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09/02/2009
By EWAN KENNEDY
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Recaro sports seats in a utilitarian Land Rover Defender – the mind boggles. Yet these comfortable seats are a sensible part of the special edition Land Rover SVX 4WD introduced last year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of an iconic British 4WD. A vehicle in which we have just spent a most enjoyable week.
Note the use of the term ‘4WD’, because Defender is most certainly not an ‘SUV’. This is the real thing, with a strong body mounted on a serious chassis and, of course, a two-speed-plus-neutral transfer case.
 This vehicle is intended first of all to be an off-road performer. On-road comfort is added to the equation when it doesn’t get in the way of proceeding through the harshest of off-road areas, whether it be the Australian desert, the African bush, or freezing Arctic conditions.
Part of the special Defender SVX package are machined alloy gear knobs, one for the regular six-speed manual gearbox, the other operating the two-speed transfer case.
Other mod cons in the Defender SVX are iPod and USB connections for an audio system that includes a sub-woofer; satellite navigation and alloy wheels, which makes a lot of sense when you’re out of commercial radio range in the middle of nowhere.
All this is clothed in a Defender body finished in black metallic paint. Not a particularly sensible choice as metallic finishes can be difficult to restore if the paint becomes scratched. Could it be that (gasp!) this Land Rover isn’t intended to go off the road?
Similarly, while the tubular side steps look great, they can reduce ground clearance in really harsh conditions. However, there's a good-looking, reinforced front undertray in lightweight aluminium.
The SVX carries ‘60 Year’ decals – which are done in black, against a black background, onto the black paint. The blacks are done in various textures but in some lights they can be rather hard to see. Then again, the Defender has never been a look-at-me vehicle.
There's a revision to the style of the grille surround and the headlights have clear covers to give them a modern look. Tail-lights use LEDs to make them brighter, as well as providing faster lightup.
The dashboard of the Defender benefitted from a major upgrade in 2007, being virtually transplanted from the Land Rover Discovery. It’s now not only easier to use, but also provides more interior room in the knee and foot areas.
But interior volume isn’t a good feature of the old Defender. Anyone over about six-feet tall (whatever that is in the new-fangled French measuring system) is likely to be short on space in the driver’s and front passenger’s seat. And the driver’s seat is somewhat cramped against the front door, but Land Rover enthusiasts seem to like the seat – and sit with a great deal of political incorrectness with their elbow out of the window.
Defender is quieter and more comfortable than ever before. Not that that says a lot, but enthusiasts of great old British machine will be delighted with the way it rides and feels these days. As a tall vehicle it’s susceptible to cross winds and is still somewhat vague in the steering at the straight-ahead position, so is not all that relaxing to drive.
The big turning circle was a pain at times when negotiating rough bush tracks – or tight carparks.
 Power in the latest generation Defenders comes from a four-cylinder turbo-diesel displacing 2.4 litres and producing 315 Newton metres from 1500 rpm to 2700 rpm. That spread of peak torque means the engine is at its best revs virtually all of the time. The engine is reasonably happy to rev and is considerably smoother and quieter than past Defender units.
Individually numbered build plaques are installed on the lower face of the centre console of this special edition. Our test car was AU 03. This form of numbering can often lead to higher resale value.
The special edition Land Rover Defender 110 SVX is priced at a pretty reasonable $63,320 plus on-road costs. Only 80 have been imported to Australia and many have already been sold. So don’t hang around if you are keen on buying a historic version of a vehicle that’s has its own special place in the global automotive story.
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