Slot the Getrag gearbox into first, raise the heavy clutch and at first you’ll be impressed by the performance of the new motor. Its 121bhp at 3500rpm may not sound much, but it’s blessed with 265lb ft of torque at 2000rpm, and in the lower gears you’ll not struggle to keep up with the traffic.
Flat out around the test track it reached a mighty 83mph, and did so suspiciously quickly. Just like a BMW M6, its top speed is restricted. Unlike the M6, however, the Defender’s electronics are meant to call it a day at 85mph. It is, apparently, for ‘operational’ reasons, from which we infer that the Defender becomes difficult to operate above such speeds.
Coping with this modest potential is a chassis unchanged in all but detail ever since the 1984 revolution that saw the wheelbase extend from 88in to 90in and the longitudinal leaf springs replaced by coils. The chassis is still a steel ladder frame with an aluminium body bolted on. And, yes, there are still live axles at each end, the one at the front located by radius arms and a Panhard rod, and at the back by trailing arms.
This time there are new spring and damper settings, revised castor geometry and revalved power steering. And while the ride has been improved, even the world’s most eternal optimist could not expect a car of this construction to provide more than basic on-road refinement.
And so it proves. On smooth surfaces, riding on standard 235/85 CR16 General Grabber (aka Continental) mud and snow tyres, it’s settled enough, but it doesn’t take much of a pothole, transverse ridge or surface change to send a jolt through the chassis. Body roll is pronounced, while understeer scores anywhere from mild to epic. There is precisely nothing to be gained, other than perhaps a bill for a new Defender, by driving this car quickly. All that matters is that the Defender’s on-road performance and dynamics will now take you where you want to go at the same speed as everyone else.