How to test a Defender: Just Add Water

Driving a renowned off-roader in inclement weather is an experience to savour. David Taylor drove various Defender variants during a winter storm in the Cederberg.

When an email invitation to drive Land Rover Defenders during a 3-day trip to the beautiful Cederberg Wilderness Area arrived in my inbox, I thought that it would be a straightforward and pleasurable gig.

I mean, what’s not to like? Stay in a luxury hotel; do a bit of mild off-road driving; get to enjoy a telescope viewing session with a renowned cosmologist to study the origins of the universe. I couldn’t say no.

*Every puddle had to be driven through, obviously.*

Mother Nature, as it turned out, had other plans – stormy weather, which lasted all of 4 days, positively battered the Western Cape during the event. The heavy cloud quickly crushed any chance of looking at the galaxy through Professor Peter Dunsby’s telescope…

Temperatures plummeted and the majority of dirt roads in the nature reserve quickly gained a chocolate mousse-like consistency (not appetising at all). Worryingly, that part of the world has a handful of low-lying towns on the banks of the Olifants River, like Citrusdal, which had been cut off by flooding before.

*The scenery of the Cederberg Wilderness Area is sensational, well, when it’s not obscured by thick clouds.*

Suffice it to say, off-road conditions were far from perfect, but secretly, I was excited. What’s the point of having an off-road-proven 4×4 if you never make a point of testing its capabilities? The Defender brand rolled out its entire arsenal: petrol, diesel and hybrid power, packaged in the 90, 110 and 130 variants.

*We recharged the Defender 110 P400e plug-in hybrid (PHEV) overnight.*

The first vehicle we sampled was a Defender 110 P400e. A plug-in hybrid Defender may be a strange concept to grasp (for some), but this setup works well for the majority of users in urban environments.

The electric motor is sufficiently powerful for owners to drive the British premium SUV to the shops, school or work “emission-free” because the P400e has a claimed pure electric range of about 45 km.

Once the 19.2-kWh hybrid battery’s charge is depleted, the petrol engine takes over. You can charge the battery using the engine, but it’s best to plug the P400e into a wall socket overnight to keep it topped up.

Read our detailed review of the Land Rover Defender 110 P400e X-Dynamic HSE

*The Defenders were completely in their element on the muddy roads.*

While I enjoy all derivatives of the Defender, I find it difficult not to favour a turbodiesel-powered 110. It’s simply the best all-rounder. For some, the 90 is compromised in terms of luggage space and tricky rear-passenger access, although it’s lovely to sit in the back (once you’re in). The 130 looks a bit ungainly, and besides, how many drivers will often need to transport 8 people (including themselves) in a Defender?

Read our Defender 90 D300 X-Dynamic HSE90 Review: Is the 3-door cool?

*Drizzle, mist, mud and 7 degrees Celsius. Fun!*

The new Defender 130 Outbound, however, is terrific. Instead of 8 seats, it has 5 and plenty of luggage space. The setup is aimed at overlanders – just think of all the accessories they could load up. When I win the lottery, I won’t tell anyone, but there will be signs… of a matte-grey Outbound on my driveway.

Read our Land Rover Defender 130 Outbound Launch Review

*Defender 130 Outbound in the perfect spec. Yes, please!*

As most of the gravel roads turned into sludge, I was grateful for several things. Firstly, the heated seats. In colder conditions, there’s nothing as lovely as sitting on a comfortable and warm seat. Secondly, all the Defenders were fitted with all-terrain tyres, which notably aid traction on challenging surfaces.

But the feature I appreciated most was the Defender’s Terrain Response 2 software. Yes, you can select various off-road modes like Gravel, Grass, Snow, Ruts, Rocks and so on, but I chose to leave it in Auto mode, so the vehicle could detect, and adapt to, conditions – take the guesswork out of the equation.

Suffice it to say, if you’re not experienced with driving in such adverse weather conditions on unsealed road surfaces, Auto mode presents a perfect opportunity to trust the SUV. I did and it didn’t skip a beat.

*The perfect time to use those rear fog lights*

It was only towards the end of the trip that the sun managed to make a few brief appearances and we lost count of how many rainbows filled the rear-view mirror of the Defender that we were driving.

Sadly, Citrusdal was again cut off from the N7 highway due to the rain – the flood waters only receded 2 days later (by Friday 7 June 2024). Incredibly, more than 240 mm of rain fell in 2 days in the region.

*WHAT A PHOTO! Defender at the end of a rainbow.*

Spare a thought for the fleet managers and cleaning crews – the Defenders were caked in mud by the end of the trip. As a lensman, I appreciated the efforts of the photographer who captured the majority of these images, his equipment got drenched and he probably caught a cold working in those conditions.

*90, 110 and 130… there’s a Defender flavour for everyone (who can afford one).*

Summary

While it’s lovely to commute in, or have occasional weekend jaunts with, a Defender, it’s so satisfying to use the SUV for its intended purpose. A handful of highly capable luxury off-roaders would have revelled in those adverse off-road conditions, BUT there’s only one Defender. Oh dear, have I become a fanboy?

How to test a Defender: Just Add Water

Driving a renowned off-roader in inclement weather is an experience to savour. David Taylor drove various Defender variants during a winter storm in the Cederberg.

Summary

Further Reading: