Land Rover Defender 110 Plug-In Hybrid Review

Don't scoff.

The idea that you'll find a charging point while driving off-road in the wilderness is absurd, sure. But there's plenty of reasons why you'd still want to opt for this plug-in hybrid variant of the Land Rover Defender.

The Defender plug-in hybrid comes with a 19.4kWh battery that can be charged at up to 40kW via a direct current charger

Go anywhere, do anything

And the first made itself abundantly clear within the first minutes of my ascension into this car's lofty driver's seat. The past days have seen our sunny island hit by a series of especially warm days, and this Defender, finished in Santorini Black and with its voluminous cabin, is far from the best thing to keep cool in.

But sure enough, the familiar chill of frigid air on skin prompts me to interrupt Land Rover's representative from his barely started introduction of the car to make a quick twist of the roundels on this Defender's dashboard. And all this has happened, mind, before the car's engine has even started. Finding it hard to keep cool in this weather? This Defender has the heat all easily shrugged off.

And the large body of this Defender 110 hides yet more abilities still.

With a total of 296bhp and an impressive 625Nm of torque available at the whim of your right foot, this Defender is no slouch on the move either. It doesn't feel urgent, as is fitting for a vehicle where precise control over rough terrain might be demanded, but rather accelerates with a sheer and quiet confidence when pushed, making light work of its substantial 2,538kg weight.

Updates to the cabin of the Land Rover Defender since we last drove it include the addition of an inductive smartphone charger and a new steering wheel button for easy access to the settings of the car's driver assistance features

Excellent with or without roads

But it's not all rosy.

Equipped with a 19.2kWh battery, Land Rover states that this Defender will see to up to 38km of driving on electric power alone. I can't help but feel like this figure is overly optimistic, although I will have to add here that my weekend with the car only gave me the opportunity to completely drain its battery once, following which I never bothered to charge it back up again.

Once this battery is drained (you can opt to squirrel away the remaining charge if you wish by switching between the available EV modes), performance is noticeably hit: That 2.0-litre engine under the bonnet starts to emit a noticeable drone, and you can expect to achieve a fuel economy of close to 8.0km/L.

You'll be able to easily manage the car's available charge via the 'EV' button on the centre console and the car displays the available charge within its battery clearly though its 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster

That figure is not anything impressive for a hybrid - but perhaps excusable given this Defender's weight, and the fact that it must deal with all the efficiency penalties that come with an all-wheel drive system. For some comparison, the 2,810kg Range Rover Plug-In Hybrid (equipped with a 3.0-litre engine) posted a fuel economy of 6.8km/L when we drove it back in May 2023 with its battery drained.

And one additional point of note for those planning on taking on some trails: This plug-in hybrid comes close enough to the regular Defender 110 when equipped with the 3.0-litre engine when it comes to ground clearance as well as approach, break over, and departure angles so that you should see no practical differences between the two when tackling the rough stuff.

A lovely place to be in

The side steps and grab handles make ascending and descending the Defender easy even for those with weak knees

And this Defender proves to still be an excellent place to simply sit in.

I cannot imagine you'd be found wanting for more space regardless of which of the five seats offered here you decide to take, and the inclusion of grab handles for the rear passengers and actual side steps on which you can rest your weight make ingress and egress always easy despite the Defender's tall seating position.

And what a commanding seat it is.

You sit perched tall in this Defender, a boon that, paired with this car's boxy shape, makes placing the car on the road easy even despite its generous proportions. Land Rover's 11.4-inch Pivi Pro infotainment system also proves easy to navigate, but comes additionally supported by a host of physical buttons from which you can easily change said air-conditioning settings, ride height, and select your off-road programme for the all-wheel drive system, so setting up the car exactly as you like never feels like a hassle.

The addition of hybrid power does not detract from the sheer cabin space and off-road ability of the Defender

At a great price

So, is this now the Defender to get?

At this point in time, there's two things that you'll need to consider. Firstly, an updated Defender has already made its global debut. Land Rover cannot as yet provide an estimated date for the arrival of this model in Singapore, but the car will come equipped with revised lights, bumpers, and a new infotainment system. These are significant upgrades, for sure, but consider also the fact that they don't really add to the car's sheer road presence, cabin space, and off-road ability - the main selling points of the Defender to begin with.

Then also think about the fact that this plug-in hybrid variant can now be had from $336,888, not too significant a top up compared to the former entry point into the Defender 110 range (equipped solely with a 2.0-litre engine in the 'SE' trim) which was available from $299,888 back in December 2024 (all prices as of 6 May 2025, excluding COE).

If this price, and the idea that you'll be able to stay cool without having an engine running when you're out and taking a break from your adventures seem like an appealing combination to you, there's little reason not to opt for this plug-in hybrid off-roader.

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