Land Rover Defender range ALREADY getting an update, including a Defender P400e plug-in Hybrid

The new Land Rover Defender range is updated with the arrival of the plug-in hybrid Defender, new six-cylinder diesel engines and more.

It’s almost exactly a year to the day since the new Land Rover Defender arrived to lay claim to the crown passed on by the iconic original. And a lot’s happened since.

Covid has changed the world forever in that year, and car makers, in particular Jaguar Land Rover, have had a very hard time. But that hasn’t stopped Land Rover delivering a raft of updates for the new Defender, including a plug-in hybrid Defender.

The Land Rover Defender P400e comes with the same plug-in hybrid powertrain as the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, which means a 296bhp 2.0 litre four-pot petrol mated to a 139bhp electric motor, 19.2kWh battery, 50kW charging, three tonne towing, 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds, official economy of 85.3mpg and a 27-mile EV range. But take the official economy and EV range with a big pinch of salt.

Available only as a Defender 110, the PHEV Defender can also only be had as a 5/6 seater as the hybrid gubbins takes up space in the boot meaning not enough room for the third row of seats.

There are also new six-cylinder mild-hybrid diesels replacing the four-pot Ingenium engines currently on offer, with the D200 with 197bhp and D250 with 245bhp, with both getting official economy of 32.3mph, and there’s a new D300 to headline the diesel offerings with 296bhp and 479lb/ft of torque, all with new intelligent driveline system which improves both traction and efficiency

Also on offer is a new X-Dynamic trim – which oddly sits below the Defender X – which adds Silicon Satin skid plates, grille bars, seats finished in Robustek (a protective fibre), new alloys and more, with other updates including new colours, new driver assistance and new technology packs.

Finally, the Land Rover Defender 90 goes on sale following the Covid delay with much the same choices as the 100 (but no PHEV model) at a couple of grand less than the 110, as does the Land Rover Defender Hard Top Commercial in 90 and 110 guises, with prices from £5,820 (plus VAT).