Land Rover Defender: The passenger review

Vehicle reviews are almost always written from behind the steering wheel. That’s where the action happens, and where performance is measured.

But what about the passenger? That is the very simple idea behind our new series, in which I settle back to experience the comforts of a car, usually as co-driver to GadgetWheels editor Sheryl Goldstuck. But who knows where, or with whom, this journey will take us?

My first passenger review is, very fittingly, the Land Rover Defender 90 X-Dynamic SE.

I don’t use the word “fittingly” lightly. This beast is a heavyweight contender in the off-road category, but what an experience it is on the roads of Johannesburg. I’m not talking about the traditional challenge of Joburg roads. Do I even need to mention the potholes? I’m talking about all the stupid out there: the cars that don’t know where they’re going, the cars that do know where they’re going and will get there at any cost, including your safety, and the people who, as Sheryl always puts it, are “lucky packet drivers”.

The Defender 90 overcomes all of these random and not-so-random challenges with its solidity, comfort, technology and absolute assurance on the road.

As a passenger, I start off feeling comfortable, relaxed and looked after. The latter is largely because of the electric seats that allow me to adjust my posture to the nth degree. It goes further than merely adjusting up, down, backwards, forwards, tilt and so forth.

In the infotainment settings there is a seat option that allows me to choose the heating or cooling of my seat. Here I find a delightful graphic that gives me a full sense of what I’m heating or cooling. I can select the seat base or the backrest independently, with three levels of heating and three levels of cooling. Once again, I can set the seat exactly to match my preferred comfort level.

As significant as the seat and its controls are, they are only the beginning of the experience.

People always talk about the cockpit, namely the driver’s seat and its environment. What would you call the passenger equivalent? We’ll call it the “co-pit”.

In most cars, the co-pit is where someone sits and screams while the driver does their own thing. In the Defender 90, the co-pit is where you almost forget the troubles of the world.

You feel secure and safe. You feel surrounded by solid structures, including a central console that is wider than in most vehicles. To give you an idea, it will take two coffee mugs side by side rather than behind each other. It also includes a mini fridge for your cooldrinks, sparkling water, sandwiches, biltong or smoothie, depedning on how long the ride is going to be.

The console does more than enhance your sense of security. It enhances your sense of enjoyment. Coffee now, a cold drink later. What more could you ask from a vehicle?

To the left of the passenger seat is a substantial door with a lot happening. There is a lower compartment large enough for books, drinks and various travel essentials. The handle mechanism incorporates sturdy grab handles for getting in and out of the vehicle, which is useful, because the Defender sits high off the road.

The layout is slightly complicated at first. The automatic window switch is in one part of the mechanism and the door lock in another, alongside the door handle. There is a small learning curve when you’re first a passenger in the vehicle, but you quickly get over that.

The cubbyhole is surprisingly small for a vehicle of this size. However, there are so many alternative storage spaces that it hardly matters. One of the most useful sits above the cubbyhole: a small storage shelf with a USB-C port.

That’s where the passenger gets to charge a phone. From the driver’s side, you would probably never notice this space. Yet for the passenger it means no longer having to arm-wrestle, figuratively speaking, for room in the central console. It’s the first time I’ve seen this arrangement in a vehicle.

The central console also houses what may be the single most important passenger feature: a physical volume button.

How innovative. How cool. How rare.

Seriously, it is unusual these days to have a proper volume knob that also acts as an on/off switch. The driver has volume controls on the steering wheel, while the passenger has direct control on the console. The system seems geared towards the passenger rather than the driver.

The console also includes seat heating and cooling controls, climate controls and front and rear demisters. Physical controls remain one of the Defender’s strengths. There is a clarity to everything, including a prominent Park button that inspires confidence rather than forcing you to hunt for it among menus and touchscreens.

Above the physical controls sits the infotainment system, and this is one of the best-designed systems I’ve encountered in a vehicle.

It uses Jaguar Land Rover’s Pivi system, but it is set apart by the expansiveness of the display when using Google Maps through Android Auto. A large map dominates the screen, while smaller windows display climate information and Spotify controls. Any of these can be expanded or minimised with a tap.

The design is simple, comfortable on the eye and easy to use for both driver and passenger.

The Spotify interface is particularly effective. When the driver is concentrating on the road, the passenger can take charge of the soundtrack. The interface provides access to playlists, libraries and various playback controls. There is even a Jam function for mixing things up.

The Android Auto implementation deserves special mention. In many vehicles, Android Auto feels squeezed into the available space. Here it feels spacious and highly usable.

On the sides of the display are quick-access controls and information panels. The passenger can activate the front camera or the 360-degree camera view and switch between on-road, off-road and towing displays. There are shortcuts to navigation, phone settings and system functions.

A particularly useful feature is the home screen, which provides access to a deep range of vehicle settings. These include connectivity, software updates, languages, display options and numerous vehicle functions.

One feature I found especially interesting is the Driving Style monitor, which provides a driving score. In my case, my driver achieved 97%. That certainly enhanced my sense of safety.

The vehicle settings extend into areas like driver assistance systems, safety and security features, exterior lighting and convenience functions. For passengers, the display, audio and connectivity options are likely to be of greater interest, but the sheer depth of customisation contributes to the overall impression of a vehicle that has been thoroughly thought through.

And that may be the key takeaway from experiencing the Defender 90 from the passenger seat.

Many people spend far more time riding in vehicles than driving them. Yet passengers are largely ignored in reviews.

The Defender 90 X-Dynamic SE delivers an experience that is safe, secure, comfortable and confidence-inspiring. It turns the passenger seat into a destination in its own right.

If you’re going to be a passenger, and you can choose the vehicle in which you’re going to be that passenger, this is the vehicle in which to be a safe, secure, comfortable and confident passenger.

* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx, editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za, and author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI – The African Edge”.