Used Land Rover Defender (Mk2, 2019-date) buyer’s guide: a worthy successor to the iconic original

Verdict

When you consider how much it costs to buy a Land Rover Defender, new or used, it’s unsurprising that few owners will explore their car’s off-road capabilities. That’s a shame, because Land Rover has created a sequel to the original Defender that is more than that car’s equal off road, but so far ahead of it on road that it seems incredible they share the same name. Our verdict after running a P400e on our fleet was: “It’s massively capable, hugely comfortable, a fantastic piece of design and a joy to live with. It’s the sort of car you can do anything with, in any place, and it’ll leave you smiling.” Which rather says it all.

Few cars deserve to be called an icon, but Land Rover’s original Defender can justifiably lay claim to the tag. There aren’t many cars as instantly recognisable the world over, with the exterior design having barely changed from the car’s introduction in 1948 until its demise in 2016. 

When time was finally called on the original Defender, it created a massive problem for Land Rover: how far upmarket should it take the new Defender, bearing in mind the no-frills appeal of the original? What the firm made was a posh car that was very different from its ancestors, but which moved the game on for the brand and the sector. And huge sales success means there are plenty on the used market.

History

The Defender went on sale in September 2019, in 110 (five-door) form only. There were four-cylinder 296bhp P300 and six-cylinder 395bhp P400 petrol engines; the latter featured mild-hybrid tech to cut fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Diesel fans could choose between a pair of four-cylinder units, the D200 and D240. 

The three-door Defender 90 went on sale in February 2020, with the same engine choices as the 110. From September 2020 the 110 became available as a P400e plug-in hybrid, and from here on all diesel models had the 3.0-litre six-cylinder Ingenium engine, which came in 197bhp D200, 245bhp D250 and 295bhp D300 forms. The 518bhp supercharged V8 P525 arrived in February 2021, then in May 2022 the eight-seat Defender 130 joined the range, in P400 and D300 guises.

Which one should I buy?

Most Defenders are diesels and they make the most sense, although the plug-in hybrid can also work if you don’t do many long motorway journeys. Petrol-engined models are lovely, but their running costs are much higher than for the diesels. 

The entry-level Defender has a heated windscreen, LED headlights, 18-inch steel wheels, heated front seats with eight-way part-electric adjustment, dual-zone climate control, a 10-inch touchscreen and a 3D surround camera. S trim brings 19-inch alloys and 12-way seat adjustment, while the SE has 20-inch wheels, full electric seat adjustment, a Meridian sound system and extra driver-assistance systems. 

The HSE comes with a panoramic roof (the 90 has a folding fabric roof), matrix LED headlights, leather trim, a heated steering wheel and adaptive cruise control.

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Alternatives to the Land Rover Defender

There are loads of SUVs, but none can match the Defender’s broad range of off-road abilities and on-road prowess. If you won’t ever be tackling tough terrain, there are plenty of road-biased SUVs such as the Audi Q5 and Q7, along with the BMW X3 and X5, and Mercedes GLC and GLE, depending on how much space you need. 

Other SUVs worth shortlisting include the Volvo XC60 and XC90, Porsche’s Macan and Cayenne, plus the NX and RX from Lexus. If you intend to use your car to go off-roading, the Toyota Land Cruiser and Ineos Grenadier are the key rivals, but neither can offer the cabin ambience or on-road refinement of the Land Rover – although the more luxurious Range Rover Evoque and Range Rover Sport can give the Defender a good run for its money on the road as well as off it.

What to look for

Noise

Early Defenders could suffer from an array of squeaks and rattles, including from around the A-pillars and dashboard.

Going spare

All Defenders came with a full-sized spare wheel, with the same diameter as the rest of the wheels fitted to the car.

Electrical bugs

Electrical and electronic faults are common, especially with the infotainment, so ensure that all software is up to date.

In trim

From September 2020, an X-Dynamic option was added, bringing blacked-out exterior trim and wheels, plus two-tone Robustec interior trim.

Common faults

Land Rover generally, and the Mk2 Defender in particular, have a poor reputation for dependability, for many reasons. Early examples could be especially problematic, and although quality has improved enormously, it’s still worth ensuring that any Defender you own has some sort of warranty on it.

Interior

Land Rover’s designers have done a great job of mixing retro and cutting-edge cues to come up with a stylish and high-quality cabin. The result is that there’s a blend of digital switchgear and chunky knobs or dials. And when you add in lots of premium materials and a very high standard of build quality (some early cars excepted), the Defender’s cabin is a really great place to spend time. 

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Space varies greatly from model to model, but unusually, the Defender could be specified with five six or eight seats, or as a 5+2. The 90’s boot is small, but the 110’s can stow up to 2,233 litres and the 130 can manage up to 2,516 litres.

Prices

There are plenty of Defenders for sale, although the 130 is much rarer than the 90 and 110. X-Dynamic editions are by far the most popular across the Defender range as a whole.

To check prices on a specific model head over to our valuation tool.

Running costs

Apart from the V8 models, which need to be serviced every 12 months or 16,000 miles, all Defenders need to be maintained every two years or 21,000 miles. Service costs vary according to dealer and derivative; put a registration into the Land Rover website and pick a dealer to get a better idea. As a guide, Droitwich Land Rover charges £365-£1,620 to service a diesel-engined Defender, while a petrol edition will cost £400-£1,500. V8 maintenance is quite a lot more expensive, at £488-£1,984, plus the car needs servicing twice as often. 

None of the engines has a cambelt and while the coolant does have to be replaced every 10 years or 105,000 miles, this is included in the standard maintenance charges. If it does need to be done separately, you’ll pay £315 to have the work done.

Recalls

Land Rover has recalled the Defender 10 times so far, the first three in 2021 because of faulty exhaust pipe fixings (April), sub-standard seat mountings (August, on the 90 only), and missing occupant sensors in the front seats (October). There was one campaign in August 2022, because of damaged front seatbelt pretensioners, but in 2023 there were five recalls. 

The first two came in May, because of water pump pulley failures, and oil leaks in six-cylinder petrol engines. The next three were because of faulty latches for the third row of seats in Defender 130s (June), front- suspension failures (August), and software glitches in plug-in hybrids leading to the engine not starting. The most recent recall came in March 2024, because of the possibility of fuel leaks in six-cylinder diesel engines.

Driver Power owner satisfaction

The Defender has never appeared in our Driver Power New Car surveys, although that’s more to do with low levels of response than it not being competitive. The only Land Rover product in the 2024 survey is the Range Rover Evoque in 39th place out of 50; last year the same car came 73rd out of 75, while the Discovery Sport managed 49th place. Neither is a stellar result for such a premium brand.