The Defender is breaking free from Land Rover and charting its course for 2024

Adventures

Good Culture

In 2024, Land Rover will remove the bodywork of its Defenders, leaving SUVs for those who are not afraid to express themselves in their own voice.

Snoring under the pedals of the MI5 agent in “Gentle Horses” or the sign belonging to each other’s garages. housewives of Beverly Hills, Range Rover has established itself since its creation in 1970 as a symbol of success. Until sometimes its name overshadows that of its manufacturer, Land Rover and its cadets. Among them, the Defender, a muscular 4×4 with a military feel that appeared in the early 1980s under the name Land Rover 90 and 110, was renamed in 1990 under its current name. This year will be a year of change for the JLR group, a subsidiary of Indian Tata Motors, which historically brought together the Jaguar and Land Rover brands before giving the Defender its independence this year.

Also read: Is the Range Rover P510e the best luxury SUV?

Road trip in Defender

What is better than a test car feel the car? It was at the Molitor hotel east of Paris that a meeting was held to mark the start of a 36-hour journey behind the wheel of a Defender 110. Hooray, our “style” magazine loan gives us the opportunity to see what we’ve been given a car for. as well as copper production, reference to “Gondwana Stone” in the Defender catalogue. Parked in front of us, a lucky person who saw himself will be driving a “Grasmere Green” collector’s car, a green color celebrating 75 years since Land Rover.

A GPS set and we are released into the wild, with eight Defenders (models 90, 110 and 130). The ring road of Paris will not scare anyone driving such a 294 horsepower car, swallowed in less than an hour towards Normandy before tracing its way on almost deserted and deserted roads that our hybrid will not wake up.

The first stop is at the edge of the path off the road which will test the intelligence (yes, the intelligence) of this automated and automated vehicle capable of analyzing and understanding the most dangerous conditions of skiing on slippery terrain. No Defender ends up in the background: their drivers can only be absolute elites, the 4×4 is so easy to handle that you just have to go there naturally to have a good time of adrenaline in complete safety.

Because this is the essence of Defender’s liberation: expressing yourself in your own voice and emerging from the shadow of your family. JLR wants to refocus the Range Rover brand on family cars, Jaguar on a high-end luxury fleet and 100% electric fleet (page turns) and offer a Defender that, of course, shares a common style with Range Rovers, the the possibility of planning its own path – the brand will present in 2024 a new concept of car sales and brand platform.

Also read: François Dossa: “Electrification and integration are our priorities at Jaguar”

Age of Reason

More than sports, adventurous, virile, too, if this word still carries some meaning, Defender is a car for those who are not afraid. If we take the children to school in the “Row” and parade in front of the Jaguar cabin covers, the recently revised and revised 4×4 will be the best friend of those who like to get lost in the forest, venture into the mountains. , in the snow or even in the sand.

It is for this reason that after our adventures on four wheels, the last pit stop of the day is the Loire Valley Lodge, a property with luxurious cabins, with a high-class restaurant, Ardent. The young chef Thomas Besnault has an example of a bold and unique vision of natural treasures (meat or not) which ultimately draws parallels with the values ​​of Defender: he introduces us to a meditation (worldly) highlighted by adventurous tastes (brambles, wild boar, etc. ). Speaking of stars, his is coming soon, bet…

Tank, I’m sorry, the stomach is satisfied, the night promises to rest in a hut built at a height of four meters without wifi or mobile service – a real disconnection that the Defender also provides when driving, not because it ‘doesn’t allow it. you can safely make calls without touching your phone or listen to your music via Bluetooth (quite the opposite, and much more) but because its passenger compartment is silent and its hybrid engine increases the tranquility that driving in such conditions can bring.

The GPS this time is designed for Molitor’s direction, the road is swallowed with the same pleasure as the breakfast served by the pulley directly in the room. Stopping at Clairefontaine, not to greet the French football team in training, but to enjoy Lièvre à la Royale at Eric Voiron’s table, before heading to Paris. Controlling the approaching rush hour traffic has never been so fun…

Web site of the Defender

Also read: Land Rover Defender x James Bond: lineup and limited edition