By Jim Prueter
MotorwayAmerica.com

(January 12 2025) After a 22-year hiatus, British automaker Land Rover brought the Defender back to the U.S market for the 2020 model year. First introduced in 1948 as the Land Rover Series 1, Defender has been completely reimagined.

For 2025 the Defender is offered in a wide range of trims and offerings starting at $58,525 going up to $153,625 including the new range-topping Octa model, playing off the sea of a diamond equipped with a 626-horsepower twin turbocharged V-8 and air spring suspension. Land Rover claims it is the most capable Defender of all time while delivering its luxurious on road capabilities.

Bringing a revered icon back is never an easy project but the new Defender has pulled it off in spades. Defender purists were loathe to embrace the new arrival, to them it represented a near sell-out of the gold standard original Defender's spirit; the bare-bones king of the hill.



The Defender now is a posh and highly versatile SUV that can seat up to eight and loaded with the proper equipment and off-road chops as it should be. Height-adjustable air suspension and locking differentials are hardware must-haves, while terrain-responsive traction control and a ground-view camera provide modern assistance. Just make sure to spec it with the right wheels and tires for trail driving.

Whatever doubts I may have had about the Defender’s off-road chops were dispelled when I spent a morning at Butcher Jones State Park in our Outbound trim level. The Terrain ResponseSystem has settings like sand, rock crawl and wade; our Defender included an intelligent auto mode that picks the transmission, suspension, and traction settings.

Land Rover quotes a maximum climbing angle of 45 degrees; the best I could find was a deeply rutted, loose gravel and boulder-strewn climb of roughly 42 degrees. With the six-cylinder growling, the suspension articulating, spitting stones, gravel and sand, Defender reached the summit with a tight turn like it was nothing.

Inside this rugged athlete, you won’t find perfume-emitting sensors or massaging seats, rather, outdoorsy durability: molded rubber mats, leather seats trimmed with strong canvas-denim like fabric, and exposed rivets. There are plenty of nooks and rubber-lined trays for items like phones, headphones, and GoPros.

It’s nearly impossible to not be swayed by the Defender’s flirty charms. It feels far more special than other SUVs, built to take on the wilds. All this goodness comes at a near royalty price, given it carries the Land Rover badge, but considering its incredible standard equipment and go-anywhere, do-anything capability, there's a lot here for the money.

Vital Stats

Base Price: $87,125
Price as Tested: N/A
Powertrain: 395-hp 3.0-liter inline-six with an electric supercharger, a turbocharger and a 48-volt hybrid system paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission.
Seating: Up to 8
Where Built: Nitra, Slovakia

Competes With:
Ford Bronco
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Lexus GX
Toyota Land Cruiser

Crash Test Results:
Neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has crash tested the 2025 Defender. This is common among high-end luxury vehicles.

Fab Features:
Superb performance on-and off-road
Incredibly smooth driving
Impressive tech, driver assist feature