It's been a little less than four years since my first review of the Land Rover Defender. That was the Defender 110, the four-door model, and I've driven the 110 a couple of other times (in 2022 and 2023) as well as the 518-horsepower Defender V8 and, about a year ago, the Defender 130, a four-door with a stretched cargo area.
So this is Defender number six for me---but the first time I've driven the Defender 90.
The Defender 90 is the two-door version---and it competes directly with the two-door Ford Bronco and the two-door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon X.
Good luck finding the latter on a dealer lot. As of this writing, Cars.com shows exactly two in the U.S., one in Florida and one in Arizona. That's not because they're flying off the showroom floor...it's because Wrangler buyers go for the four-door roughly 90% of the time, so Jeep builds far fewer two-doors.
As Land Rover's 90-110-130 strategy for the Defender suggests, there's more than one right size for off-roading, but there are absolutely places where a smaller, tidier package shines---and that's where the Defender 90 comes in.
This is also the first time for me driving a Defender with the four-cylinder P300 engine. It's two liters, turbocharged, with 296 horsepower. Zero to 60 happens in about seven seconds and the EPA fuel economy estimate is a combined 19 mpg (18 city/20 highway). I had to look to see what engine was under the hood. The acceleration feels strong and the sounds that make their way into the cabin are very much like those from the six-cylinder Defender.
Oddly, the more powerful P400 six-cylinder does the same mileage in the city and one mile per gallon better on the highway, despite having 99 more horsepower and shaving more than a second off the 0-60 times. To get the six in a Defender 90, though, you have to get the Defender 90 X-Dynamic SE. Our tester was a Defender 90 S, and it's only available with the four-cylinder.
The Defender 90 does its space-saving over the 110 in a couple of areas---there's a little less legroom for the people in the back seat, and considerably less cargo space. Behind that rear seat, it's only 15.6 cubic feet (in a Defender 110, it's 34). If you're not carrying more than one other person, the second row does fold flat, allowing up to 58.3 cubic feet of cargo.
The base price of a 2024 Land Rover Defender 90 S is $56,400. For 2025, it's $56,900. Add $1,625 destination to either of those. Standard equipment at that price includes a solid suite of active safety features, 19-inch wheels, premium LED headlights with auto high beam assist, an opening panoramic roof, rain-sensing front wipers, a rear wiper, power-folding heated door mirrors (auto-dimming on the driver's side) with approach lights, heated, semi-powered grained leather front seats with lumbar, 40/20/40 split folding rear seats, a heated, power-adjustable leather steering wheel, durable rubber cabin and loadspace flooring and carpet mats, dual-zone climate control, auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror, keyless entry, pushbutton start, navigation, a 10-inch screen, a 400-watt Meridian sound system with wireless Apple Car Play, Android Auto and a three-month trial of SiriusXM satellite radio.
Our test vehicle also had extra-cost options:
Cold Climate Pack (heated windscreen, heated washer jets, headlight power wash): $500
Off-Road Pack (electronic active differential, off-road tires, domestic plug sockets): $1,550
Air Suspension Pack (electronic air suspension, adaptive dynamicsd, automatic headlight leveling): $1,600
Black Exterior Pack: $650
20-inch five-spoke Satin Grey wheels: $1,800
Tasman Blue exterior paint: $950
Tow hitch receiver: $700
ClearSight interior rear view mirror: $570
Heated rear seats: $500
Ebony Morzine headlining: $400
Three-zone climate control: $400
Air quality sensor: $100
20-inch full-size spare wheel: $100
Emergency Pack: $75
Black fixed side steps: $1,700
Premium Interior Protection and Storage Pack: $660
Cabin Air Purification Plus: $375
Handover Pack: $28
All told, the bottom line on the window sticker read $70,683 ($71,183 for a similarly-equipped 2025 model).
The Defender 90 is every good thing I've loved about the Defender, just smaller.
Given the as-tested price and the negligible fuel economy differences, I'd suggest a step up to the Defender 90 X-Dynamic SE, which starts at $68,500 for the extra power and standard features (most of which were on our vehicle's extra-cost options list).
