The legendary Land Rover Defender is one of the worlds most recognizable and most loved cars. This classic workhorse made its debut in 1948 then known simply as Land Rover Series. In 1983 it was introduced as the Land Rover Ninety and the Land Rover One Ten. It was later renamed Defender 90 and Defender 110 in 1990 to avoid confusion with the Discovery model launched in 1989.
The Land Rover Defender is available in three wheelbases - 90", 110" and 130" with a 2.5L diesel engine and 3.5L petrol V8 Range Rover engine. A new turbodiesel engine was introduced in 1990, the 200 Tdi, and is the same engine featured in the Discovery. Eventually, the Tdi could not comply with Euro III emissions regulations so it was replaced in 1998 with yet another new engine - the TD5. The 2007 model features an all-new 2.4-litre diesel engine and an all-new six speed gearbox. This engine was later replaced by a 2.2L 4-cyl diesel in an update for the 2012 model year.
Land Rover have a solid reputation built upon durability and nothing comes close to the Defender in terms of sheer ruggedness, off-road ability and reliability. It provides a good, fairly comfortable ride despite it being purpose built to tackle the most horrendous terrain. Land Rover announced in October 2013 that production of the Defender would end in December 2015 due to newer, stricter European regulations. But even with the impending change of guard this faithful workhorse can never really be termed anachronistic but instead remains a timeless classic.