2021 Land Rover Defender 90 review, first drive

We get behind the wheel of the 2021 Land Rover Defender 90, the three-door version of the iconic SUV reinterpreted for the 21st century, to find out what the shorter wheelbase brings to the table and what it takes away from it.

Earlier this year we drove the new generation Land Rover Defender 110 and were thoroughly impressed by its neo-retro design, its ability to emulate the utilitarian feel of the Defenders of yore without compromising on the level of luxury one would expect from an expensive SUV and its performance both on and off the road.

At the 2021 World Car Awards, Land Rover took home the World Car Design of the Year award for the Defender, and it also drove home with the 2021 Premium Car of the Year Award by ICOTY. For 2021, Land Rover India has added the Defender 90 variant to the lineup, which is essentially the shorter wheelbase version of the SUV with fewer doors and fewer seats, but there’s much more to it than meets the eye.