rover’s Connected Navigation Pro, a 400W Meridian audio system with 10 speakers and an online data plan. Wireless phone charging remains an option on most models as part of the Comfort and Convenience pack, and only becomes standard on the priciest V8 models.
