If you’ve ever inherited an heirloom, you’ll know the burden it carries. Not just in keeping time, but in keeping tradition. The Land Rover Defender 110 PHEV is precisely that: a revered nameplate reborn for the modern world. One that must still climb mountains, both literal and metaphorical.

And what mountains they are.

The original Defender was the kind of machine you’d admire from afar, with its exposed rivets and no-nonsense demeanour. It looked like it could survive an apocalypse—and ride straight through one. But live with it day-to-day? Not unless your postbox is located on a farm track 2 kilometres outside of your home, or your idea of comfort included vinyl floors and an AM radio.

So, how do you replace a cult icon without alienating its congregation?

You build something that honours its past but doesn’t get stuck in it. That’s what the new Defender 110 PHEV is: a plug-in hybrid SUV that looks like it was hewn from granite, drives like a stately cruiser, and can still wade through floods like it’s chasing wildebeest across Africa.

The Defender 110 may wear its ancestry on its sleeve; squared shoulders, upright stance, and an air of indifference to passing trends. The old-school boxiness now comes with curves in all the right places, giving it a rugged elegance that manages to look at home in a jungle or the lobby of a five-star hotel.

Underneath, it’s all new. Gone is the ladder-frame chassis of yore. In its place is an aluminium monocoque that’s stiffer than your uncle’s gin and tonic. The body itself is structural, and the suspension (air-sprung in this PHEV variant) is sophisticated enough to make most luxury cars blush.

And yes, the numbers are impressive. Approach and departure angles of 38 and 40 degrees. A wading depth of 900mm. Ground clearance that puts most crossovers to shame. And it does all this without making you feel like you’re driving a tractor.

Manners Maketh Man

Surprisingly, it’s brilliant on tarmac. There’s a grace to the way the Defender 110 handles bumps and potholes. It doesn’t crash, it glides. It doesn’t roll, it leans thoughtfully. And when the road gets twisty, it feels planted, composed, and confident.

The plug-in hybrid system is based around a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine paired with a 105kW electric motor, giving you a combined 296bhp and 625Nm of torque. That’s enough to whisk this aluminium-clad fortress from zero to 100km/h in just over 7 seconds. Not bad for something shaped like a garden shed.

And when you want to creep silently through a carpark or a forest trail, the electric-only mode offers up to 43km of range. Realistically, you’ll see closer to 30, especially with the aircon on and music streaming, but that’s still enough to do the daily school run and back.

And it’s still nicely kitted

Climb aboard, and the cabin is a study in contrasts. Industrial yes, with its magnesium crossbeams, rubberised floors, exposed screw heads, but also incredibly well thought out. 

Seats are broad and supportive, the infotainment system (now JLR’s latest Pivi Pro) is fast and responsive, and there are enough USB ports to charge a small battalion’s worth of devices. Storage is abundant. Legroom in the second row is generous, even with an adult sitting on the floor.

With the second row up, you get 853 litres of boot space. Fold them down and you’re looking at over 2,300 litres. That’s enough for camping gear, dogs, bikes, or whatever your version of adventure entails.

Built for the one in a thousand

Not everyone who buys a Defender is going to traverse mountain passes or rescue stranded hikers. Most will use it to shuttle kids, hit the grocery store, or navigate the CBD. But knowing it can do all those things? That it could go anywhere, even if you won’t? That’s what makes it special.

There’s a quote buried deep in Land Rover lore: “Above and Beyond.” And the Defender 110 PHEV lives up to it. It’s the Swiss Army knife of cars; versatile, unflappable, and yes, a bit indulgent. But if you’re the sort who values capability over convention, this may just be the best-kept secret in the premium SUV world.

And as we inch closer to a world dominated by electric pods and soulless transport, this plug-in Defender feels like a parting love letter to what SUVs used to stand for.

Adventure. Purpose. And a damn good story to tell.

Technical Specifications

Land Rover Defender 110 PHEV

Engine: 2-litre in-line 4, Twin-scroll Turbocharged
Drivetrain: All-Wheel Drive
Power: 296 bhp
Torque: 625 Nm
Gearbox: 8-Speed (A)
0-100km/h: 7.6 seconds (claimed)
Top Speed: 191 km/h
Fuel Tank Capacity: 90 litres 
Fuel Economy: 8.6 km/litre (tested)
Price: S$336,888 (HSE) without COE (accurate at the time of this article)

Photo Credits: Sean Loo (@auto.driven)

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Since 2020 when the L663 Defender was launched, I’d been keen to have a go. Land Rover had completely reworked the Defender to where it could still handle the rough stuff, but added creature comforts in the process – a far cry from the raw and raucous classic Defenders of yore which, no doubt, had purists up in arms.

Sean had already reviewed the Defender 90 and Defender 130 HSE by the time I’d gotten a chance to drive the Defender 110 75th Limited Edition, and given his near-perfect impersonation of a very keen Jack Russell Terrier while telling me that I was in for a treat before collection day, I had to see for myself what the fuss was all about.

Both 110 and 130 Defenders share the same 3,022mm wheelbase, but the 110 is 340mm shorter in length and seats only five in standard form, compared to the 130’s additional row that offers an eight-seater configuration. Otherwise, they’re pretty much the same.

75 Years of Rugged

Collection day arrived, and there the Defender 110 was, complete with 75th Limited Edition Grasmere Green 20-inch rims perfectly colour-matched to the body colour, and celebrating 75 years since the original Land Rover Defender Series 1 was launched. I’m not sure about the colour-matched rims, but it does undeniably make this special-edition Defender 110 stand out at first sight.

Despite being shorter than the 130, this is still a large vehicle. At 5,018mm length, 2,105mm width and 1,967mm height, one can fully expect it to take up a standard HDB parking spot, with its rear-mounted spare tyre overhanging the spot by a bit.

Standard HDB multistorey carparks (MSCP) should be fine for the Defender 110 by driving in slowly with the air suspension locked in its lowest setting. I didn’t want to risk the roof-mounted shark-fin antenna contacting the overhead height barrier beam at my estate’s MSCP, and the test vehicle remained in the open carpark during the media loan period.

The Defender 110 features large glass panels to let natural light into its roomy cabin to lift the feeling of airiness. This includes a panoramic sunroof and a couple of skylights on either rear sides of the roof pillars.

Rugged Luxury

Swing the tailgate open and 786 litres of boot space opens up. Need more? Drop the rear seatbacks to liberate 1,875 litres of cargo capacity.

Don’t worry about scratching up anything expensive either, because the Defender is built rugged inside to handle pretty much whatever you can throw at it.

Being built rugged on the inside does not mean occupants need to slum it out though. There’s more than ample room in the back for three abreast and rear occupants get their own climate controls and USB charging ports to keep everyone back there happy.

However, being built rugged does mean that your kids won’t easily destroy the interior either. Grab handles are perfectly positioned on the B-pillar to let the little ones and more petite adults pull themselves aboard.

There’s one thing that everyone, especially the front occupants, will be happy with though – a commanding view outside. I was sitting pretty much at eye level with the double-decker bus driver beside me, and the view out was superb.

The front seats are comfortable and supportive 14-way adjustable items featuring bum chillers and roasters. Y’all can be sure that I had the bum chiller turned on for the entirety of the review period.

Getting in is pretty simple, also thanks to the side steps that feature on this car. Put it this way – if my petite octogenarian mother can climb in and out with very little assistance and mostly supervision, the rest of us young’uns shouldn’t have any issues.

The digital instrument screen can display myriad information and is clear and easy to read. Also featuring here is a head-up display which makes things that much more convenient on the move, being able to read speed without having to take one’s eyes off the road as much.

The infotainment screen is crisp, bright and easy to read and operate, if only slightly slow to respond. To me, this didn’t matter because wireless Android Auto worked well, with wireless Apple CarPlay also here, and that’s all I needed for the most part.

A 400-watt 11-speaker Meridian sound system is standard fit in the 75th Limited Edition. While it was fine for the most part, I couldn’t really test the audio system as usual, due to a likely faulty speaker. Easily resolved though.

Everything in the interior is clearly laid out, easy to operate, and satisfyingly chunky to the touch… except for one tiny detail – the hazard light button is placed atop the dashboard in between the centre aircon vents, and it took a few seconds to find it. Now that you know where it is, you don’t have to go hunting for it.

Luxury 4-Wheelin’

The first few minutes of driving a behemoth like the Defender 110 will usually be daunting, but things quickly become relaxing and easy. The view out is good, the SUV points its nose where one intends it to go and it can also be somewhat hustled in bends, much to the surprise of everyone around.

Imagine the intimidation factor from this visage through the rear-view mirror as it lumbers up from behind at highway speeds with adaptive cruise control engaged.

Standard fit air suspension ensures that the ride remains smooth and cosseting at all times. Even the all-terrain Goodyear Wrangler tyres remain quiet most of the time, only becoming a little more audible over rougher tarmac and unpaved gravel paths.

The Defender 110 does mall-crawling duties with aplomb and is perfectly at home on streets and highways. However, this benign urban character belies its potent off-roading abilities, and all one needs to do is select the appropriate terrain type and start driving off the beaten track.

This is what Sean and I did for the photoshoot, and the Defender 110 happily crawled up and down a pretty steep embankment without breaking a sweat.

Land Rover says the Defender can wade through water up to 900mm deep. Thankfully, there wasn’t any Bukit Timah-level flooding event in Singapore during the loan period, but we did manage to do some impromptu flexing on a random mound.

The beating heart that makes all of this possible is a three-litre inline six-cylinder turbocharged petrol powerplant putting out 400hp and 550Nm of torque.

While this may sound like a lot, keep in mind that the Defender 110 weighs close to 2.4 tons. Acceleration is therefore healthy rather than brisk, but more than sufficient for a vehicle of this type.

Also, this is a mild hybrid powerplant. What this means is, driven smoothly, relatively good fuel economy is there for the taking. Land Rover claims an average combined consumption of 12.2 litres/100km or 8.2km/litre, and I was able to better this at 10.18 litres/100km or 9.8km/litre over a test-driven 549.1km.

As usual, the obligatory “your mileage may vary” disclaimer applies.

There are only two vehicles to date that have put a wide smile on my face within the first few minutes of driving. One is the plucky Suzuki Jimny. The Defender 110 is the other. The more I drove it, the more I wanted to drive it more… if you know what I mean.

That it blends ruggedness with a perfect dollop of luxury touches just goes to show Land Rover sure knows its current-generation audience. And possibly witchcraft, for the blend is perfect. It is like no other SUV in the market today. It is the quintessential go-anywhere mountain goat family transportation and is something that needs to be experienced and cannot adequately be put into words.

Or maybe it can.

When the Defender 110 was returned at the end of the media loan, I was asked about the experience. My reply was simple. “Wish I could have had it one more night.”

Photo Credits: Sean Loo (@auto.driven)

Technical Specifications

Land Rover Defender 110 75th Limited Edition
Engine:  2,996cc turbocharged inline six-cylinder mild hybrid
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Driveline: All-wheel drive
Power: 400p @ 5,500-6,600rpm
Torque: 550Nm @ 2,000-5,000rpm
0-100km/h: 6.1 seconds (claimed)
Top Speed: 191km/h (claimed)
Fuel Economy (combined): 12.2-litres/100km or 8.2km/litre (claimed)
Fuel Tank Capacity: 90 litres
Kerb Weight: 2,361kg
Price: $387,888 (excluding COE, accurate at the time of article)
Contact: Land Rover Singapore

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