The Land Rover Defender is perfect for those who love to go off the beaten track. It may not be a cheap car but its price is well worth every penny. The good thing is that running and maintenance costs are not as expensive as you would expect considering the Land Rover Defender operates in permanent 4WD.

Comfort and fancy gadgets are not the top priority in the Land Rover Defender it was built to serve a purpose. There is plenty of space in the car to seat five adults comfortably and head and leg room are not compromised, and the boot space is pretty large too. What appeals to drivers about the Defender is its versatility. It can be specified according to your needs, so the basic model comes as a blank canvas which you can then add to.

Bearing the above in mind, the standard version of the Land Rover Defender is not luxury and there is no entertainment or additional comfort measures. It is basically a simple off-road carrier. More expensive models include a CD player, remote central locking and electric windows, with the top XS model containing luxuries such as air conditioning, alloy wheels and an iPod socket.

The Land Rover Defender 4X4 is powered by a 2.4-litre four cylinder direct injection turbo charged diesel engine. It produces 122bhp with 4200 rpm. The Defender comes with a permanent 4WD dual range transfer box and it has locking centre differential which enables it to handle challenges. The five speed manual gearbox may be quite hard to get used to but once you do, changing gears is easy.

Fuel economy is good in the Land Rover Defender for a car of its size and capability, with a combined cycle of 27.9mpg, however this car is not green with CO2 emissions quite high at 291 g/km. For off-road cars like the Defender some level of road noise is to be expected. In fact, the noisier the engine, the more fun it is off road. When on the motorway the Land Rover has reasonable performance, good flexibility, and realistic acceleration.

Land Rover Defender cars have quite unresponsive steering and tend to crawl when taking corners. Its body rolls in bends. Nonetheless, the Defender is a great, practical and useful off-road car.

If you’re looking for a used Land Rover Defender, there are plenty to choose from on the Trusted Dealers’ website. Visit our dealer directory page and you can browse through a list of Land Rover dealers to find one in your area.