There are over 4,000 stories in the Adventure Journal archives and occasionally we like to pull one from the shelves, a nice bright pine, if you’re wondering, dust it off, and put it back on the homepage for new readers to enjoy. Like this one, from online editor Justin Housman, from his 2018 trip to Iceland, that saw him fall in love with the finicky, drafty, but nevertheless irresistible, Defender 110. -Ed.
I never expected to actually get to drive a late-model Land Rover Defender, but there I was in Iceland, just last week, starting up the Landie’s plucky 2.2-liter diesel motor, easing the long shifter into reverse, backing into downtown Reykjavik traffic, and setting out, giddy as a teenager, to conquer, or at least survive, Iceland’s snow-shrouded Highlands.
I quickly learned a few things about the iconic truck.
First, the driving position is terribly uncomfortable. The steering wheel presses up practically against your sternum. If it has power steering, I could not tell. It has the worst, most feeble speakers of any car I’ve ever been in. There is nowhere to put your left arm while driving. There is nowhere to put your right arm, either. The pedals are bizarrely shunted off toward the left, forcing you to keep your feet at a weird angle to your hips. It wanders all over the road at speed. The journey from zero to sixty is best measured in miles, not seconds. It’s drafty and either far too hot or far too cold. Snow once came drifting into the cabin while driving it, though the windows were sealed. Reverse and first gear are indistinguishable. There are brakes, technically speaking, though I’d hate to actually rely on them to stop this massive truck.
And yet.
I would marry the Landie, if it would have me.
I was driving a 2014 model, built just two years before Land Rover pulled the plug on the Defender, ending a 67-year run. It doesn’t seem as though much has changed in the seven decades of production. This is a purely utilitarian machine. A tool. A vehicular hammer.
If you’ve ever driven a Range Rover or a Land Rover Discovery, the Defender will seem as very far removed from those refined, posh station wagons. And until you hit the rough stuff, you will wish you were driving a Range Rover instead of a Defender. It is painfully slow, and you can not ignore this vehicle or it will assume a line of its own on the highway and pull you into oncoming traffic. I hope you don’t want to hear any passengers in the backseats, either, because they may as well be sitting on the roof, such is the awful road noise.
But oh, when you hit that rough stuff.
A few hours into my journey, on a backroad leading well north of Westeros’ Wall, I spotted a cascading waterfall reachable via a boulder-strewn “track.” The road was muddy, very steep, and going down the track I wondered if I’d bit off more than the Landie could chew for the return trip climbing back to the road. Ha. When it was time to leave, I didn’t even need to put the beast in four-low. It climbed up and out of there—in second gear, even—as if it was leaving the car park at a mall.
When later that day a blizzard dumped so much snow the gravel road I’d been driving on looked like the inside of a snow cone machine, the road visible only as a line of stakes that marked the edge of a cliff, the Landie powered on through, no drama, no sliding, no effort really.
A gravel road consisting of baseball-sized rocks felt like butter at 40 mph. River crossings came and went without a second thought. Soft, volcanic ash-mixed sand was a non-issue. Not once did the transfer case see four-low in two days of backcountry adventuring.
It’s about as offroad-capable as any reasonable person would ever need in a million years, right out of the box.
It also has no glove compartment, comically little storage space, the seats are uncomfortable, and it’s a Land Rover, so it’s falling apart somewhere even as it’s gamely transporting you to the edge of the earth.
And by god does it look incredible while doing it.
Finding one to buy yourself will be difficult. Land Rover stopped selling the Defender in the U.S. back in 1997, and even then they were only offered here intermittently. Good condition models from the 1990s will run you darn near or well over $100,000.
Nothing about the truck is worth that kind of money. If I had the means, I’d buy one in a blink.
with how popular defenders are right now, land rover is really blowing it. actually most car manufacturers are. hopefully someone steps up soon and introduces an overland-friendly 4×4 soon–at least to capitalize on the popularity.
I think the new UK car company called Ineos is going to give it go.. I live in the Maritime French Alps and drive a 30 year old Defender… would not trade it for anything with four wheels.
This story took me way back in time. Growing up in East Africa my neighbor was employed by the Government as a Driver and would occasionally bring the Defender TDI home. So as a little boy I would beg him to allow me to sit on the driver’s seat for a few minutes. Years later I was fortunate enough to drive the iconic land rover through the Maasai Mara and Tsavo National Parks. My dear departed friend “OTIENO” made this all possible. I plan to own one someday. Its a pity Landrover pulled a plug on these iconic beautiful beasts. What a journey…
I’ve driven the Defender shown in the article, and I must admit I prefer it to the old 110. The newer one is a lot faster and a lot more comfortable. But I think this is a strong pedigree, and it’s a shame the new LandRover 2020 might as well be a Discovery. The older 110 was a great workhorse, and it took me around Western and Eastern Sudan on duty travel those many years ago, and I can swear by it, too.
Chris, It’s called a Land Cruiser.
Or LX470.
I ended up getting a 3rd gen 4Runner—half the price of LCs of comparable age, 40% better MPG. Not as big, of course, but I’m over driving a big vehicle for a while.
ya, the heated and cooled seats are really a necessity for overland travel, and 80K is a good entry point.. what if they just brought the 70 series land cruiser to the US? what american SUVs and trucks are missing is just a base level 4×4 like a Defender or 70 series cruiser, everything has to be so luxurious all the time.
Luckily I live in Australia and have owned a 2002 Defender 110 from near new and would not swap it for anything even a brand new Toyota Land cruiser.
It is all original with many accessories including a Roamerdrive overdrive and it tows my offroad van where ever I want it to go. It has had a new clutch pressure plate, 4x dampers and tyres in the last 18 years so I would call it very reliable and inexpensive to own. The next owner will have to wait until I die before this vehicle slips from my ownership. I consider the only equal rival to this 4×4 is the G wagon.
My Chevy Colorado ZR2 diesel is all the things the Defender is not – comfortable to drive, great sound system, safe on the highway and costs half as much as a vehicle 20-30 years older. And its everything the Defender is – smooth as butter on washboard gravel and as offroad-capable as any reasonable person would need in a million years right out of the box. The only thing that my ZR2 isn’t? Iconic. Yet.
I’ve got a ZR2. My dad has a Defender 110. There’s no comparison.
Yeah, the ZR2 is way more comfortable, and sounds a million times better in the cabin…but it still feels like a little girls toy next to his beast.
It’s just (sadly: way) cooler. I hate it, but the Defender, and Dad, take the win.
Isn’t that weird? In so many ways the Defender, especially the 110, is a pain in the butt to drive. But it’s also kinda perfect?
Holy yikes man! You didn’t just compare a Chevrolet truck to a Defender? ZR2s are neat toys, but they shouldn’t even be compared to a Rubicon. One of the three I have mentioned oozes class and style and is iconic, the other one boasts a lot heritage at a reasonable price (poor mans class and style), the third is a Chevy.
I have a 2002Land Rover Discover, Last of the Big ones. Only had to replace the exhaust system after 6 years that is all, except regular maintenance. Loving every minute of it
I live in the states and bought a new 88 in 1972, I can understand your assessment of the Defender. I drove mine for 887,421 miles and the back of the speedometer fell off. It’s a love hate affair with these trucks. On the plus side it never
broke down, always got me home and when I sold it in 2001, I got $1000.0 dollars more for it then I paid for it.
Curt
Rad looking rig.I thought it was older than it looks. I will stick to my Land Cruiser.
Great article. Reminds me of my first drive in a Defender. Before turning on the ignition, I attempted to wind down the window. The window didn’t move, but that was OK, as the first pothole I drove over saw to that. Hmmm… Rather clunky overall I feel. But once I got off road? Ah, NOW I get it!
One word for you: FJ60.
Iconic. Hope one day to have one. Next in line, the Toyota “Iron Pig” and an old Scout. However,the most anticipated vehicle out there though has to be the Bolinger B1….. http://www.bolingermotors.com
If it goes and they get their 4 door version out there…. I’m in.
Observe in North America 2 types. Defenders that get used as a equipment and Defenders under utilized for status.
You know how to spot them.
Marketing the traits of a truly capable vehicle VS the “features” of the curb appeal, mall, see and be seen daily drive world will not enable a manufacturer to build/sell anything like a Defender for quite some time….I’m keeping my 2A!
the land rover was/is off-road capable only to a certain (and certainly not an extreme) degree due to the lack of axle differential locks (unless equipped with aftermarket lockers).
i had several instances where i got stuck in muddy and also deep sand conditions and had to use a winch and sand ladders to get out.
the central differential lock is not much of help if one wheel starts to spin, rendering that axle useless.
i had 2 LR 109’s, one hardtop (tropical) and a soft top version which i acquired at auctions from the british army in what was back then West Berlin.