DEFENDER OF THE REALM

Four years of anticipation of what the Land Rover Defender replacement would be should be (or shouldn’t be) ended for Kiwis in late July with the arrival of the new Defender on our shores.

Obviously, anyone remotely interested in 4WDs and four-wheeling would have seen the photos and read the comments from diehard Land Rover fans of the green oval; with many saying it’s not like the old Defender.

So are they right or wrong? NZ4WD headed along to the official launch in NZ at the end of July for a first look and drive of the new Defender 110. The big question on my mind was, is it worthy of being part of the Land Rover family and – perhaps even more importantly, live up to its storied name?

The fact that the old model hung on for so long is testimony to it lasting appeal but it couldn’t continue due to its antiquated design and inability to meet modern legislation standards for modern vehicles.

This was a concern for enthusiasts world-wide as they feared the 2011 DC100