Photo: Land Rover
It’ll be a long wait for the United States to receive the short-wheelbase Defender, which will be available as the First Edition in the first instance. The U.S. rollout is scheduled for the summer of 2020, and pricing will start at $65,100 excluding destination charge.
That’s serious money for what can only be described as a serious SUV, more so if you remember that Terrain Response 2 is featured for improved off-roading capability. Autoblog.com believes that the bone-stock Defender 90 will start at $46,350 but Land Rover has yet to publish the manufacturer’s suggested retail price at the time of writing.
Let that sink in for a minute, then head on over to the Jeep Wrangler’s configurator. A JL Rubicon will set you back $38,295 while the JLU Rubicon is $41,990 excluding freight. The difference is even greater between the British and American rivals when you take a look at the Gladiator pickup. $43,740 is the MSRP of the Rubicon, and that’s still less than Land Rover’s starting price for the Defender 90 without any options.
In the case of the Defender 110, the First Edition slots between the $49,900 entry-level trim and the $80,900 X. The biggest difference over the First Edition is that the X comes with an electronic active differential and torque vectoring braking as standard. All Terrain Progress Control is also featured, and although the name seems puzzling, this is nothing more than off-road cruise control. The system works between 1.1 and 18 mph.
Turning our attention back to the short-wheelbase Defender, the 90 will feature a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder Ingenium engine with 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet on tap. Level up to the First Edition and you’ll be treated to the P400 AWD Automatic, which is a 3.0-liter turbo straight-six Ingenium with 395 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. Thus far, Land Rover hasn’t confirmed or denied if a V8 will happen as well.
Land Rover stopped selling the Defender in the U.S. in 1997, and now that it’s back as a unibody with more luxurious appointments than ever before, the newcomer is a commercial success in the making.
Let that sink in for a minute, then head on over to the Jeep Wrangler’s configurator. A JL Rubicon will set you back $38,295 while the JLU Rubicon is $41,990 excluding freight. The difference is even greater between the British and American rivals when you take a look at the Gladiator pickup. $43,740 is the MSRP of the Rubicon, and that’s still less than Land Rover’s starting price for the Defender 90 without any options.
In the case of the Defender 110, the First Edition slots between the $49,900 entry-level trim and the $80,900 X. The biggest difference over the First Edition is that the X comes with an electronic active differential and torque vectoring braking as standard. All Terrain Progress Control is also featured, and although the name seems puzzling, this is nothing more than off-road cruise control. The system works between 1.1 and 18 mph.
Turning our attention back to the short-wheelbase Defender, the 90 will feature a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder Ingenium engine with 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet on tap. Level up to the First Edition and you’ll be treated to the P400 AWD Automatic, which is a 3.0-liter turbo straight-six Ingenium with 395 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. Thus far, Land Rover hasn’t confirmed or denied if a V8 will happen as well.
Land Rover stopped selling the Defender in the U.S. in 1997, and now that it’s back as a unibody with more luxurious appointments than ever before, the newcomer is a commercial success in the making.
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