It has been a long time coming but the all new Land Rover Defender has finally come among us. After the endless action teaser shots of it in camo doing Land Rover-y things in the wilderness of Africa (and Germany), the all new Defender is now ready to take the mantle where the previous beloved workhorse left off.

However, this being one of the beloved British motoring icons, whereby any changes that have not been approved by the National Trust is deemed treasonous, the early opinions on the new Defender have been polarising to say the least. The establishment of automotive journos love it, meanwhile the keyboard warrior enthusiasts are (to put it kindly) still withholding from praise.

So, here I am putting my own two cents into the ring of debate. To make it easier for the Internet to violently disagree with my opinion I have decided to give my opinion on the 4 most contentious categories of debate regarding this most British of motoring icons (even Land Rover is owned by an Indian conglomerate and the Defender is built in Slovakia).

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to be a review of the defender, there are hundreds of videos and articles already reviewing it, this is just what I think of the new Defender.

Editor’s note: This article carries only the views of the author and that of the author alone and not of Drive Every Day. And as the author is a teen typing this out in his bedroom having not driven it, sat in it or even seen it in the metal, he is as qualified (or even less qualified) as any other person reading this article. The only defence the author has is that the author has read quite a few articles and watched quite a few videos regarding this vehicle so the author is relatively informed regarding this topic of discussion. Also the author is entitled to his own opinion and so is the person reading these words entitled to their own opinion. It’s a free world after all.

1. Exterior Styling

The new Defender doesn’t look too bad. There I said it, don’t hurt me Internet. Please.

On a more serious note, automotive journos are saying that the new Defender is a good looking vehicle. With some more philosophical presenters saying that the styling of the Defender is paying homage to the original design while not being constrained by it. The enthusiast consensus however, is that the Defender looks like a Honda Element. Which while there is nothing wrong with looking like a Honda Element. This being a Land Rover Defender, the old British workhorse, being likened to a quirky Japanese hatch isn’t ideal.