The Defender ploughs on

Recreating something like the Defender is a tough task. Land Rover then had one hell of a challenge on its hand. We put the brand new Defender through its paces on a rather unique drive on the road and off it

- Rahul Ghosh

Likes Looks, features, comfort, off-road features

Dislikes It is a rather plush vehicle now as compared to the old one. Pricey too

The Land Rover was born out of the need for a simple machine that could go places and do things. The ladder-frame chassis was tough and the body was made from Burmabright, a metal that was literally rust proof. The mechanicals were rather simple and a Land Rover could be repaired with simple tools on the farm. In short, the Land Rover was a simpleton and when launched it found favor with commoners and mainly farmers who could deploy their Land Rovers to do a host of farm chores. As time went by the Land Rover started evolving without losing any of its virtues. It could go anywhere and was cheap to repair. The Land Rover then became the Defender, a name which has become a legend in the off-road world. It is said that in many regions the first and only car they saw was a Land Rover and in all probability the Defender. After 67 years of being in production, the Defender was finally shelved a few years back. But there is no way that Land Rover would let such an icon fade away. Hence enter the brand new Defender.