Defender seeks lower ground
Discovery, Range Rover, and Defender: once simply model names of Land Rover, now they have all been transformed into a sub-brand. Discovery and Range Rover already include multiple models, but Defender currently only has one. That is set to change, as Defender seeks lower ground.
Highlights ‘Defender Sport’
Some enthusiasts are still sulking in a corner that the current Land Rover Defender is not a ‘real’ Defender, but at Land Rover – or pardon, Defender – they know better. There, they only see that this civilized off-road vehicle is finding eager sales and is popular with an extremely broad target group. Whether it’s pulling a heavy trailer, plowing through muddy terrain, or being seen at a gala, a Defender can do it all.
That unwavering, rugged appearance naturally plays a role in that popularity, so it’s not surprising that JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) wants to milk that even further. In addition to numerous engine variants and three different lengths for the regular Defender, a smaller model is therefore in the pipeline. That will perhaps be called Defender Sport and, with a length of around 4.5 meters, fits well between the Discovery Sport and the Range Rover Evoque.
Spare wheel
The Discovery Sport is now quite old and because we have not yet seen a successor driving around, it may well be that the Defender Sport will also replace that car. With the mentioned length, the ‘baby-Defender’ roughly falls into the segment where you also find cars such as the BMW X1 and the Mercedes GLA and GLB, although the Land Rover product naturally looks a lot tougher than those very refined SUVs. A straight rear, square nose and large wheel arch wideners guarantee that. The sketched copy does not have a spare wheel on the back, because the test cars we have seen driving around did not have that either. However, the empty tailgate, low-placed rear lights and similar license plate do leave room for this, so perhaps even that typical Defender element will find its way to this ‘little one’.
Electric first
We did mention the X1, GLA and GLB as competitors, but perhaps it is better to speak of the iX1, EQA and EQB. The Defender Sport will at least be available as an EV, but may even always be electric. That was originally the plan when the British announced that future compact models would be built on the electric EMA platform. Since then, the global view on purely electric cars has changed and a purely electric future for the Defender Sport seems too big a gamble.
We are therefore betting our money on an ‘electric first’ approach, as we also see with, among others, Stellantis and Mercedes. Electric drive has priority, but (plug-in) hybrid drive will also be possible. The new platform is of course not only developed for this entry-level Defender, but will in time also find its way to the successor of the Range Rover Evoque. Perhaps there will even be an alternative to the Discovery on this basis, although that seems to be the least viable of the three sub-brands.
If Land Rover nevertheless decides to abandon this, the Defender Sport is also immediately the replacement for the Discovery Sport. Even if that car is replaced, that will probably be the case unintentionally. After all, people want Defenders, perhaps in every part of the market where a Defender can be devised.