The Land Rover Defender is the one vehicle that truly splits the population. It's a Marmite car in that you either love it or hate it. If you really want to split it even further, you'll have to probe them further as to which one they love or hate: the new Defender or the Series Defender that was in production for several decades.
I didn't want to like the new Defender, but I will admit that I do indeed love it and would love to place one in my garage. It's a radical departure from the Defender that preceded it, but at the same time, it stays relatively true to the heritage. Naturally, the fans of the old Defender will disagree. It's a battle you won't win.
Read Ané Albertse's review of the 2023 Land Rover Defender 130 D300 First Edition Review here.
Unfortunately, Land Rover has a rather chequered past, and South Africans aren't the quickest to forget. The Jaguar Land Rover brand has been plagued by reliability issues in the past, and this has left a sour taste in many former owners' mouths. Word spreads quickly, and expressing interest in one of their products will have you warned against doing so at every turn.
Read my Land Rover Defender 110 D300 X (2022) review: ensuring every drive is an adventure
The new Land Rover Defender
When the decision was made to base the current Defender on the monocoque body construction that one finds in the Discovery, the purists scoffed. According to them, a Defender should have a ladder chassis and solid axles; there's no place for independent suspension in a Defender, they cry. With this switch to a more modern design came a host of body control electronics, air suspension and creature comforts, which means that there's more to go wrong that you won't be able to fix next to the road or deep in the bush.
Search for a good pre-loved Defender right here on AutoTrader.
Despite all of this, the new Defender has proven to be a fairly reliable vehicle and the JD Power surveys, taken from hundreds of owners, see the Defender score 70 out of 100 in the reliability stakes. A separate study coincidentally shows matching numbers, with 30% of new Defender owners reporting an issue that required dealership intervention within the first year of ownership.
Related: Unleashing the Beast: Kingsley Holgate's Epic Afrika Odyssey with the Land Rover Defender 130
The one resounding takeaway from most owners is that fuel consumption is considerably higher than claimed or anticipated, resulting in more frequent stops at the filling station.
A 5-year/100,000-kilometer warranty and maintenance plan are both included with the new Defender. If you're looking to buy new or used in 2024, all models should still be covered unless they've exceeded the mileage parameters.
Related: Read our Land Rover Defender 90 V8 (2022) Review
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