Driven. Land Rover Defender D-Dynamic 110 HSE D350
- Jun 20
- 5 min read
The Land Rover stable has been built on a wholesome mix of luxury and off-road capability. From utilitarian roots, the brand has developed into an emblem of aspiration for everyone from soccer mums to rappers, each seeking out an expression of success when it comes to their motoring exploits.
Multiple bovine donations of hide, seat heaters and air suspension often see the off-road prowess take a back seat though. Because who wants to scratch up a set of 22-inch wheels? Or worse still, dirty their Gucci loafers on disembarking along some muddy bush trail.
Enter Land Rover’s Defender, where the story started. Well before the Range Rover become the choice of Eastern Suburbs active wear advocates, the Series 1 was moving troops in World Wars and supporting property owners in rural Britain.
It started as a short wheelbase with two doors, much like the Defender 90 I reviewed not so long ago. It soon expanded into a range of different body types, from Safari Wagons to utilities. The 110 represents the biggest seller in a range that includes the “stretched” 130.
In Woolstone Green with a gloss black roof it’s also quite the looker from the outside, carrying more balanced proportions than its smaller stablemate. In this MY26 guise, it too takes on a range of aesthetic adjustments to the exterior, including piano black trims across the bonnet and adjustments to the grille. You’d be hard pressed to notice them as a divergence from the predecessor, but that’s not really a bad thing.
The HSE is the range topper, but our example had the whole house thrown at it in options too. A towing pack means there’s a hitch receiver along with a range of electronics to best facilitate the process on, and off road.
Whilst towing wasn’t on the agenda, I was able to put the Off-road Pack to good use. It includes Goodyear Wrangler AT rubber on Satin Dark Grey 20-inch wheels, an active e-diff and wade sensing too. But more on that later.
The ebony Windsor leather interior is a delightful place to spend any time. Breaking up the cigar-lounge-like darkness are Woolstone green highlights on the doors, a nostalgic touch which adds so much character.
Both front seats offer 14-way electric adjustability along with heating and ventilation. The driver peers at an instrument screen through a leather wrapped heated steering wheel. It’s supplemented by an excellent optional Head Up Display to help ensure focus is on the road, or dirt, ahead.
Overhead, a sliding panoramic roof breaks up Ebony Morzine headlining, allowing stacks of light in to supplement the massive glasshouse.
An 11.4-inch infotainment screen, one of the most significant updates for MY26 range, takes pride of place atop the centre console. It provides access to a range of functions including wired and wireless Apple CarPlay, along with and Android auto. Tunes are courtesy of a 15-speaker Meridien sound system.
Rear seat passengers get optional privacy glass, with outboard heating and ventilation and their own air-conditioning zone too. It’s interesting comparing this model to the 90, as the basic cabin space is almost exactly the same. Obviously ingress and egress is much improved owing to the rear doors, but a lack of a side step was noticeable at times. Devices are kept topped up by a couple of USB ports.
The most obvious difference between it and the 90 is the cargo space, which is accessed by a rather heavy swinging rear gate. Its damped and holds itself in place but will be cumbersome for some. The reason is the spare wheel mounted on the outside. It’s a preference for off-roaders, because you wouldn’t really want to be accessing a spare wheel under the rear when you’re bogged to the chassis rails.
Out on the open the road the in-cabin serenity was a real highlight. Between the air suspension soaking up bumps, obvious insulation efforts, and that silky twin-turbo inline-6, it was truly an enjoyable space to mow down the kays.
Far from the chaos of the P425’s supercharged V8, the 6-pot in this D350 provided more than adequate poke while being largely undiscernible once on a roll. In fact, the only real disturbance at highway speed was wind noise owing to the large rear-view mirrors. They prove that life is often about compromise, because they afforded a level of rearward visibility that was an asset on and offroad.
The 110 Defender is no small car; measuring in at just over 5-meters with a 3-meter wheelbase and 2.1 meters wide, one would think it to be a cumbersome brute.
It’s not the case though, because between the cameras and that glasshouse; the level of visibility is confidence inspiring. When you combine that with easy and responsive controls, it was truly an easy car to get around town in.
The truth is its all seems too nice to get dirty, and I suspect the great majority sold in Australia simply wont. With a horribly rainy forecast that wouldn’t let up, I went against my better judgement and headed an hour north to give the big brit a go off-road.
Nothing about the test track is too difficult, I’ve never been one to really push offroad – especially not in the rain and not when I’m out there alone. Ultimately an hour or two in these conditions cultivated a completely new level of appreciation for the Defender.
With “mud and ruts” selected, which gives the suspension a lift and awakens the electronic wizardy including trick diffs, aside from a little slip here and there it was light work. It was incredibly confidence inspiring, and left headroom in the form of locking diffs if things got harder.
The vinyl floors came into their own here too, with a damp rag and vacuum removing all traces of the fun that was had.
I never thought I’d enjoy the Defender 110 as much as I did. It’s supremely comfortable and spacious, with all of the amenity and mod-cons one would expect of a top-of-the-line European vehicles. Poised manners on road and tremendous capability on dirt was the icing on the cake for a car that ultimately ticks many boxes.
It’s a hefty entry fee though, at a whisker under $147,000 as tested. How do you put a price on heritage though?
Like – Polished aesthetics inside and out, beautiful ride quality on road, weapon off road
Dislike – it’s a bit exxy, needs side steps,
Carguy Rating - 8.5
While I loved the Defender 90 P425 because it was just insane, I liked this 110 D350 for different reasons. I never thought it would make the list to replace our family car, but there you go. It does everything we want it to do for everyday work or road trips, but can also get us off road when we would like to do so too. The question is the entry fee and reliability. Would Buy
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