The Mercedes G-Wagen is a must-have fashion accessory. The Land Rover Defender is dead. Did the British firm jump too soon? After all, with everything from six-wheeled offshoots to monster AMG-tuned models, there seems to be no end to what you can do to a G-Class. Land Rover never really indulged here. Could it have milked the Defender in the same profitable way?
Over to Thirsk-based Twisted, an aftermarket tuner that reckons it has created just the thing to go head-to-head with a G-Wagen: the Twisted Defender 110 T40. Resplendent in posh Aintree Green, we’ll be driving that off-road later. First, Twisted boss Charlie Fawcett shows us the firm’s Defender 90 T40S, so we can see just how far you can go with a Twisted.
This was once a £30,000 Defender XS. It’s now a £90,000 Defender style icon, with five pages of modifications and umpteen hours’ engineering. It takes a full 30 hours to install all the soundproofing. Custom Bilstein dampers and Eibach springs have been painstakingly tuned. Even the rattly 2.2-litre diesel engine has been updated to make it more exploitable.
They can’t transform the Defender into something approaching modernity – the G-Class does that better – but they do make it much more tolerable in daily driving, so you can appreciate its character, rather than simply be annoyed by it.
And so to the mud, and to the 110, a car that’s in its element. This is old-school off-roading, that requires you to put the work in, but the Defender still takes it all in its stride. Certainly, it feels tougher and less precious than the glitzy Merc we’ve bought along as its challenger.
That’s a car of two sides. On one hand, you have a modern 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel and fancy 7G-Trionic gearbox, plus leather, sat nav, rear entertainment screens and all sorts of other luxuries. But on the other, you get in using a weighty door latch that clicks just like something from the 1970s, exposing period vinyl door cards and pure functionality.
On the road, it feels more tank-like than any modern car, and a damn sight more narrow than we’re used to. Thin windscreen pillars mean you can easily see out, while light steering and a helpful auto are sophisticated, and the wonderful V6 engine’s creamy pull makes light work of a 2.6-tonne kerbweight. Only the shudders and thuds over some bumps really betray its dated roots.
It’s a bit compromised at speed, with vague steering and an unwillingness to pile into bends. But it’s still capable, and is outstanding off-road with its hilariously over-specced four-wheel drive running gear. There are diff lock buttons all over the dash, a low range gearbox, enough ability to easily cope with anything you might dare drive over. In the wilderness, it too is a delight.
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With this pairing, we’ve proven a point. Twisted is facing crazy demand for its hyper-priced Defenders, showing that Land Rover may well have missed a trick in not doing with the Defender what Mercedes has done with the G-Wagen. Sure, it’s a crude beast alongside the Merc, but it’s loveable with it, and you can’t help but think that, with a bit of development, the Landie could now be enjoying the same celebrity adulation Mercedes is now savouring with the G. Ah, what could have been…
MERCEDES-BENZ G350D
Engine: 2,987cc V6 diesel
Transmission: 7-speed auto, low-range transfer case, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 245@3,600rpm
Torque (lb ft): 442@1,600-2,400rpm
0-62mph: 8.9 seconds
Top speed: 119mph
Weight: 2,612kg
MPG: 28.5 (NEDC combined)
CO2: 261g/km
Price: £88,800 (£102,233 as tested)
TWISTED DEFENDER 110 T40
Engine: 2,198cc 4-cyl turbodiesel
Transmission: 6-speed manual with low-range transfer case, 4WD
Power (hp): 122@3,500rpm (170hp with P4 performance upgrade; Twisted figure)
Torque (lb ft): 265@2,000rpm (standard)
0-62mph: 15.8sec
Top speed: 90mph
Weight: c. 1,902kg (with fluids and driver)
MPG: N/A
CO2: 266g/km (110 295g/km)
Price: £63,474 as tested (inc. VAT)
(All stats for standard car before modification unless otherwise stated)
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