British Farmer Tests 2021 Land Rover Defender, Has Only One Gripe With It

The generic British farmer is supposedly the prime target for the Land Rovers Defender, or at least that’s how it’s been with the off-roader’s previous generation. So, after hearing what automotive journalists and YouTube influencers think of the new model, how about listening to the opinion of those it was created for?

Well, to be fair, Harry is a bit of all three combined. He’s one of the people who founded the world-renowned British car magazine “evo” back in 1998, so he’s got the journalist part covered. He runs not one but two YouTube channels (maybe even more that we don’t know about) with a combined 500k subscribers, so he’s a decently sized YouTube figure. Finally, Harry owns a 2,000-acre (810-hectare) farm where he grows things like wheat and rapeseed, so he qualifies as a farmer too.

He also appears to be James May’s long-lost relative, sharing the same tone of voice, inflections, and accent as the more famous Grand Tour co-presenter. So, what that all means is he’s knowledgeable and pleasant to listen to, which is more than anyone could ever ask.

On to the 2021 Land Rover Defender (a pretty highly-specced P400 110, in this case, though not the HSE), you won’t be surprised to hear that Harry quite likes it. He owns a Series One Land Rover and a Range Rover, so, as you’d expect from a British farmer and car enthusiast, he’s no stranger to Land Rover products.

That means he can appreciate a good one when he sees it, and he seems to think the new Defender qualifies as such. Like so many people before him, though, Harry too is baffled by the price tag. Granted, you can have the Defender in a lower trim level and with a simpler, two-liter gasoline turbocharged engine (this one has a straight-six turbo with mild hybrid technology), which would lower the price, but as it stands, the SUV can easily go over the $100,000 milestone.

As Harry puts it, that’s more than a Discovery and damn near close to a Range Rover Sport. And all from what was once the brand’s workhorse. Well, we should get used to the fact it’s now become Land Rover’s workunicorn and just get over it. Harry seems to have. He’s planning on getting one to replace his Range Rover, but he’s waiting for the D300 diesel hybrid.