Defenders, assemble

The already comprehensive Land Rover Defender range has welcomed a new eight-seater 130 edition

- Damian Adams

To call Land Rover's contemporary family tree intricate, would be an understatement. Bookended by the luxurious modern Range Rover lineup, the Discovery SUV purportedly offers customers more practicality, whereas the smaller Discovery Sport has greater curb appeal - but it's the Defender that best harks back to this British marque's rugged heritage. Each offering is unique in its respective application, yet all are proudly Land Rover. The broader Jaguar Land Rover conglomerate has now rebranded to separate its brands into silos.

That said, Jaguar, Range Rover, Discovery and indeed, Defender are all now touted as individual nameplates, even though they will continue to be sold alongside one another. This repositioning thus officially does away with the "Jaguar Land Rover" naming in favour of the simpler "JLR".

Price: R1 844 600
Engine: 3,0-litre, inline-six, turbodiesel
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 221 kW@ 4 000 r/min
Torque: 650 N.m@ 1 500–2 500 r/min
0–100 km/h: 7,5 seconds*
Top speed: 191 km/h*
Fuel consumption: 8,2 L/100km (combined)*
CO2 emissions: 216 g/km*
Rivals: Audi Q7, BMW X7, Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Nissan Patrol, Toyota Land Cruiser 300