Currently reading: Land Rover Defender: details of new Defender family leaked

Details including engine line-up, trim and options have appeared online 

Vital statistics of Jaguar Land Rover’s all-new Defender family have been leaked online. The big news is that there will be three versions of the new Defender. The first two versions  - the 90 and 110 - will be launched for the 2020 model year.

What appears to be a series of screen slides, detailing the three-model Slovakian-built Defender family, the engine line-up as well as the trim and options have been covertly photographed and uploaded to Land Rover enthusiast forum Disco4.com. It’s not known where the leak took place, but it appears to be an internal JLR briefing.

Defender slide

Like all future JLR models, the Defender family is based on the new aluminium MLB platform, which can be engineered as a conventional mild hybrid, a plug-in hybrid and a pure EV version. 

There’s no detail as to whether all Defenders will be mild hybrids as standard and just one plug-in hybrid will be offered in 2020 and 2021.

The Defender 90 is described in the slides as the "halo image icon" of the Defender family and is aimed at "the young, affluent fun seekers". The shortest Defender will be available in five and six-seat options, which suggests that a three-abreast front seat is possible.

The 90 is also a surprisingly compact machine, measuring just 4.323m long. It is marginally the tallest of the three versions, at 1.927m. The wheelbase measures just 2.587m. All three Defenders are the same width at 1.999m, though there’s no detail on whether this is measured across the mirrors.

Also on sale in 2020 will be the new Defender 110. Land Rover describes this as the "definitive" model in the family. It will be available in five, six and seven-seat forms. It’s aimed at "couples, the self-employed and adventurers". The 110 is 4.758m long and has a longer 3.022m wheelbase, and is a tad lower at 1.916m.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is the Defender 130, which is destined for launch in 2022 and so unlikely to be seen testing until the very end of 2019. 

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This is designated by JLR as a "Premium Explorer" for "families and active lifestyle and travel" and will come with eight seats. The 130 is a significant 5.1m long, although it has the same 3.022m wheelbase as the 110, suggesting a long rear overhang and substantial boot space.

Under the bonnet of the 90 and 110 models, there will be a choice of three petrol and three diesel engines in 2020 and 2021 and all Defenders will come as standard with an autobox and all-wheel drive. 

The diesel units will be offered in D200, D240 (four cylinder) and D300 300bhp (straight six) forms, with 0-62mph times of around 10.0sec, 8.3sec and 7.4sec respectively. It’s understood the D300 will be the only diesel engine offered in North American markets and arrives for the 2021 model year.

Three petrol Defender engines - the P300, P400 and the P400e Plug-in Hybrid - will be on sale immediately. These are thought to all be straight-six units, and will be sold in the US, where many states adhere to the same strict ‘SULEV’ pollution regime as California. According to the leak, the plug-in P400 offers a torque boost from 400Nm to 645Nm and a 5.9sec 0-62mph time, Autocar understands.

There will be three base models in the Defender line-up, the first-year production X, Standard and, for 2021, the X-Dynamic. The high-end X will offer a fixed spec and "limited options" for 2021, before being offered with a wider spec.

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The Defender X will be sold in powerful P300 and P400e petrol forms in 2020, with the D300 diesel being added to a lengthened options list in 2021.

The Defender Standard will be available with the full range of engine options from launch, aside from the D300 which arrives in 2021. 

Customers will be able to select a further three specification levels: S, SE and HSE. 

According to the leaked presentation slides, the Standard specification Defenders will get 18in wheels, LED headlamps, eight-way adjustable fabric front seats, a 140W audio system with six speakers, a 7in instrument cluster and a 10in touchscreen.

S’ specification Defenders add front fog lamps, 12-way adjustable "semi-powered" seats in "Performance" fabric and a 12in digital instrument cluster.

The SE gets 20in "Apollo" wheels, Premium LED headlights with high beam assist, powered rear-view mirrors and a passive entry system, 14-way adjustable electric front seats, a 370W Meridian audio system with 10 speakers and automatic parking.

Defender HSE models gets Matrix LED headlamps, 18-way adjustable Windsor leather electric memory seats with climate control and what JLR calls a "Drive Pack and Park Pack".

The launch ‘X’ model gets darkened 20in wheels and tail-lights, more highly-specced front seats and a "Co-Pilot" pack. 

On top of this, JLR will offer four option packs (Capability, Interior Upgrade, Exterior and Convenience) as well as stand-alone options. Accessories - badged as Explorer, Adventure, Urban and Country - will also be offered by dealers. Clearly, JLR is looking to take advantage of the likely enthusiasm around the new Defender by trying to attract high-spending private buyers.

There’s no definitive news on pricing, though Autocar has heard from one source close to JLR that the ‘Standard’ spec Defender 90 with be priced from £40,000, suggesting the higher-spec versions will be distinctly premium-priced.

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Some sources are also suggesting that the Defender will succeed with affluent families where the Land Rover Discovery has failed to catch buyer’s imaginations. 

The more authentic styling (inside and out), more advanced technology and new-generation platform could see Land Rover more convincingly challenging new-generation rivals such as the Volvo XC90 in this lucrative market. 

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The distinctive post-modern exterior and interior - not a million miles away from the 2011 DC100 concept car - will also help the Defender distance itself from the lucrative Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models.

Read more

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CharlieBrown 13 August 2019

They will be able to sell hundreds of them

Based on what I’ve just read I would say they will be able sell hundreds of them lol

JohnnyBoy997 5 July 2019

Arm chair critics and knuckle draggers

We are only a couple of months away from seeing the car launched and already the arm-chair critics and experts are slating it. Yet these are the self same people who add diff-lockers, raise suspension, change seats, add heaters, put raised air intakes on and change the tyres- all taking their original cars away from original spec.

They then claim that this new Defender won't do and won't be as good as the 'old' one- but fail to see the irony of their own argument: IF their 'old' Defenders was so good then why have they themselves changed them? Yes, to make them into a more comfortable or more practical version of their car- in other words- to make it into the car that they want.

People similarly think that all of what they are saying and doing isn't seen and understood by those that put these plans and cars together and that what they are saying and doing is ignored- it isn't. Quite a few of those that comment on these posts also work at JLR- as is indicated by a colleague of mine above.

As for the doubts about it's practicality of being able to be hosed out, being offered with this or that feature being on it- all that I would say is- "wait and see" and give it and 'us' a chance eh?

One poster said that the G Wagen had the Premium SUV market sewn-up- well the G Wagen starts at £108,000- so assuming that the Defender will be less than half that- but with BETTER off road capability than the over-priced and over-blown Merc- I'd say that at least on paper- people will have a bargain if they buy a Defender.

Let's also not forget that someone mentioned residuals- which if you check- Evoque is setting segment targets for- not bad for a model that sells from just £30k and on 140,000 units a year. So Defender WILL be worthwhile buying- especially given the crackers prices for the old one that we see today for 10+ year old cars!

Lastly- the military discussion. Someone rightly stated that the Army never bought 30-40,000 units a year- and as anyone in the military will tell you- the Defender was a worthwhile piece of kit to have yes- but the amount of them bought and the profitability from selling them to the Army (remember that JLR IS a business and needs to make money), meant that in real terms, the MUCH bigger market is the one outside military contracts- and it's something that JLR can make money from- which it can then re-invest in making other Defender variants in the future too.

JLR is not blind, deaf or stupid, nor is it ran by those that know nothing of what they do. 

JohnnyBoy997 5 July 2019

Arm chair critics and knuckle draggers

We are only a couple of months away from seeing the car launched and already the arm-chair critics and experts are slating it. Yet these are the self same people who add diff-lockers, raise suspension, change seats, add heaters, put raised air intakes on and change the tyres- all taking their original cars away from original spec.

They then claim that this new Defender won't do and won't be as good as the 'old' one- but fail to see the irony of their own argument: IF their 'old' Defenders was so good then why have they themselves changed them? Yes, to make them into a more comfortable or more practical version of their car- in other words- to make it into the car that they want.

People similarly think that all of what they are saying and doing isn't seen and understood by those that put these plans and cars together and that what they are saying and doing is ignored- it isn't. Quite a few of those that comment on these posts also work at JLR- as is indicated by a colleague of mine above.

As for the doubts about it's practicality of being able to be hosed out, being offered with this or that feature being on it- all that I would say is- "wait and see" and give it and 'us' a chance eh?

One poster said that the G Wagen had the Premium SUV market sewn-up- well the G Wagen starts at £108,000- so assuming that the Defender will be less than half that- but with BETTER off road capability than the over-priced and over-blown Merc- I'd say that at least on paper- people will have a bargain if they buy a Defender.

Let's also not forget that someone mentioned residuals- which if you check- Evoque is setting segment targets for- not bad for a model that sells from just £30k and on 140,000 units a year. So Defender WILL be worthwhile buying- especially given the crackers prices for the old one that we see today for 10+ year old cars!

Lastly- the military discussion. Someone rightly stated that the Army never bought 30-40,000 units a year- and as anyone in the military will tell you- the Defender was a worthwhile piece of kit to have yes- but the amount of them bought and the profitability from selling them to the Army (remember that JLR IS a business and needs to make money), meant that in real terms, the MUCH bigger market is the one outside military contracts- and it's something that JLR can make money from- which it can then re-invest in making other Defender variants in the future too.

JLR is not blind, deaf or stupid, nor is it ran by those that know nothing of what they do.