Land Rover's Supercharged V8 Defender 110 Should Be Ridiculous, But Driving It Opened My Eyes

Within the brand's luxury-focused oeuvre, it's pretty easy to forget the Land Rover used to be one of the most serious names in off-roading, making vehicles for militaries and adventurers around the world. You can still see old Discovery's traipsing around the globe's rougher terrain, and a number of countries still use old Land Rovers as military vehicles. But today, and especially within the United States, you're more likely to see a suburban mom driving a Land Rover than say, someone on a safari, or a member of the Royal Marines.

After a brief stint in the States in the 1990s, the Land Rover Defender returned to remind the Yankees that the British still know how to make an off-road vehicle. The old rugged Land Rovers are icons in automotive history. I've seen them all around, covered in Grateful Dead and expensive private school and Ivy League college stickers, so why not take a look at the world of luxurious off-roading or overlanding?

The vehicle I received was a 2026 Land Rover Defender 110 X-Dynamic SE. That mishmash of cognomens needs to be broken down a bit. The "110" signifies the length: 90 is the shorter two-door Defender, the 130 is the long wheelbase Defender, and the 110 is the "standard" length. The "X-Dynamic SE" is one step up from the base model Defender S, with Defender X topping out the conventional lineup outside of the Defender's numerous special and limited editions.

This Defender was also equipped with an optional 5.0-liter V8 that, through the help of a supercharger, throws out 493 horsepower. That power goes to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. Land Rover lists the towing capacity at a pretty beefy 8,200 pounds. 

For the off-roady bits, you get an electronically controlled rear-differential, adaptive air suspension, a two-speed transfer case, all manner of drive modes, exterior recovery hooks, descent control, and a big-ol' full size spare on the rear hatch. It is, after all, a six-figure luxury vehicle. Fuel economy is almost an afterthought at a combined 16 miles per gallon.

Driving the Defender is a lot like the other Land Rovers I've piloted. It's very quiet, quite comfortable, and even — dare I say it with a big V8 under the hood — serene. The corporate monster that is Jaguar Land Rover has had a rough past couple of decades, but it still knows how to make a compelling and luxurious interior that isn't as avant-garde as the Germans or techno-futurist as the Americans or Japanese. It's just nice.

For its heft, the Defender isn't super nimble. I wouldn't go expecting a competitive time at an autocross course, but the V8 can certainly make it move. The faint whine from the supercharger is also a nice treat. Unlike something like the Ford Bronco, which accelerates like a guitar solo falling off a mountain, the Defender wafts along the road with alacrity. Air suspension and 20-inch wheels are definitely boons to ride comfort. It's like you're driving a luxury rocket.

Back to the interior, it's not a very busy place. It's tastefully restrained. You still have a number of buttons and knobs for your climate control and vehicle settings. Oddly enough, you'd think buttons would be self explanatory, but there is a learning curve when adjusting the climate control and heated/ventilated seats. It's all done through the same pair of knobs with somewhat confusing menus and submenus controlling the various features.

Once you figure it out, it's easy enough to change on the fly, but it might take a few minutes to get a feel for the first few times you drive it. Additionally, the gear selector has some odd ergonomics. It's placed high up, just under the infotainment screen. If you're too eager to change gears, you might accidentally punch the bottom of the screen, like I did a couple of times. Apart from the ergonomic quirks, it's like sitting in a big leather recliner, blissfully unbothered by the world around you.

Finding vehicles to compare the Defender to is a little bit of a tough task, given the huge luxury SUV landscape. Among the Germans, you can't compare the Defender to something rugged like a Mercedes G-Class, as the Merc outclasses the Defender in price by a significant margin. On the inverse side, a BMW X7, although priced within the same ballpark, is far more focused on the road.

In a similar line of thinking, the Defender doesn't quite line up to luxury yachts like the Infiniti QX80 or Lincoln Navigator, as both of those vehicles lean heavily into the plush category. So the best two vehicles I can think of to pit against the Defender are the Lexus GX 550 Overtrail+ and the GMC Yukon, specifically the more off-road ready AT4 Ultimate.

The segment is full of different options, but given the Defender's specific set of options, it narrows down the competition a bit. 

In the power department, the Defender's supercharged V8 wins. Its 493 horsepower beats the Lexus's 349 horsepower twin-turbo V6 and the Yukon's 6.2-liter V8 "only" makes 420 horsepower. Towing-wise, the GX wins with a maximum of 9,096 pounds. But, interior size goes to the Americans with the Yukon, which can seat seven (it's just an optional extra for the Defender). 

For the more nerdy off-road features, both the Lexus GX and the Defender have an electronically locking rear differential, while the GMC Yukon AT4 Ultimate has an electronically controlled limited-slip rear differential, where the computer does the differential thinking for you.

The Lexus also has the ability to automatically disconnect the sway bars to allow the wheels into wackier positions while crawling around the rocks and sand. So, the Defender is faster and more powerful, the Lexus is nerdier for off-roaders, and the GMC is just bigger and brasher than all of them. It also comes with GM's hands-free "Super Cruise." Only the Lexus barely fits under the six-figure mark at a starting price of $83,445. It's the "least expensive" of the bunch.

In the price arena, this Defender was packed to the British-engineered gills. Starting out, a 2026 Land Rover Defender X-Dynamic SE with a V8 will set you back $99,100. The X-Dynamic SE trim comes with 20-inch wheels, a Meridian sound system, 12-way power front seats that are heated and ventilated, as well as Land Rover's off-road terrain response controls. 

Additionally, this Defender had the $1,300 towing pack — which included a receiver and the tow assist technology — along with a $1,000 heads up display. The "Gondwana Stone" exterior color was $950, and the leather seats were $750. The electronic rear view mirror, interior wi-fi hotspot, and air quality sensor are a combined $1,030.

Yes, there are still more options. The Premium Upgrade Interior Pack boosts the seats to 14-way power adjustments, and adds a leather steering wheel and gear shift lever. It's $1,650. The exterior blackout package is $1,310. The Interior Protection Pack (floor mats) is $720, the cabin air purifier is $450, and three-zone climate control will set you back $400. Lastly, the spare wheel cover is a cool $400. Add in the destination charge of $1,850 and you arrive at the final as-tested price of $110,910.

I very much enjoyed the Land Rover Defender. It felt very different than a lot of other giant luxury SUVs in that it didn't seem to shove itself in your face. It's confident in what it is, even if the category of "Supercharged V8-powered British Luxury Off-Roaders" contains very few vehicles. The Lexus GX 550 is less expensive and has more features, so that's likely a better choice if you were to lay it all out in an Excel spreadsheet and obsess over the details.

The GMC Yukon is going to have a baked-in set of buyers who only drive American luxury barges and don't think of anything else. But the Defender offers something conspicuously different than the rest of the crowded segment. It's refined, unquestionably powerful, capable where it matters, yet not overwhelmingly ostentatious like some of its competitors. It's like someone with a degree in physics from MIT who also has a black belt in Taekwondo. Smart and practical, but it can also kick you in the head.