As Jaguar and Land Rover set their sights on an all-electric future there’s still business to take care of here in the present. Hi, I’m Steve Hammes from Drive Time coming to you from JLR North American headquarters here in Mahwah, New Jersey. And today I’m getting some seat time in the refreshed Jaguar XF sedan, F-PACE SUV and the all-new Land Rover Defender 90. Under new leadership, Jaguar Land …
It was a year ago this month that I had my first go-around with the new Land Rover Defender; an exceptional SUV deserving of its countless accolades. But that one was the bigger Defender 110 with 4 doors. This week I’m driving the 2-door Defender 90; a model whose appeal is a bit perplexing.
When the Defender’s 67 year production run ended in 2016, it had already been nearly 2 decades since one could be found in a U.S. Land Rover dealership. The 1997 Defender 90 with its 4.0-liter V8, 4-speed auto and 13mpg was a British-born Jeep rival. But since, Land Rover’s SUV lineup has trended more towards afternoon tea and less to morning fox hunts. The Defender’s much anticipated return is about …