Defender takes Car of the Year award in Top Gear’s annual competition
The latest James Bond escape-car, the Land Rover Defender has just collected another international accolade when Top Gear named it their Car of the Year. At the same time, the Defender collected the title ‘Unstoppable Force’ at the TopGear.com awards.
The competition judges labelled the Defender as the toughest vehicle on the road today, calling it a brilliant successor to its predecessor, the pedigreed Land Rover of the previous century.
Part of the judging took place in the Namib where the Defender impressed the judges as the toughest, most capable true off-road vehicle.
Top Gear editor, Jack Rix stated, “Car of the Year is an accolade won by only the very best of the best. We recognise that replacing an icon is an unenviable task, and Land Rover rightly took their time to get this one right.”
“We’ve now driven one across the Namib desert – and in properly harsh environments, like the M25 – in both 110 and 90 forms, with every engine under the bonnet and it just performs brilliantly everywhere. There’s an argument that because it costs a bit more it won’t be used properly by the farming and rural community, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be… It’s the toughest, most capable off-roader we’ve ever tested, but one that’s a refined, well-equipped family car around town.”
Nick Rogers, Executive Director, Product Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover said: “It’s an absolute honour for us to receive Top Gear’s Car of the Year award for our New Defender. Right from the start of creating this vehicle, we were obsessed about respecting its heritage and keeping its true authenticity, as well as ensuring it is completely fitting for today’s ever-evolving world. We have worked tirelessly to deliver a vehicle that has incredible off-road capability, as well as on-road poise and driveability. Additionally, we have ensured that the New Defender is completely connected, with our new Electrical Vehicle Architecture (EVA2), Pivi Pro infotainment system and Software Over the Air (SOTA) updates to continually enhance the Defender operating system.”
