Land Rover Defender 2022 review: 110 X P400

There’s no doubt it will turn heads but it seems to be a polarising design. A rather surprising experience I’ve had this week is that people have made a point of coming up to me in the street and telling me what they think of it. And they either like it or they don’t. It was pretty exciting to drive a car that can generate that much talk from strangers.

The design still showcases that classic Defender ruggedness with the squared-off shaping, exposed (full-size) spare tyre and contrasting roof colour.

The 20-inch wheels with red calipers. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

There are some hints of its military roots, too, with the exposed hex bolts in the doors and the steel-grate look panels on the bonnet but there’s enough softening to the edges that stops it looking like a ‘brick on wheels.’

The Defender does exude a particular confidence with its features and finishes. The chunky 20-inch wheels with red calipers, the huge shiny grille with its squared 'Matrix' LED headlights and the wrap-around privacy glass all give an impression of luxury, even before you get inside of it.

The huge shiny grille with its squared 'Matrix' LED headlights. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

That impression is quantified once you sit inside with the black and tan leather seats, stitched leather dash and panoramic sunroof (to name a few features). This is a Range Rover but in cargo pants.

This is a big boy and that translates to big space. I had the Defender during a very busy week which saw me picking up groceries, catering, party items and family (and their luggage). It fit them all with ease.

I had my 187cm (6'2") and 190cm (6'3") brothers in this and they both had ample head and legroom.

You can immediately access storage just from the dash, where there is a cool shelf that’s deep enough and long enough to be useful. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

There’s plenty of storage and it became a bit of an adventure for my family to find all the different hidey-holes in the car. You can immediately access storage just from the dash, where there is a cool shelf that’s deep enough and long enough to be useful.

There is also a nook on either side of the steering wheel for small items, like the keys or a garage fob. The glove box and centre console are a little shallow but the centre console can be refrigerated for drinks storage.

There are numerous cupholders and bottle holders throughout the car and adequate bin storage in each door. In the third row, there are two elastic ‘storage’ spots positioned over 12-volt ports. I’m not sure what they are for but they are wide enough to fit an iPhone.

The 2nd row seats have ample head and legroom. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The boot space is massive and I particularly like the rubber cargo floor, especially during the wet weather we’ve been having. It made cleaning a lot easier.

With the third row up, you still get 231L of space but most of that volume is from the height and width, not the depth. You’ll still get some groceries in but don’t expect much else.

With the third row up, you still get 231L of space but most of that volume is from the height and width, not the depth. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

With the third row down, that jumps up to 916L and will comfortably fit the luggage and large pram. However, when you have the middle row down, too, you get an enormous 2232L of space! This would be good for storing all of the camping gear.

The Defender is an easy car to drive and park, so I had no trouble going about on my errands this week. This is a 4WD and has the corresponding off-road features but for family practicalities, it earned great marks.

This isn’t a car where the front passenger’s get all of the amenities either, comfort for all passengers has really been considered.

In the front, the leather seats are adjusted electrically and have lumbar support. They can also be heated and ventilated, to ensure comfort throughout all seasons.

There’s a nifty third sun visor that’s positioned underneath the rear-view mirror to combat the sun plus a panoramic sunroof with adjustable headliner, making it easy to keep sunshine off little ones faces in the rear while still enjoying it being open up front.

There’s plenty of storage throughout the car and each row can stay connected via USB and 12V ports. There’s a wireless charging pad up front for smart phones, too, which I like.

Each row can stay connected via USB and 12V ports. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

It's great how the middle row has dual-zoned climate control, as well as directional vents in the front centre console plus the B-pillar.

The middle row gets to enjoy heated and ventilated seats, too. It is also handy that the middle row is a 40/20/40 split-fold, meaning we could still load longer cargo in the middle without adjusting the outboard car seats. My five-year old also loved the big windows and that he pretty much had an unobstructed view.

The third row is small and I wouldn’t want to sit back there on a road trip (I may never be able to get out again) but on shorter distances, having those two extra seats could come in handy. And despite being tiny, the seats are also heated! There are directional air vents, too, so all passengers can keep cool/warm.

There’s plenty of storage throughout the car. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The boot is huge but has a side-opening door, which has a wide clearance when open. It meant I had to think twice before reversing into a car space and whether I needed access to the boot. The height of the lip is tall but this model features adjustable air suspension, meaning at the touch of a button you can lower or raise the height of the car. Which is awesome.

I really only have two niggles with the car. The first is how dark the cabin cand get; with the black headliner and tan/black leather seats it can feel a little gloomy inside on a rainy day. It’s not all bad, though, because a dark headliner can hide dirt from pets and kids!

The second, is that there are no side steps and I had to lift my five-year old into the car every time. I had no trouble sliding in and out though and I’m 168cm (5'6").

The Defender 110 X P400 has all of the important safety and technology features including curtain airbags that cover the third row. The Defender has a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing conducted in 2020.

Some of its safety features are: auto emergency braking (AEB), forward traffic warning, lane keeping assist and lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and rear collision monitor, traffic sign recognition plus a handy driver condition monitor which alerts you when you need to take a break.

The Defender has a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing conducted in 2020. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The camera system deserves a special mention because not only is it a 3D and 360-degree view camera, you also have the option to further customise your view by selecting a different driving mode.

For example, if you were to select the ‘Off-Road’ setting, your camera view would shift to be over both front wheels (handy if you’re going over rough terrain) and a graphic on the touchscreen showing you real-time responses from all four wheels.

There’s also a 'Towing' mode, which shows you a rear view from underneath the spare tyre, so you can keep an eye on your towed item and where it’s sitting within the marked road lines.

In the middle row, there are two ISOFIX mounts in the outboard seats, as well as, three top tethers. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

In the middle row, there are two ISOFIX mounts in the outboard seats, as well as, three top tethers. The car is wide and with the right car seats, you could potentially fit three side-by-side.

The height of the vehicle makes it a little tricky fitting a seat, because you have to get up into the car and boot to secure it but if you’re not moving your car seat in and out as much as I do, this might not bother you.

It's good to note that when we had a 0-4 years rearward facing child seat installed, there was plenty of room for the front passengers.

The Defender 110 X P400 is the mid-level entry and will cost you $149,580, before on-road costs, to secure. There’s stacks of tech and polished features that help it earn that price tag, though.

All Defenders come with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is standard for this class, as well as, five-years road side assistance.

There’s capped price servicing over five-years/102,000km, whichever comes first. Which works out to be every 12 months or a lengthy 20,400km! Servicing is capped at $2250, which averages $450 per service, which is better than okay for the class.

All Defenders come with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The official combined cycle fuel economy figure is 9.9L/100km but based on the trip computer, I averaged 11.5L/100km. That is after driving on a mixture of city roads and longer highway drives. It certainly did better than I was expecting for a turbo-petrol but you can probably attribute that to the mild hybrid engine.

On shorter city trips, that figure will probably be higher. So, while it’s a wee bit thirsty, you’re not watching the fuel gauge go down in real time while stopped in traffic.