Land Rover Defender updated - here's what's different

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Land Rover's Defender has been on sale in Britain for five years, so a significant mid-life facelift is overdue. This is especially the case with the luxury 4X4 becoming JLR's (formerly Jaguar Land Rover) best-selling product of all. Last year, it delivered 115,400 Defenders globally, dwarfing the sales figures for the Range Rover (77,000) and Range Rover Sport (79,800).
With it selling Defenders as quickly as it can make them, JLR appears to have taken a 'less is more' approach to its '26MY' (model year) tweaks, which is far from the wholesale update most cars receive midway through their lifecycle. In fact, it's difficult to see what's changed at all... Here's what's different and how it will impact prices. It's fair to say that Land Rover has taken a subtle approach to upgrading its volume-selling product.
Defender has been treated to a series of very minor styling tweaks and cabin updates. From the outside, there's no change to the familiar boxy silhouette that has proven a big hit with customers who've been snapping them up in record numbers since 2020. A new headlight design, fog lights as standard and smoke-tinted rear light clusters - combined with a gloss black grille bar - are the only minimal changes to the exterior.
Instead, it's inside where arguably the biggest upgrade comes. The cabin is now dominated by a larger 13.1-inch touchscreen - an increase in display size over the outgoing 11.4-inch unit. Sitting above the gear selector and temperature control panel in the centre console, it uses the PiviPro system and should make the screen easier to tinker with on the move. There are other necessary update to the cabin, including the addition of an infrared camera behind the steering column, which powers the driver attention monitoring system.
This triggers audio and visual alerts to the person behind the wheel when the camera detects their eyes are away from the road for dangerous periods of time as a part of a mandated safety requirement for new models under the European Union's latest GSR2 legislation. While the EU rules do not currently apply for UK-sold models, minsters recently suggested they will be adopted in Britain soon. A host of new paint options have also been launched and Defender - for the first time - will also benefit from adaptive off-road cruise control, though as an optional extra that customers will need to spec.
There is a price increase for 2025
While Land Rover hasn't revealed information about powertrain options, it is likely to retain the combination of diesel, plug-in hybrid and supercharged V8 petrol engines. Customers will continue to be able to get their hands on the shorter Defender90 three-door, the five-door 110 and seven or eight-seat Defender 130. Prices for the updated Defender start from £57,135 thanks to the arrival of a new entry Defender90 S. However, pricing has increased over 25MY vehicle, with a like-for-like X-Dynamic SE rising by almost £2,000 from £59,790 to £61,740.
Defender will continue to be produced exclusively at its Nitra plant in Slovakia, meaning it won't benefit from the trade agreement between the US and UK over reduced tariffs on imported vehicles. This is Money has asked JLR if it intends to increase the cost of Defender for the US market in preparation for the 27.5 per cent levies on EU-made vehicles scheduled for introduction on 9 July, but it refrained from commenting on the tariff impact on pricing.
Shortly after the tariffs - which then included the UK - were originally announced on President Donald Trump's self-proclaimed Liberation Day back in April, JLR chose to pause shipments of cars to America.