Land Rover Defender 110 long-term test

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 980 List price £84,470 Target Price £82,477 Price as tested £93,005 Official economy 32.5mpg Test economy 29.7mpg Options fitted Sedona Red Pack (£3883), Towing Pack (£2285), air suspension (£1615), cabin pre-conditioning with remote fob (£1250), electronic active differential with torque vectoring (£1020), front centre console refrigerator compartment (£450), three-zone climate control (£355), Cabin Air Purification Plus (£285), Cold Climate Pack (£260), domestic plug socket (£100), and air quality sensor (£60)

9 May 2025 – Still got it?

Five years. That’s how long the ‘new’ Land Rover Defender has been on sale, and usually by this point in a car’s lifecycle there would have been a facelift with a completely new generation probably only a couple of years away.

But that hasn’t happened with the Defender; its looks haven’t changed a bit and they don’t need to anytime soon. That’s the beauty of a retro-inspired design done right. It doesn’t age in the same way as something super-modern. It’s the same story with the reimagined Fiat 500 and Mini, and doubtless will be with the new Renault 5, too.

So if nothing much is new, why am I choosing now to run a Defender as my company car? Well, a few reasons. Number one, we’ve never actually done a long-term test of our favourite 110 version. Only the shorter (and less popular) Defender 90, which is equally big on kerbside appeal but not space for passengers.

The Defender 110 adds an extra 435mm of length, all of which is between the front and rear wheels. So, there’s much more space in the back, along with rear doors that make getting in and out a darn sight easier. The boot is longer, too, although still not as big as the load bay in many similar-priced SUVs, such as the BMW X5.

That’s particularly true in my car because it’s the new limited-run Sedona Edition with the optional Sedona Red Pack (£3883), the latter adding an air compressor on the wall of the boot that eats up a small amount of usable space. It should prove useful in other ways though, because you can use the compressor to pump up tyres on bikes and cars, or inflate air beds and toys. 

That’s not all: the pack adds a rinsing system with a hose for cleaning muddy boots, and side steps to make it easier to step up into what’s a pretty tall car. My two daughters (four and six) are already making good use of these.

The most visually obvious upgrade the Red Pack adds though is the big box on the side. This is lockable and adds 24 litres of storage (17kg maximum weight) to help make up for the reduced capacity of the main boot.

Other options include air suspension (£1615) for a smoother ride, three-zone climate control (£355) so the kids can choose their own temperature in the back, and a pre-conditioning function so I can warm up the interior before setting off by pressing a button on the key fob (£1250). I’ve already made use of this on a couple of chilly mornings.

I also added a refrigerated cubby under the front centre armrest (£450) and heated washer jets for the windscreen and headlights (£260). All of those extras (plus a few more) push the price up to just over £93,000. That’s a lot of money, and it’s true you could buy a Range Rover Sport or even a BMW X7 for that – but it wouldn’t be nearly as lavishly specced.

Sedona Red is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the only paint colour offered – but I think it looks great, especially in the sunshine. The 22in gloss black alloys aren’t quite to my taste (I think the Defender looks better with smaller more off-road focused wheels) – but you don’t get a choice here.

However, you can choose between diesel and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power. I’ve gone for the diesel (D350), partly because it’s £2240 cheaper but mainly because I know it’s a cracking engine that suits the Defender really well. 

My car has five seats but you can add an extra couple of third row seats for £2270. Or if you need to carry seven adults in proper comfort there’s the vast Defender 130, which is even longer at almost 5.1 metres (nearly 5.4m if you include the spare wheel hanging on the boot lid). It’s a bit of an unwieldy beast in urban environments, though, so most Defender buyers will be better off with the 110.

Over the next few months, I’ll be finding out how the Defender 110 integrates into modern family life, which includes taking it on a holiday down to the South of France. You can read my regular updates by bookmarking this page, but sign up to our YouTube channel for lots more Defender content. 

I’ll be filming an in-depth review of this car in the next few weeks, and we’ll also be pitting the Defender against two rivals in a big feature that includes both on and off-road driving. 

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here

Read our full Land Rover Defender review >>

Read about more long-term test cars >>

Buy a new car with What Car?

Like the sound of the Land Rover Defender?

If so, check out our New Car Deals pages to see how much you could save on a Land Rover Defender.

We’ve got the biggest selection of discounted new cars available in the UK.