Few companies can claim such a good reputation as Land Rover
The Defender name in particular has long been associated with keeping on going when the going gets tough, but all of its models are given the technology to go where others can’t.
If you attend one of Land Rover’s off-road driving experience centres, they’ll be sure to make it clear that driving techniques are the most important aspect of off-roading. However, under the metal is decades of technological learnings that make the company’s off-roaders incredibly capable.
Here we take a look at some of the more important features…
All-wheel drive
All-wheel drive can be found on plenty of other cars, but there’s a big difference on a Land Rover. That’s because it’s so cleverly tuned to be able to cope with low-grip situations.
When you’re driving off-road, the car’s computer brain is constantly interpreting the grip levels beneath the car, trying to get the power to the wheels that have the most traction. It’s also allowing just a little slip where necessary to get things moving, helping pull itself out of the trickiest situations.
Terrain Response
One of the most impressive advancements in recent years is the Terrain Response system. This has specially tuned driveline configurations for specific types of off-road surface, with settings for mud and ruts, sand, gravel and more.
You can even leave it in an automatic mode and the car will figure out what type of surface it’s on and apply the most appropriate settings.
High-quality suspension
When you’re driving a sports car, a stiff suspension helps improve grip by keeping the tyres pressed firmly into the smooth road. Similarly, excellent suspension control helps the Land Rover off-road, but here it needs a balance of having long travel for bumpy sections while also keeping the tyres in contact with the terrain.
Land Rover’s system smooths out the drive, so you’re never bouncing off rocks and worrying about rocking side to side. However rough the road gets, the suspension simply soaks up the hits and immediately settles, with this excellent body control helping to maintain grip moving forward.
Dashboard displays
The latest Land Rover range products have lovely interiors that make them perfectly suited to premium family car life, but some of these features, such as the high definition displays, can be repurposed for off-road use.
Some of the more off-road-focused models have cameras all around that car that can be pulled onto the screen to help navigate in tight spots. You can use the touchscreen to bring up cameras in different parts of the car so you can dodge obstacles that you’d otherwise lose sight of.