Safari Drive Takes Delivery of the New Land Rover Defender TDci

The best 4x4s in the world just got better with new engines and gearboxes!

We are currently taking delivery of the refined new 6 speed Land Rover Defender TDci in Namibia. We have driven the new vehicle at the factory and were very impressed with it.

According to Land Rover :-

"The new 2.4 litre common-rail diesel engine gives New 2007 Defender greater drivability and refinement. Engine peak power output is 122PS with more than 90% of the power available over 60% of the rev range making the power more accessible and giving the engine a more responsive feel."

In fact, not only is this new engine designed to be fully compliant with EU4 emissions legislation, a unique engine tune has been developed to allow it to tolerate the variable quality, high-sulphur fuels to be found in Africa. It´s also up to 30 percent quieter than the outgoing diesel engine.

Externally there is little change to the iconic body shape apart from the new bonnet bullge.

Improved Driving Experience

The driving experience is enhanced by Defender´s all-new six-speed transmission.

Specially developed for heavy-duty applications, it is lighter, stronger and also provides smoother on-road performance, slicker gear changes and improved fuel consumption.

Improved gearshift positioning offers greater comfort and ease-of-use whilst a lower first gear reduces crawl speed and combines with the increased engine Torque.

New engine and gear box

The heart of the new Land Rover Defender TDci is the Ford power plant and 6 speed gearbox. Importantly this has improved performance where it was needed. The gearbox seems a very robust and well tested unit.

New Interior

The interior has had a  much needed facelift with seats that are now well contoured. Importantly we found the second row seats much improved.

The only negative we could find was the loss of the bulkhead air vents but this a small price to pay for a new dash design.

Our Opinion

Overall, we think that the new model is a worthy improvement over the outgoing version.

We particularly liked the improved performance especially with low range at tick over, where the vehicle was unstoppable.

We will be trailling the vehicle over the next few months to see the feedback that it receives when driving it in the bush!