In County-spec, the Defender looks unashamedly rugged and purposeful.
The Land Rover Defender, as follow-ups in some case are, had all the hallmarks of becoming a failure when it made its long awaited debut in dramatic style at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2019.
Delayed on numerous occasions since bowing at the same event as the DC100 Concept eight-years before, the modernised Defender’s eventual showing at the German showpiece didn’t come with universal approval as it descended the top level of the Frankfurt Exhibition Centre to face the music.
Well documented are the criticisms, not only for the retro design opted by JLR’s Head of Design, Gerry McGovern, but also backlash for having too many electronics, too many luxurious and for being “just another SUV” that will never go off-road unlike the original.
Unsurprisingly, the Defender has been a smash-hit success despite its pricing often overlapping with that of certain Range Rovers as well as the more practical but also dated Discovery.
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The alleged, but not confirmed, reason for some buyers reportedly forgoing their purchase of a Range Rover Velar or Sport, the Defender has been a success story for the now renamed JLR in South Africa as evident by the monthly National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa) figures.
Often the only product to record sales of more than 100 units, a total of 1 397 Defenders left dealership floors last year compared to 126 Velars and 111 Discos.
Spread over 24 models in short wheelbase 90, long wheelbase 110 and plus-sized 130 bodystyles, the Defender very much adheres to the adage of a model for everyone whether you need three or five doors, up to eight seats, or motivation from four, six and eight-cylinder petrol or diesel engines.
Making the Defender’s success even more noteworthy is that JLR has not introduced any extensive revisions since 2019.
What has been prominent though is a slew of special edition celebrating everything from the 75th anniversary of the original Land Rover in 2022, to the Defender’s starring role in the most recent James Bond film, 2021’s No Time to Die.
Introduced in April last year alongside the Outbound and V8 engine version of the 130, the return of the County name most probably came as the biggest surprise to most Landy fans still mourning the loss of the original.
While very much an appearance package with a few luxuries inside plus bespoke exterior add-ons, the name remains an icon of the Defender story, which only added further emphasis to its revival last year.
In a departure from the previous generation, the County only applies to the Defender 110 in SE specification, which kicks-off the local line-up after the quiet axing of the entry-level S derivative last year.
A surprise arrival for the weeklong stay, the County’s almost rudimentary visual touches came as a welcome departure from the more upmarket models to the point where it was described as the ideal Defender for all occasions.
Carrying a price tag of R1 565 900 before options, a premium of R19 200 over a conventional Defender 110 SE, the County’s unique exterior fixtures comprise County decals on the front doors, illuminated door sills upon opening the door, gloss black mirror caps and side vents finished in the same hue.
By far the biggest highlight is the standard 20-inch white steel wheels combined with a choice of three body colours, our tester being decked-out in Tasman Blue with a white roof and tailgate.
A sight that, arguably, makes the County the most eye-catching Defender on the market, even more so than the murdered-out V8, the back-to-basics look won’t, however, be appreciated be some, especially those insisting on it being standard rather an option on a vehicle already carrying a hefty price tag.
Stepping inside, the “poverty-spec” appearance continues as Land Rover has left the piano-key black inserts, leather on the floating centre console and any expanded brightwork in boxes at the factory in Solihull.
While blue stitching features on the dashboard, white inserts adorns the facia, together with the material textile Robustic also used on the centre console and doors.
As part of the County package, a leather-wrapped steering wheel comes standard, but not the leather seats, which can be eschewed for cloth or what JLR calls grained leather.
The rest of the interior is standard Defender fare and although the 11.4-inch Pivi Pro infotainment system appears lost sitting in the middle of the dash, it remains an easy-to-understand system complete with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and integrated satellite navigation.
Eschewing any chrome or alternative fittings exposes the “real” Defender inside, but not to the County’s detriment as the seemingly cheap looking “exposed” plastics are the complete opposite.
Hard but not brittle, the overall fit-and-finish is both rugged, plush and ergonomically sound in spite of the placing of the volume button being a clear sign as to which side of the road the Defender is skewed towards.
In addition to the centre console that houses a cooled compartment, the Robustic material lives-up its to name, while the switchgear is chunky in feel and superbly placed around the dials for the climate control and Terrain Response 2 system.
As much as the interior surprises, certain foibles remain, the most prominent being the uncharacteristically disappointing sound quality of the Meridan sound system and the digital rear-view mirror that won’t be to everyone’s taste.
Utilising the rearwards facing camera as part of the 360-degree surround-view system, the projected image can, however, be swapped out for the more conventional electrochromatic display by flicking the button at the bottom of the mirror’s rim.
Unlikely to result in the same complaint is space. Besides the typical Land Rover commanding driving position, albeit without reaching down as in the original, the airy feel up front continues at the rear where the panoramic sunroof makes no intrusion on passenger headroom.
With an overall length of 5 018 mm and wheelbase of 3 022 mm, legroom is about as far from lacking as anything, the same applying to boot space.
As with the rest of the 110 range, opening side-hinged door reveals an 857-litre boot that expands to 1 946-litres with the 60/40 split rear back folded down.
Reserving its biggest surprise for last was how the County performed on the move. However, before the starter button received any form of pressing, some confusion intervened as to the identity of the engine.
As evident by the D250 nomenclature, it was originally believed that the upgraded 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium turbodiesel engine from the now discontinued D240 has been selected with outputs of 250 PS or 184 kW as opposed to 240 PS (177 kW).
In fact, a quick drive around the block and distinctly un-four-cylinder soundtrack suggested otherwise.
As it turned-out, the four-pot no longer features in any South African-spec Defender, meaning the County, and all D250 models for that measure, derive power from the same 3.0-litre straight-six Ingenium oil-burner as the D300.
Despite a reduction in power and torque from 221kW/600Nm to 184kW/570Nm, the County is anything but sluggish with a more than satisfactory low-down pull accompanied by a whistling turbo and grumbling six-cylinder soundtrack.
Hooked to the sublime ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic gearbox, the combination of the optional air suspension and an incredibly light but direct steering makes piloting the Defender 110 effortless, smooth and with more than enough comfort on-road.
Heading off-road though will come with the same ease as apart of the suspension, that raises the overall ground clearance to 290 mm, the Defender 110 County’s go-anywhere suite of tech involves low range, plus the Terrain Response system with seven modes; Eco, Comfort, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud/Ruts, Sand and the low range exclusive Rock.
In fact, the only criticism on the move was higher than normal wind and road noise intrusion inside the cabin, plus some subtle body-roll not unusual for a vehicle standing almost two metres tall.
Tipping the scales at exactly 2 300 kg, the combination of the straight-six up front and the boxy styling, unsurprisingly, impacted on the County’s fuel consumption which registered a still praiseworthy indicated best of 9.8 L/100 km after the seven-days and 665 km.
“What makes the perfect car” is a question unlikely not to be asked at some stage when it comes to parting with one’s earned cash, although for differing reasons.
As much as paying over R1.5-million for a car is anything but a bargain, the above description, as earlier mentioned, all but applies to the Land Rover Defender D250 County within the Defender range.
An almost perfect balance of spec, power and styling that will appease the rugged at the heart, it ticks nearly every box for arguably being what a Land Rover Defender should be right from the box.
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