2020 Land Rover Defender: Pricing announced for short-wheelbase, two-door version

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Land Rover has long been known for its off-road, go-anywhere prowess with capable vehicles set to traverse any landscape.

In fact, one of the only real competitors has been Jeep – more specifically the shorter wheelbase, turn-on-a-dime Wrangler.

For 2020, Land Rover takes specific aim at the Wrangler, bringing back the iconic Defender in two body styles with both short- and long-wheelbase options.

While we’ve already seen considerable technical and pricing information for the Defender 110, four-door model, which hits U.S. dealers in the spring of 2020, the big news coming out of the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show is the pricing for the short-wheelbase, two-door Defender 90.

The First Edition trim will be the first Defender 90 available, hitting dealers in the summer of 2020 and priced from $65,100. The full range of Defender 90 models will be available by the fall, with a starting price near $50K.

Defender 90 will only be available with the up-level 3.0-liter, 6-cylinder engine, and at the time of writing this article the trim breakdown hadn’t been announced.

Defender 110 will have six trims and two different engines options. The trim breakdown is as follows:

• Standard ($49,900): P300 badging, equipped with the 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder, 296 horsepower engine
• S ($53,350): P300 badging, equipped with the 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder, 296 horsepower engine
• SE ($62,250): P400 badging, equipped with the 3.0-liter, 6-cylinder, 395 horsepower engine
• HSE ($68,350): P400 badging, equipped with the 3.0-liter, 6-cylinder, 395 horsepower engine
• First Edition ($68,650): P400 badging, equipped with the 3.0-liter, 6-cylinder, 395 horsepower engine
• X ($80,900): P400 badging, equipped with the 3.0-liter, 6-cylinder, 395 horsepower engine

The base engine is a turbocharged, 4-cylinder that will deliver 296 horsepower and have a 0-60 mph time of 7.7 seconds.

The up-level inline 6-cylinder engine is a mild-hybrid with a twin-scroll supercharger and an advanced 48-volt electric supercharger. A belt-integrated starter motor replaces the alternator, and a 48-volt lithium ion battery stores energy captured with deceleration. Combined power output will be 395 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque.

The new Defender will also feature new D7x architecture, configurable terrain response system, twin-speed transfer box and locking center differential, as well as an active rear and locking differential.

On the tech side, Defender will come with the new “PIVI Pro” infotainment system, with a new intuitive interface, 10-inch touch-screen display, over-the-air updates and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

The bottom line:

The introduction of the Defender completes Land Rover’s brand architecture trifecta of refinement (Range Rover), versatility (Discovery) and durability (Defender).

While luxury is always the underlying theme to a Land Rover, we’ll look forward to seeing just how much more rugged and capable the Defender is in real life.