I’ve always admired the Land Rover Defender in its classic form, and now, the Defender name coming back in a well-done modernized form, it has won me over for its unique position as a daringly attractive, luxurious, and off-road-going package.
Offering three distinctive sizes, the Defender tends to be an underdog in a world where off-roading capable SUVs are plentiful. However, nothing else quite touches the stunning designs that Land Rover has, even with the short wheelbase Defender 90, which I had a brush in this week in its unique V8 Carpathian Edition trim.
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The Land Rover Defender 90, despite its similarity to the larger Defender 110 and 130, rides much like a different vehicle, which is all part of its short wheelbase. Having such a short wheelbase, about 26 inches shorter than that of the Defender 130, naturally behaves differently, permitting an exceptionally short turning radius, somewhat of a rougher ride quality, and more body diving and pitching upon acceleration and heavy braking. Moreover, having the larger engine, the supercharged 5.0-liter V8 producing 518 horsepower and 461 lb-ft of torque, makes things even more interesting as you have a good amount of power at bay. Such power doesn’t necessarily make the short Defender 90 feel overpowered or out of place. In fact, the Defender 90 feels at home with its big supercharged V8 mated to a ZF-sourced 8-speed automatic transmission.
There’s a soft throttle tip-in while in the normal default drive mode that is exacerbated by placing the vehicle in one of its off-roading modes – the system sorts out a slower throttle response to not upset the short body of the Defender 90. However, placing the drive mode into the Dynamic setting for on-roading fun, the Defender 90 comes alive with more throttle response and what appears to be more clapping and burbles from the quad-outlet exhaust. In a nutshell, the Defender 90 V8 Carpathian Edition is a hoot to drive and brings a smile to your face. Even more so, a larger smile ensues upon taking the Defender 90 V8 off-road, where things get wild with its rugged capabilities shining ever so brightly, as bright as its classic-styled LED headlights and fog lights. The all-wheel-drive system sorts things out quite well, as the Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure tires wrapping 20-inch wheels grapple at the ground yet prove to be smooth and quiet on the road.
There’s a soft overall feeling to the way the Defender 90 V8 rides on the road, which feels more suited for off-roading. However, the adaptive air suspension setup seems to sort things out well no matter the ground you ride on – there’s more than likely a Terrain Response drive mode catered to the surface type in the Defender 90 V8 Carpathian Edition. On pavement, in the Dynamic drive mode, laying into the throttle from a stop you’ll expect to hit 60 mph in about 4.8 seconds.
Having a big supercharged V8 puts the Defender 90 at a disadvantage for its fuel consumption mostly matching its EPA estimates of 15 mpg city and 19 mpg highway. Surprisingly, there’s a large 28-gallon fuel tank to fill up on premium unleaded and permit a range of just over 530 miles.
The interior of the Land Rover Defender 90 is identical up front to that of the larger Defenders where the major difference takes place behind the front heated and ventilated seats. Out back you have a surprising amount of space making way for two adults to feel comfy or as many as 3 people across the bench with 40/20/40-split seat backs.
Having the Defender 90 V8 Carpathian Edition adds a slightly different interior take on things with more of a monotoned dark theme throughout the interior. Such somewhat mimics the factory grey matte wrap color of most of the side body panels and accents a gloss black hood and rear cargo door. In terms of luxury, there’s plenty of it when compared to any other vehicle that’s as capable as the Defender 90 V8 off-road. Much of the dashboard is wrapped in leather in place of what I have commonly seen in past Defenders, which have new material alternatives to leather.
Departing slightly from the minimalistic approach that you find in newer Land Rover vehicles is a dashboard layout that still focuses on the latest 11.4-inch curved touchscreen that runs what I consider to be the best iteration of Land Rover infotainment system setups. The system is quick to respond to most inputs, and after going through a short learning curve, it proves to be quite user-friendly. I welcomed the set of physical control buttons and the two large knobs for controlling a myriad of automatic climate settings.
The infotainment system integrates nicely with wireless (and USB-connected) Apple CarPlay and Android Auto always leaving the core function onscreen buttons available. Moreover, the system can be customized in some ways through moving of icons for certain functions on the home screen or left function panel.
The one standout downfall, for obvious reasons, is the limited cargo room. While folding the rear seats helps a little, you’re still limited on the overall cargo volume as this is the short wheelbase version of the Defender.
Land Rover doesn’t skimp on the use of active safety features, which include the typical highlights of forward collision warning/emergency braking, lane keeping system, blind-spot warning with rear cross-traffic warning, front and rear parking sensors, adaptive cruise control, and driver attention warning. Land Rover adds a little something extra by having a 360-degree camera system that virtually displays what is under the vehicle as it moves with multiple angles that can be brought up while driving, in addition to a water depth sensor display system for those times you wish to wade in water as deep as 35-inches.
Where things tend to get a little eyebrow raising is in the area of pricing, which my loaded-up Defender 90 V8 Carpathian Edition P525 comes to $92,725 as tested. Opt for the base trim and P300 engine in the Defender 90 and there’s a starting price of $56,900 before any fees or options.
