News : Land Rover XTech arrives

Land Rover XTech
Land Rover XTech

Land Rover has unveiled a new special edition Defender called the XTech. On sale now and priced from £27,995, the new model stands out thanks to a choice of either Orkney Grey or Nara Bronze paint with contrasting Santorini Black roof, wheel arches and black chequer plates along the bumpers and sills.

Available as a Defender 90 Hard Top or a 110 Utility Wagon, the XTech also gets 16in gloss black Saw Tooth alloy wheels and MTR off-road tyres along with a body coloured grille and black headlight surrounds. Inside there is Ebony part leather upholstery with contrasting Lunar stitching while the central panel matches the body colour with the same paint finish.

The XTech Special Edition comes with a high level of standard equipment, including air conditioning, Electronic Traction Control, central locking with remote control, heated seats and a heated windscreen. Like the rest of the Defender range the new XTech is powered by a 2.2-litre diesel engine with a six-speed manual transmission, developing a maximum of 265lb ft of torque.

[From Honest John]

Land Rover XTech
Land Rover XTech
Keith Adams

16 Comments

  1. Well, there is a lot more to go wrong in this vehicle compared to the standard Deafener- given its famously poor build quality, but despite not generally being a fan of ‘blinged up’ vehicles, I really like this. Those wheels especially really look the business.

    Still, I think that cross-axle locks would have been a better option than ‘traction control’ on an off-roader. Traction control is probably fine if you find yourself temporarily in marginal conditions, such as a muddy field or snow, but any device that relies on braking individual wheels and cutting engine power is going to be a nuisance in serious off-roading conditions. I think this vehicle is more for posing in than really going cross-country so it may not matter that much.

    Presumably ‘Orkney Grey’ is so called because it doesn’t show up the seagull shit so much?

  2. Looks like a good old SV parts bin conversion, and encouraging that LR know what Defender is still really all about. Might be a nod to the military (what’s the average age of UK MOD Defender – 30?) I hope the chequer plate is black anodised and not sure about a part leather interior. Best bit (mentioned elsewhere) might be the LED rear lights – traditional Defender rear lights are, IMO, too small/dim to be reasonably safe?

  3. and its only 10K more than an MG. and you get AWD.and.it will probably last twice as long (unless it gets stolen).Not too bad a looking car, glad theyve ditched that black bonnet they have had some of there other recent releases. alex

  4. This XTech looks good but I don’t think it’s the best ‘recent years’ Defender I’ve seen.

  5. @ Chris Chapman,

    The rear LED lights and the new headlamps are currently available as an optional extra on all Defenders, so are not exclusive to the XTech edition.

    From memory, part leather seats have featured on the range-topping XS variant since about 2002. I seem to recall that the 60th Anniversary SVX edition unveiled in 2008 had sports seats finished in either full leather or half leather with Alcantara centre facings.

  6. @ 10 maestrowoff

    I was wondering the same thing. Most tope end Defenders these days are bought as family vehicles, so it seems strange that they’re not based on the station wagon versions. Still, a bit of extra revenue available to the dealers for adding windows to them.

  7. @ hegravestoneman ; buy an old one and paint it (which is what im doing at the moment – except mine will be Venetian red and it wont have a Black Bonnet). alex

  8. @10, The 110 version would make a decent family wagon as its a ‘crew’ version. Most of these will most likely be sold for to business users anyway so the lack of rear side windows wouldn’t be an issue.

  9. It wouldnt take much to change your seven grand k reg 110 into one of the above,the landrover mags are awash with parts to make your vehicle distinctively your own,stick irish plates or a cherished on it and whom would know the difference?-just swap hexagon bolts that hold the body to rear x-member below tailgate for torx bolts and it would look like a new one!lets face it,no defender leaving the factory has a straight panel on them!

  10. Not too keen on this look to be onest. The black chequer plate on the sills makes it look like a knackered old one that has been chav’d up. I prefer Defenders to have bugger all bling, plenty of battle scars, steels, and a nice, loud V8 under the bonnet

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