For when a G63 just isn’t enough.
The Mercedes-AMG G63 is the world’s favorite status car. If you want to show people you have money, you drive a fast G-Wagen. The big-boxed Benzes are so common in places like Beverly Hills, SoHo, or Miami Beach that they start to get boring.
Let’s say you want something with presence. Something with the right sounds, the right looks, and the speed to back it up. But you also want to stand out in the sea of G-Wagens. Well, Land Rover has an answer to Germany’s flashy box on wheels: the Defender V8.
The Defender V8 is, as you’ve probably guessed, a Defender with a V-8. Revealed in 2021, it’s the most expensive Defender you can buy. Priced from $104,400 in two-door 90 form, it’s a full $19,000 more than the priciest inline-six-powered Defender. It’s powered by Jaguar-Land Rover’s familiar supercharged 5.0-liter, tuned here to 518 hp and 461 lb-ft of torque—only a bit less than the Jaguar F-Type R. Like every other Defender, the motor gets power to all four wheels via ZF’s venerable eight-speed automatic transmission with wheel-mounted paddles. It’s connected to a two-speed transfer case with ultra-low gearing for especially tough trails.
From a distance you’d never be able to tell this Defender is packing unless you’re extremely well versed in Land Rover trim levels. Small “V8” badges on the doors, quad exhausts, and a set of subtle five-spoke 22-inch wheels that shroud big Brembo brakes are seemingly the only external cues that separate this Defender from its less capable siblings.
When this truck first premiered it was severely polarizing, but now that it’s been out for a couple of years we’ve come around to the design. The boxy approach and retro face look great, especially in shorter-wheelbase 90 form. It’s a design that gets right to the point. There’s enough presence here to go toe-to-toe with any G-Wagen (short of the ridiculous 4×4², anyway).
Like the outside, the interior of the Defender V8 is vastly unchanged, much to the truck’s detriment. This cabin is acceptable at $52,000, but at twice that, it falls short. While the exposed Torx screws and many clever storage areas are utilitarian cool, the materials are sub-par for a vehicle that costs six figures. The doors and center console are rough to the touch, while the seats aren’t anything to write home about. Some people might like the Alcantara-covered steering wheel, but it will become a matted, grimy mess after tens of thousands of miles unless it’s properly cared for and cleaned. And while the 90 bodystyle might look great, you lose the back seat’s ease of use. You have to wait for slow electric motors to move the seats forward to gain access each time you need to get someone back there. It gets frustrating quickly, especially because you have to hold the button to move the seats. A Mercedes interior, this is not.
The cabin’s not all bad, though. The upright seating position and near-vertical windshield are reminiscent of the original Defender’s driving position, an enjoyable novelty. The pistol-grip shifter works well and the optional 11.4-inch infotainment touchscreen is easy to use and quick to respond to inputs, unlike many past Land Rover products,. Wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless charging means no fumbling with cables, either. And while the back seats are tough to get to, you’re treated to plenty of legroom and a wonderful view out the safari windows once you’re there.
Driving into SoHo to flex on all of the G-Wagen owners means having to deal with a lot of broken pavement, potholes, speed bumps, and cobblestones. The Defender 90 V8’s relatively short 101.9-inch wheelbase could mean a lot of hopping and bucking, but thanks to a smartly tuned air suspension and a set of thick Continental all-season tires measuring 275/45 R22, the ride isn’t all that bad. It smooths out bumps at city and highway speeds without any of the floatiness or jittering you might expect from a lesser air system. Three selectable heights means the Defender V8 can be lowered to fit into even the tightest NYC garages, and raised to clear the massive boulders very few owners will ever encounter.
If you do plan to do a lot of off-road adventuring in your Defender V8, you’ll be pleased to know the supercharged SUV has the same 38-degree approach angle, 40-degree departure angle, and 31-degree breakover angle as the rest of the Defender range. Fording depth is also matched at 35.4 inches thanks to an unchanged ride height. So despite the higher spring rates, retuned dampers, and stiffer anti-roll bar, the V8 model should be able to go wherever the normal Defender can.
Dirt courses are tough to find in New York City, so the roads surrounding the New York tri-state area would have to make do. Through corners this truck behaves sort of like a sports car on stilts. Throw the Defender V8 into one of its sportier modes and the suspension firms up, allowing for little travel and a surprisingly responsive front end. The steering isn’t exactly brimming with feel, but it’s quick, making the tires easy to place. Be careful about matting the throttle though, because the front end will lighten up as all the weight gets sent rearwards. The truck won’t do a wheelie, but it sure feels like it wants to.
There’s also the unique torque-vectoring electronic differential, which, depending on the mode you’re in, can distribute power in such a way to increase rotation and, if you’re brave enough, get the Defender V8 sliding out of corners. Like any good drift mode it can sense when you’ve gone too far out of line, using traction control and individual braking inputs to keep you from slapping a tree sideways. The yaw control system certainly helps the truck’s agility, but because there wasn’t a closed course to stretch its legs, a true drift mode test will have to wait for another day.
ZF’s eight-speed works well here, tuned for quick shifts when you want them and relaxed, unbothered changes when you’re just cruising around. The wheel-mounted paddles are quick to react whether you’re going up or down the gears, but the gearbox worked well left in automatic mode. The brakes measure 14.9 inches up front and 14.3 inches in the rear, responding well to softer and harder stops alike, with little effort needed to bring the near 6000-pound SUV to a halt.
The star of the show is, of course, that engine. There are seemingly dozens of cars powered by the JLR 5.0-liter supercharged V-8, each somehow more exciting than the last. Power is immediate and plentiful, with a surge of torque throughout the rev range that carries all the way to a blissful chrescendo at 6800 rpm. That explosive power is there whenever you need it, just flick the throttle and it arrives. And when you’re not on it, the motor is happy to idle around the nearest luxury shopping center quietly at 1200 rpm. The sound is typical V-8 wonderful, though if you’re the type that loves to listen to the supercharger force air into the engine, get ready to be disappointed. Even with the windows down that whine is barely audible.
Land Rover’s 0-60 claim of 4.9 seconds to 60 mph is believable—it might even be quicker than that. The company also claims a top speed of 149 mph, not bad for the car’s blocky, aerodynamically unfriendly stature. You’ll have no trouble beating almost anything else on the road from a stoplight, or overtaking on the highway.
That effortless grunt comes at a price. A 16.4 mpg over 200 mixed city and highway driving, according to the Defender’s onboard calculator isn’t great, though it is on par with the EPA’s combined ratings. But if you’re spending six figures on a Defender with eight cylinders just to show off—let’s face it, there’s no practical reason for the Defender V8 to exist—it’s likely you don’t really care about gas prices. In fact, the only thing buyers will probably care about is whether their vehicle is cooler than all of the others around them. And the Defender V8 fulfills that role excellently.
Keyword: The 2022 Land Rover Defender V8 Is the Ultimate Flexmobile