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| © Truck Trend Network Staff 2020 Land Rover Defender Off Road Exterior Side Profile |
As a late holiday gift, Land Rover confirmed what we’ve long suspected today: The next-generation Defender
will return to the U.S. and Canada in 2020. The company also confirmed
that “all will be revealed” in 2019, and with plenty of images of the
Defender in New York City, we presume that's where the new SUV will be
shown off for the first time. The New York International Auto Show is in
April, so we're counting down the months.
The Defender has been spotted testing in a variety of conditions, each truck wearing hardly sneaky camouflage touting the SUV as the “Best 4x4xFar.” Land Rover claims the Defender has seen temperatures ranging between –40 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, climbing to altitudes in excess of 13,000 feet.
The Defender has been spotted testing in a variety of conditions, each truck wearing hardly sneaky camouflage touting the SUV as the “Best 4x4xFar.” Land Rover claims the Defender has seen temperatures ranging between –40 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, climbing to altitudes in excess of 13,000 feet.
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| © Truck Trend Network Staff 2020 Land Rover Defender Off Road Exterior Front Quarter 01 |
Of course, the new Defender is the latest in a long line of Series Land Rover
vehicles, stretching back to the first-ever Land Rover vehicle, the
1948 Series I. The Series I was replaced by the Series II in 1958, which
was then superseded by the Series III in 1971. That rugged off-roader
gave way to the Land Rover Ninety and One Ten, which were renamed
Defender for 1991. The Defender lasted in series production until 2016.
The
U.S. only received a few years’ worth of Series Land Rovers, with sales
ending here in 1974 before resuming again in 1993. The Defender lasted
in North America until 1997, when it was made extinct by federal airbag
and side impact protection laws—Land Rover didn’t see fit to update the
Defender to 1998 U.S. standards, given the SUV’s niche-level sales.
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| © Truck Trend Network Staff 2020 Land Rover Defender Off Road Exterior Front Quarter 01 |
When it returns for the 2020 model year, the new Defender
will represent the most complete redesign in Series Land Rover history.
Series I, II, and III models are identical in many ways, and even the
thoroughly revised first-generation Defender was a mere significant
update on its predecessor, rather than a clean-sheet design. However,
the all-new Defender will receive totally revised interior and exterior
styling, modern driver-assistance features, and likely the most rugged
versions of Land Rover’s off-road hardware and computer wizardry. In a
controversial move, the Defender also features an independent suspension
on all four corners.
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| © Truck Trend Network Staff 2020 Land Rover Defender New York Exterior Front Quarter 01 |
We must cop to some suspicion that Land Rover will handle the
redesign of the legendary Defender poorly. For example, some of the
testers we’ve spotted don’t seem to offer a removable roof or the
nameplate’s signature safari windows in the roof corners. A Range
Rover–aping clamshell hood replaces the old Defender’s separate bonnet.
In many ways, the Defender test vehicles remind us of the late Land
Rover LR3 and LR4, which were attractive SUVs in their own right but not
suitable styling benchmarks for the legendary Defender. Prove us wrong,
Land Rover.
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| © Truck Trend Network Staff 2020 Land Rover Defender New York Exterior Rear Quarter 01 |
Regardless of its styling, don’t be surprised to see the new Defender run rings around any of the other luxury SUV competition, Land Rover a true and proper competitor for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. Speaking of those two vehicles, we expect the Defender to slot right in between them, pricing-wise. A base Defender should start at about $60,000, rising to $80,000 or so with options.
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