Carandbiketalk: Updated Land Rover Defender Headed To India This Year

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JLR’s hot-selling brute SUV gets its first round of updates, enhancing aesthetics, convenience, and off-road capability while keeping the much-loved character intact

The modern-day Land Rover Defender has effortlessly stretched on for five years without a cosmetic refresh. While it still enjoys a cult status in the world of luxury SUVs in the same way as the Toyota Fortuner in the mass market and is successfully selling in big volumes, JLR has decided to give it a cosmetic refresh anyway.

Available in the familiar 90, 110, and 130 versions, the new Land Rover Defender embodies subtle design revisions, giving a minor taste of new while keeping the much-loved identity from 2019 intact. There’s a crisp new design for the headlight graphics, although you’d need to look hard to tell it apart from the previous one.

The bumpers may also look unchanged at first sight, but JLR says they have “optimised surfaces”. Internationally, customers can specify them in Silicon Silver or Carpathian Grey Satin. JLR offers new 22-inch seven-spoke diamond-cut dark grey alloy wheels on the new Defender.

Also Read: Land Rover Defender Hits New Sales Record In FY25 – Over 1.15 Lakh Units

Defender Octa 1

Also new on the latest Defender are a textured pattern for the bonnet inserts and side vents, Gloss Black Defender-branded wheel centre caps, and darkened tail lights. JLR has made a gloss black grille-bar on the Defender standard with the latest update. Moreover, the company has introduced two new paint options as well: Borasco Grey and Woolstone Green.

Defender Octa customers now have a choice of two new special colours:: Borasco Grey and Sargasso Blue. JLR has also introduced a Patagonia White Matte Wrap finish for the new Defender Octa and Defender V8 models. The updated model features Textured Graphite detailing for a more rugged styling, and unlike the previous one, it can be specified with Chopped Carbon Fibre exterior and interior accents.

Also Read: Upcoming Toyota Land Cruiser FJ (Affordable Fortuner) – What We Know So Far

Defender Octa

Inside, there’s a new 13.1-inch touchscreen, replacing the previous model’s standard and available 10- and 11.4-inch touchscreens, respectively. The larger display aligns with the big dimensions of the Defender better and should allow customers to operate the infotainment system more easily.

Unlike the old model, the latest one has a driver-facing camera for a new Driver Attention Monitoring safety feature. Aiming off-road enthusiasts, JLR has introduced an Adaptive Off-Road Cruise Control as an option feature. Especially useful for new adventurers, this feature automatically adjusts the speed and lets the driver simply focus on steering the vehicle.

Defender 130

The company has yet to disclose if the new Defender has any changes to the engines or transmissions, although no major revisions are expected. It will likely launch the latest model in India in the second half of the year, possibly as a more competitively priced model locally assembled from CKD kits.