Land Rover Defender annexes TopGear.com Car of the Year plum

MANILA: Land Rover takes pride in the Defender’s Car of the Year recognition from the TopGear.com Awards 2020.

The Land Rover Defender stood out among all vehicles that were released this year with its remarkable resilience. This tough sports utility vehicle had undergone more than 60,000 procedures of the Land Rover’s Extreme Event Test to ensure a superior and high-quality performance.

“It’s an absolute honor for us to receive Top Gear‘s Car of the Year award for our New Defender. Right from the start of creating this vehicle with a blank sheet of paper, 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 drivability. 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,” Jaguar Land Rover Product Engineering Executive Director Nick Rogers said. “We are especially proud of this recognition from Top Gear, which is a testament to the dedication of our JLR Family who have created a vehicle that we believe is truly worthy of the Defender name.”

Top Gear Magazine Editor Jack Rix extended his congratulations to the British car company. According to him, “Car of the Year is an accolade won by only the very best of the best. We recognize that replacing an icon is an unenviable task, and one Land Rover rightly took its time to get right. We’ve now driven one across the Namibian 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.”

Aside from the top title, the SUV also bagged the Unstoppable Force award. To attest the Defender’s unbeatable power, Top Gear and Land Rover had set up a test in Warwickshire, England wherein three Defender 110 units were hung from a crane.

Top Gear Presenter Tom Ford explained, “We wanted to prove that Land Rover’s new Defender really does live up to the hype and had to test it in typical Top Gear fashion. What better way to let me loose with a 150 [metric ton], three Defenders, and a rope?”

The Land Rover Defender has continuously proven its excellence with the numerous awards that it had received within this year. Apart from the commendation by Top Gear, it was also recognized as Motortrend’s 2021 SUV of the year, Autocar’s Best SUV 2020, and Parker’s Best Off-roader.

PHOTO GALLERY