Land Rover Defender 110 long-term test: report 5
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 5683 List price £84,470 Target Price £82,477 Price as tested £96,033 Official economy 32.5mpg Test economy 28.8mpg
30 July 2025 – Setting the bar
If I had to pick one thing about my Land Rover Defender that’s proved disappointing during the past 5000 miles, it would have to be fuel economy. Obviously I wasn’t expecting 60mpg parsimony from an enormous 4x4 shaped like a brick – especially when the official figure only promises 32.5mpg. But an average of less than 29mpg from a modern diesel is mediocre at best.
So, with a driving holiday to the Dordogne in France rapidly approaching, I decided to find out if pumping up the Defender’s enormous 22in tyres to their maximum ‘load’ pressures would help. Helpfully, I’d make exactly the same journey in the Defender back in April with the tyres inflated to their standard settings (34PSI at the front, 37PSI at the rear). This time I’d be doing it with 44PSI in the fronts and 50PSI in the rears — the maximum that Land Rover recommends.
That’s a big difference, and in theory a higher tyre pressure reduces rolling resistance and, in turn, how hard the engine has to work to keep the car moving along. Now, although the basic route and average speed were the same – and on both occasions I was carrying three passengers and a boot packed full of luggage – this wasn’t a perfectly scientific experiment. The wind direction and speed may well have been different, for example, and now the weather was warmer, which would have placed a bigger load on the air-conditioning system.
Still, there was an improvement. This time my average fuel economy was 29.2mpg, compared with 27.7mpg a few months earlier – a difference of 5.4% and a saving of £5.40 every £100 squirted in the tank based on today’s prices.
It wasn’t all positive news, though. Pumping up the tyres made the ride less settled, something that was noticeable at high speeds on the motorway but particularly obvious along pockmarked country roads. On balance, I think I’d take the fuel economy hit in return for the better ride comfort.
That said, my Defender does have the biggest wheels available. Sticking with smaller 19in or 20in rims would offer both better comfort and fuel economy. If I was speccing a Defender today I’d personally go for 20in wheels and air suspension, a combination that would also mean cheaper bills for replacement tyres when they inevitably needed replacing.
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