Land Rover Defender 90 at last… with coils from $71,500

By Dean Mellor 8 Min Read

Land Rover Defender 90 to launch in Australia in February 2021 with coil springs and new six-cylinder diesel engines from $71,500.

Land Rover has announced the 2021 Defender line-up, and the Defender 110 five-door wagon will be joined by the Defender 90 three-door model, while the D200 four-cylinder diesel has already been dropped in favour of a more powerful (and more expensive) inline six-cylinder diesel engine.

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The replacement of the four-cylinder diesel with the six-cylinder Ingenium diesel unit means the most affordable powertrain in the Defender line-up is now the four-cylinder petrol P300 Defender 90 variant, starting at $71,500. It’ll now cost you at least $78,590 to get into a diesel-powered Defender 90.

Land Rover Defender 90

Despite Land Rover recently saying it would simplify the Defender line-up, there will still be 22 models on offer in 2021, with a new X-Dynamic Pack available on S, SE and HSE trim levels for an additional $7500, while buyers can also opt to fit Adventure, Country, Explorer or Urban accessory packs, as well as a host of other individual options. The 2021 Defender line-up is as follows:

Defender 90 Petrol
Defender 90 P300 – $71,500
Defender 90 S P300 – $80,390
Defender 90 SE P400 – $95,290
Defender 90 HSE P400 – $105,190
Defender 90 First Edition P400 – $106,190
Defender 90 X P400 – $134,690

Defender 90 Diesel
Defender 90 D200 – $78,590
Defender 90 S D250 – $87,490
Defender 90 SE D300 – $89,390
Defender 90 First Edition D250 – $104,990
Defender 90 X D300 – $132,590

Defender 110 Petrol
Defender 110 P300 – $74,500
Defender 110 S P300 – $83,390
Defender 110 S P400 – $91,790
Defender 110 SE P400 – $98,290
Defender 110 HSE P400 – $108,190
Defender 110 X P400 – $137,690

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Defender 110 Diesel
Defender 110 D250 – $82,590
Defender 110 S D250 – $90,490
Defender 110 SE D300 – $92,390
Defender 110 HSE D300 – $101,690
Defender 110 X D300 – $135,590

Lr Def 90 21my 090920 36 Nd
Loads of space in the 90 with the rear seats folded, and still seating for three if optioned with jump seat.

Defender 90

The big news for the Defender 90 is that 90, 90 S, 90 SE and 90 HSE grades will all come standard with coil spring suspension, while the top-grade 90 First Edition and 90 X models will come standard with ride-height adjustable air suspension. Air suspension will still be offered as an option on the lower grade Defender 90s.

The new Defender 90 will be available with up to six seats when fitted with the optional front-row centre jump seat. Available with the same powertrain as the Defender 110, all 90s will have a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission and a full-time 4×4 system on petrol variants and a new Intelligent All Wheel Drive system (see below) on diesel variants.

Thanks to its shorter wheelbase offering better ramp-over angle, Land Rover says (with air suspension) the new Defender 90 is the most capable Defender ever made, and like the Defender 110 it is equipped with configurable Terrain Response to suit different driving conditions. And also like Defender 110, the 90 will be available with Adventure, Country, Explorer and Urban accessory packs.

Lr Def 90 21my 090920 35 Nd
The rear-seat layout of the defender 90.

The new six-cylinder diesel and Intelligent All Wheel Drive

The new Ingenium inline six-cylinder diesel engine will be available in three power outputs of of D200 (147kW/500Nm), D250 (183kW/570Nm) and D300 (220kW/650Nm), and it features Mild-Hybrid Electric Vehicle (MHEV) technology and a new Intelligent All Wheel Drive system.

The MHEV system includes Stop/Start technology and it can also recuperate energy normally lost under braking or decelerating, which is sent back into the battery pack for later redeployment for faster throttle response and improved performance.

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The Intelligent All Wheel Drive system varies axle torque based on sensor data and driver inputs to distribute torque to one axle or the other as required, optimising the driveline for traction, on-road dynamics and efficiency.

Land Rover says the Defender 110 D250 will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 8.3 seconds and that fuel consumption is just 8.3L/100km, while the Defender 90 D300 will do 0-100km/h in just 6.7 seconds.

The entry-level P300 four-cylinder petrol engine makes a claimed 221kW at 5500rpm and 400Nm from 1500-4000rpm, while the potent P400 (see our test of this engine variant here) makes a handy 294kW from 5500-6500rpm and 550Nm from 2000-5000rpm.

90 And 110 S
The 90 at 4853mm is significantly shorter than the 110 at 5018mm.

Dynamic X Pack

The $7500 Dynamic X Pack includes Silicon Satin front and rear skid pans with matching grille bar and badging, Satin Black rear recovery points, Satin Dark Grey/Gloss Black finish alloy wheels, and Narvik Black mirror caps, window decals and lower sill and wheel arch cladding.

On the inside, the Dynamic X Pack includes illuminated metal treadplates and hard-wearing Robustek seat material that’s resistant to abrasions, in a range of colours including Ebony, Khaki, Ebony and Acorn, and Lunar.

Lr Def 90 21my 090920 26. Nd
All models will be available with optional black contrast roof.

More options

The 21MY Defender will be available in more colours – Yulong White, Silicon Silver, Hakuba Silver and Carpathian Grey, all with optional black contrast roof – and there will be more individual options available including Folding Fabric Roof for Defender 110 and an Air Suspension Pack on Defender 90, while Premium LED headlights, Meridian Sound System, Head-Up Display and Front Fog Lights can all be added individually.

More safety

In addition to the 20MY Defender’s standard safety kit – including Emergency Braking, 3D Surround Camera, Driver Condition Monitor,Lane Keep Assist, 360° parking aid, TSR and Adaptive Speed Limiter and Wade Sensing – the 21MY models will also be equipped with Blind Spot Assist, Clear Exit Monitor, Adaptive Cruise Control, Rear Collision Monitor and Rear Traffic Monitor as standard.

The 21MY Defender range will be available in Australian dealerships from February 2021.

 


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