From a category already accused of all evils, the chic all-terrain British pushes the cap to afford the services of a high-sounding V8 gasoline of more than 500 hp. What a rebel!
As everyone knows, Kriptonite makes Super Man quite vulnerable. In another genre, it’s a safe bet that Greta Thunberg would not feel on her plate either nearby d’un Land Rover Defender V8. It can be understood. Even while willingly being the devil’s advocate, nowadays, difficult to justify the choice of a streamlined machine like a shoebox, powered by a 5.0 petrol compressor block of 525 hp. A monster so greedy in fossil energy that its technical sheet admits, not without a certain modesty, that it rejects on average (!) between 332 and 340 g / km of CO2. The concept borders on obscenity.
Unfortunately, proof if necessary that man is a weak being, these environmental considerations (at least ours) evaporate the very moment the engine snorts under the long horizontal hood. In the heart of a swarm of electrified SUVs, obviously all full of good feelings, it’s a feast of change of scenery! To add to the picturesque experience, our example, a 110 long chassis, is driven from the right side.
Not to mention the melody with nautical accents that accompanies the slightest acceleration, the contact of the steering wheel in Alcantara in the palm of your hands instantly convinces of the genius zany character of this Defender capable of “sticking” for almost a second to a VW Golf 8 GTI at 0 to 100 km / h. Because without quite developing the same cavalry as under the hood of the Jaguar F-Pace SVR in particular, the supercharged 8-cylinder of the JLR group propels this anachronism with disconcerting ease. Always quick to execute, the original ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox allows you to restart without ever having the impression of forcing.
Leaving the large curves of the Spanish motorway to join the hairpin bends around Montserrat, however, the question of the consistency of such a version comes back. What is the point of giving so much momentum to an over-equipped 4 × 4 weighing almost 2.7 tonnes?
Perched on its air suspension recalibrated for the occasion and its specific anti-roll bars, this Land Rover answers it with phlegm; by copiously winding the sinuosities of the Catalan secondary network. By stepping up the pace until his Continental CrossContacts scream, less fans of asphalt than dusty roads, his ESP, very vigilant, finally intervenes more to prevent any risk of capsizing than to help it turn. Probably, the controlled rear differential and its function of transferring torque by braking erases at least several hundredweight when tacking.
By its power, its charismatic timbre and especially its price, the “Def” V8 can as a bonus be seen as one of the few supercars on this planet to indiscriminately devour asphalt and deep ruts or ruthless scree. Because beyond the Dynamic mode, for the first time offered on this emblematic model of the brand, the Terrain Response system is still full of programs allowing you to navigate in hostile environments with your elbow to the door. The proof here in image during a detour by a real off-road course at the wheel of a short chassis 90 … If it did not exist, this Defender V8 would not be missed. But it was still worth inventing it.
Our verdict
Brilliant arm of honor with correct motoring, the Defender V8 is aimed at adventurers in search of the most remote gas stations. And climate skeptics.
WE love
- Slaying charm of the V8
- Amazing performance
- All-terrain capabilities
We like less
- Unequivocal taxation
- Unreasonable consumption
- Supercar price or almost
Fiche technique Land Rover Defender 110 V8 Carpathian
BUY
- Tested version: 129,600 €
- From €126,000 (Defender 90)
- Average manufacturer consumption / during the test (l / 100 km): 14.7-15.1 / 22.3
- CO2/malus : 332-340/30 000 €
- Fiscal power: 43 hp
- Country of Manufacture: United Kingdom
Proposed range
- Petrol from 400 to 525 hp, from € 66,500 to € 129,600
- Diesel from 200 to 300 hp, from € 57,600 to € 103,800
- Plug-in hybrid 404 hp, from € 75,500 to € 108,400
DRIVE
- Engine: front longitudinal, V8 compressor, direct injection, 32 valves, chain variable distribution, stop & start, 5,000 cm3
- Transmission: all-wheel, 8-speed automatic
- Max power at rpm (hp): 525 to 6,000
- Max torque at rpm (Nm): 625 to 2,500
- Weight (kg): 2 678
- Long.xlarg.xhaut. (m) : 5,02×2,01×1,97
- Wheelbase (m): 3.02
- Tank (l): 90
- Max speed (km / h): 240 (limited)
- 0 to 100 km / h: 5 ”4
- Standard tires: 275/45 R22
- Test tires: Continental CrossContact RX
LIVE
- Front / rear elbow width (cm): 162/159
- Rear leg length (cm): 77
- 5/2 chest (l): 786/1 875
RECOMMENDED OPTION
- 11 ”4 multimedia screen: 141 €
MAIN COMPETITOR
- Mercedes-AMG G 63, from € 167,101
Other V8s on auto-moto.com:
Audi RS6 Avant test: alert in Malibu
Aston Martin Vantage AMR test: the leverage effect
Mercedes-AMG GT R [ESSAI VIDEO] : the gum, the taste (opinion, price, technique)
