Land Rover Defender 2021 Tow Test

As the modern interpretation of a British icon, the 2021 Land Rover Defender was never going to please everyone. Yet as far as towing goes, the Defender is not only a very capable tow vehicle, but it might be the best heavy-duty hauler in Land Rover’s range.

New millenium Defender

The 2021 Land Rover Defender is a premium luxury SUV that accordingly starts at a premium price and is offered with many options – for which you also pay a premium.

No surprises there, and in the context of large luxury 3500kg tow wagons, the Defender is not exorbitantly priced. Mind you, the Defender must be about the only ‘luxury’ 4WD wagon that comes with vinyl floor coverings, and at close to $100K you’d hope for active cruise control in the standard features bundle.

While the Defender 110 wagon range kicks off at $74,500 (plus on-road costs) for the D300 2.0-litre petrol, we’ve gone with the 3.0-litre P400 S petrol version. Ideally, we would tow-test the 3.0-litre diesel D250 (starting at $82,590) but as these have only just become available, Land Rover didn’t yet have one on their test fleet.

The 2021 Land Rover Defender 110 P400 S we tested starts out at $95,335 (plus on road costs). Highlight features include air suspension, dual-range transmission, auto high beam assist, LED lights front and rear, heated, electric power-fold side mirrors, push-button start, leather/textile seats and two-zone climate control.

The test vehicle was laced with a strong cocktail of options, including the $2740 Comfort and Convenience Pack (premium cabin lighting, centre console fridge compartment, Meridian sound system, wireless device charging), the $2086 Driver Assist Pack (blind spot assist, clear exit mirror, adaptive cruise control, rear collision monitor, rear traffic monitor), the $2000 black contrast roof, $1950 Indus silver metallic paint, $1822 bright side tubes, $1423 exterior side accessory box, $1274 ClearSight interior rear-vision mirror, $949 hitch-receiver, $845 privacy glass, $806 electronic active diff with torque vectoring by braking, $520 19-inch gloss black alloy wheels, $403 fog lights and $280 matte black bonnet decal.

All up the test vehicle with options was $113,392, not including on-road costs or the Redarc electric brake controller, which will cost around $800 (fitted).

The Defender has a three year/100,000km warranty and maintenance costs are capped at $2650 for five years’ servicing.

Protection and smarts

While the new 2021 Land Rover Defender 110 has not been crash-tested yet, it's anticipated it will score well. The standard safety tech list is also promising: lane-keeping assist, driver condition monitor, 360-degree parking aid, traffic sign recognition, tyre-pressure monitoring plus roll stability control and trailer stability assist in the stability control suite.

The Defender’s in-car tech is simple to use, with the 10-inch infotainment system incorporating DAB, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto offering straight-forward, glitch-free menus. The LCD instrument cluster menu needs some familiarisation of the various menus, but once you’ve done that there are no issues here.

The oily bits and how it goes

The 297kW/550Nm 3.0-litre turbo inline six cylinder engine is a bit of a technical marvel with twin-scroll turbochargers and 48-volt mild-hybrid technology, which uses a permanent magnet electric motor that draws power from a separate lithium ion battery. The engine also features an idle-stop system for around-town fuel savings.

This all translates into a smooth, quiet and flexible engine, with Land Rover claiming a rest to 100km/h sprint time of 6.1 seconds. No wonder the 2400kg Defender feels quick once you shove the accelerator to the floor, and that straight six sounds awesome when revved. The eight-speed auto does its thing without any odd or clunky shifts.

Built to tow

With the caravan behind it, the 2021 Land Rover Defender is also impressive. Climbing the 90km/h test hill saw a drop to third gear and a lungful of revs but just barely one-third throttle input to maintain speed.

There won’t be any issue keeping up with the traffic on hills or overtaking when towing. The Defender is very good at pegging speed on a steep descent, holding to the 70km/h speed when held in second gear – although the engine was revving at 5500rpm to keep the rig’s momentum in check.

However, while it might be a mild hybrid the Defender’s fuel consumption isn’t exactly mild. We saw average fuel consumption recede to as low as 9.7L/100km on a very easy 100km/h freeway run, but throw in anything more demanding and the fuel consumption figure rises dramatically – although in reality, no more than you’d expect from any typical large-displacement petrol 4WD wagon.

Decent fuel economy

Engine stop didn’t arrest a solid thirst around town, with high teens showing on the trip computer. Towing a 3000kg caravan saw an average of 20.4L/100km, which is actually not bad for towing such a bluff and heavy trailer. In our experience, a diesel LandCruiser 200 Series or Jeep Grand Cherokee towing a similar van size/weight won’t achieve much better than this.

With the Defender’s 90-litre fuel tank capacity (and using our fuel average achieved), you’d get 391km (with a 50km safety margin) before needing to refuel. A bit more fuel capacity would have been nice to avoid range anxiety when towing in the back blocks.

Driving the 2021 Land Rover Defender solo around town, it feels very wide at first (it’s 2022mm wide, excluding the side mirrors) and the turning circle is not exactly tight at 12.84m.

Like almost every recent retro retake of ‘military’ style 4WD wagons (the Toyota FJ Cruiser, for example) the Defender is hard to see out of the rear and rear three-quarters. The large side mirrors and cameras get a work out.

The cabin is a comfortable and spacious place to occupy though, with its more than typical seating space for five adults.

Towing dynamics

Hitching up the 3000kg caravan (as towed, with full water tanks and with a 250kg towball download) that we picked up from RV Connection at St Marys was made easier thanks to the three selectable camera views when reversing (on-road, off-road and towing).

With the towing view selected you get a close-up view over the towball, with a red circle representing the ball (so when it’s under the coupling you have a representation of the towball position to help accurately line it up).

There’s also a handy bird’s-eye view of the vehicle, which helps when you’re backing up with some lock and have nearby obstacles to worry about.

Even with a 250kg towball download, the self-levelling air suspension made sure there was no suspension droop/rise.

The Defender was also rock-solid at highway speeds; its substantial 2400kg-plus kerb weight and 3000mm-plus wheelbase (and short rear overhang) no doubt helping the cause.

Even with large trucks passing or being passed and some cross winds the Defender didn’t flinch. While the independent air suspension provides a lush, supple ride unladen, it gets a bit soft and wallowy with a heavy van behind on some rougher secondary roads.

The last word

The 2021 Land Rover Defender is an excellent heavy-duty tow vehicle, with a very stable and smooth towing ride on smoother roads and plenty of performance from its petrol six.

However, better fuel range is needed to take on remote tow touring and more resolved suspension damping when towing on undulating surfaces.

While you’d hope not to encounter problems in the middle of nowhere, the fact is that the Defender doesn’t have nearly the regional spare parts or service back up of other, more popular brands.

How much does the 2020 Land Rover Defender P400 S cost?

Price: From $95,335 (plus on-road costs). As tested: $113,392 plus ORC
Engine: 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 294kW/550Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 220g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not yet rated