Land Rover Defender 110 long-term test: report 4
The Land Rover Defender 110 has been around a while now, so is it still a great buy? We're living with one to find out...
The car Land Rover Defender 110 Sedona Edition Run by Will Nightingale, reviews editor
Why it's here To find out if the 'new' Defender is still a compelling choice five years after its launch
Needs to Combine a comfortable and relaxing drive with family-friendly convenience. Oh, and be great off road
Mileage 4890 List price £84,470 Target Price £82,477 Price as tested £96,033 Official economy 32.5mpg Test economy 28.6mpg
13 July 2025 – Green laning
I’m not sure how many of the 17,518 Brits who bought a Land Rover Defender last year have ever taken their car off road, but my guess is not many. Not proper off-roading, anyway, because in my book crossing a village green during summer fête season doesn’t count.
Nevertheless, that’s why the Defender has so much ground clearance, impressive approach and departure angles and can wade in water up to 90cm deep – or 85cm if you haven’t opted for the air suspension that my car has. So, for the few potential buyers who do plan to venture off the beaten track, I decided to line my car up for a group test against a couple of rivals.
I wanted to find out whether the Defender is the best 4x4 at blending off-road ability with on-road usability. So, the plan wasn’t to try and climb the north face of Ben Nevis, but rather to navigate down to Wiltshire on the M3 and A303 and then head across to neighbouring Hampshire using some green lanes.
That two-part test ruled out the motoring equivalent of the mountain goat, the uncompromising Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, but also road-biased SUVs including the Audi Q7. After much consideration, the rivals I settled on were the Ineos Grenadier and the Toyota Land Cruiser.
You’ll have to pick up a copy of the September issue of What Car? Magazine to find out the winner – or subscribe to our YouTube channel if you’d prefer to watch the video – but the test reminded me that off-roading doesn’t have to be extreme to be fun.
I’ve also used my Defender for a couple of trips to the local tip in recent weeks. It’s a great tool for the job because although the boot isn’t particularly long (by huge SUV standards, at least) if you fold down the rear seats and unclip the fabric load cover, you can use the full height of the square rear end.
You can even slot in those big pop-up garden waste bags, and because the floor of the boot and the backs of the folded rear seats is covered in hardwearing, non-slip plastic, you don’t have to worry about ripping any fabric or scuffing some expensive carpet.
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