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Every once in a while, a vehicle arrives that is so well regarded and so resolutely fit for purpose comes to dominate its niche.
Despite the constant flow of new and updated models into the luxury four-wheel-drive space, as represented at Drive Car of the Year through the Best Off-Road Vehicle Under $150K category, the Land Rover Defender has maintained its authority and dominance since the controversial new-generation model launched.
So much so that Drive is awarding the Defender a trophy for the sixth year in a row.
Of course, there were bound to be naysayers when Land Rover announced that it was putting the preceding Defender generation out to pasture in 2016. But, facts are facts. In its final year on sale here in Australia, the legacy Defender sold just 392 units.
The current Defender sold more than ten times that amount in Australia last year. It outsold the Mercedes-Benz G-Class seven to one, and the Porsche Cayenne wagon by more than six to one.
If you were looking for a high-end 4x4 with the capability to back up its cachet, the first and last call for Aussie buyers last year was the Defender.
The world might think of us as a nation of rusted-on Toyota tragics, but if your budget goes beyond a LandCruiser, the data shows that a Defender is, more often than not, your destination.
It’s been with us since 2020, but the design simply hasn’t aged. Available in 90, 110 and 130 body styles, with the recent edition of the fire-breathing 467kW Octa variants, the Defender’s award takes into account the heritage of the nameplate and the deftness of its modern reinvention.
The range of variation on offer is impressive, from the body styles, to the powertrains and even trim levels.
It starts with short-wheelbase Defender 90 at a shade under $100,000 on the road, powered by a silky 3.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine. And right at the top, you're looking at the Octa with more than $300,000 worth of asking price. There's even a plug-in hybrid variant available.
But in between top and bottom, you'll find a sweet spot. With a pricetag of $114,500 plus on-road costs, you'll come across the Defender 110 X-Dynamic SE D350. A variant with some nice touches inside and out, we come in well below the price threshold for its category ($150,000).
The 3.0-litre turbocharged diesel inline six makes a prodigious 258kW and 700Nm, with a level of refinement and buttery smoothness not seen before in a diesel-powered four-wheel drive.
The eight-speed ZF automatic transmission is as slick as ever, and the four-wheel-drive system (which includes a low-range transfer case and active locking differentials) performs well on- and off-road.
Height-adjustable air suspension provides excellent ride comfort and bump absorption, but also doubles down to provide impressive off-road ground clearance and stability. In terms of raw off-road capability, the Land Rover Defender is right at the pointy end of what is possible off the showroom floor.
Doing these things so well, all in a package that is practical, smartly designed and ageing so gracefully, makes this Defender a worthy winner of our Lifetime Achievement award.
Sam Purcell has been writing about cars, four-wheel driving and camping since 2013, and obsessed with anything that goes brum-brum longer than he can remember. Sam joined the team at CarAdvice/Drive as the off-road Editor in 2018, after cutting his teeth at Unsealed 4X4 and Pat Callinan’s 4X4 Adventures. Off-road writer of the Year, Winner - Sam Purcell
