Land Rover model pays homage to heritage

Land Rover has been making sturdy go-anywhere vehicles since 1948, when they were used by farmers and the military. Their off-roaders have been used by explorers and adventurers to travel across impossible terrains in remote parts, be they mountain ranges or deserts, or anything in between.

The latest introduction is the Land Rover Defender Trophy model that pays homage to the brand’s historic heritage of taking part in challenging competitions like the Camel Trophy, and is offered in heritage-inspired Deep Sandglow Yellow (my vehicle) or Keswick Green, a unique paint with gloss black accents.

This Trophy spec is only available in the standard 5-door 110 model of the Defender that offers five to seven seats. It has been given a few extra explorer-type features that include a large Trophy decal on the bonnet, Trophy graphics on C-Pillars, and a Trophy badge on the rear, big side steps for front and rear passengers, a raised air intake (snorkel) on the front passenger’s side of the windscreen that draws cleaner air into the engine from over the roof, reducing the amount of dust and sand that can raise up while off-roading. Other special features are the step ladder, an expedition accessory that folds in along the side of the vehicle, allowing access to the roof rails and any gear equipment secured there.

My car had large side mirrors with good blind spot monitors, 20-inch gloss black wheels with all-terrain tyres, a contrasting black roof, and a spare wheel with a gloss black cover on the heavy, side-opening rear door.

The interior really impressed with its good design and mix of practicality and comfort features, with big head and leg room front and rear, and washable rubber floor mats. I was able to swing up into the high cabin courtesy of the handgrip at the side of the dash and overhead hand grips. There are big grip handles for second-row passengers. Being a high vehicle, I had excellent visibility.

I liked that the outside colour was repeated on the dash and door panels, and that the exposed bolts around the edge of these panels, front and rear, provided a rugged look to the interior. The luxury came from the high-quality Ebony Windsor leather seats, which held me in snugly. The front seats can be heated and cooled, and have power adjustments; the driver’s have three memory settings.

The centre dash has a 13.1-inch touchscreen with the brand’s Pivi Pro infotainment, which I found up-to-date and intuitive to use. There are physical buttons for the climate control, to adjust the suspension ride height, and for off-road modes. You can customise the driver’s screen, but I liked the two-dial layout as it was. The transmission selector juts out from the lower dash.

Other features are a 360-degree camera view, a Meridian Sound System, a wireless phone charging pad, USBs, and a 12-volt power socket, as well as some excellent storage compartments, including an open area close to the floor beneath the central console. Boot space of about 860 litres is expandable to 1,946 litres with rear seats folded flat.

Extras were a detachable tow bar (€1,035; towing capacity is 3,000kg brake/750kg unbraked), Privacy Glass (€780), Cold Climate Pack (€970), and JLR’s Clearsight Interior rear view mirror (€1,130), that by flicking a switch on the base of the mirror projects a live, wide-angled feed from a rear-mounted camera (on the fin), giving the driver an unobstructed view of behind the car. Great if their view is obstructed by tall cargo, rear passengers, or if towing a trailer.

Defender Trophy’s Terrain Response System allows driving modes for Grass/Gravel/Snow/Mud & Ruts/Sand/Rock Crawl, High range for normal driving or Low range for maximum torque in challenging conditions, splitting engine power equally between front and rear wheels, and Hill Descent Control. You can also adjust the car’s suspension ride height to a ground clearance of 11.5 inches (291mm) when raised to its maximum. Wading depth is 35.4 inches (900mm), approach angle up to 37.5 degrees in off-road height, and departure angle up to 40 degrees.

The Trophy Edition is available only as a plug-in hybrid of the 2.0 Ingenium petrol engine with an electric motor powered by a 19kW battery that drives the permanent AWD through an 8-speed automatic transmission. There's a combined output of 300ps and a whopping 625 Nm torque.

When I collected the car, there was 92% electric range, equalling 37km. After driving 78kms, there was still 3% of EV drive remaining - the claimed EV range is circa 50kms. My average fuel consumption was 11.8 L/100kms.

The engine proved quiet and refined over the many different types of roads I travelled. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do some serious off-roading, hopefully another time!

PRICE: from €130,200; My car as tested €134,115 (price excludes delivery and related charges).