2024 Land Rover Defender vs 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

The 2024 Land Rover Defender presented a unique blend of classic and contemporary design elements. Its boxy silhouette was reminiscent of traditional off-road vehicles, yet it incorporated modern touches like angular headlights that aligned it with the current Land Rover aesthetic. Inside, the Defender diverged from its siblings, offering a rugged and adventure-ready cabin that felt more akin to a Jeep Wrangler or Ford Bronco, albeit with superior soft-touch materials. The Defender was available in three body styles—90, 110, and 130—each offering various trims such as S, X-Dynamic SE, X, V8, and Outbound. Our test drive of the Defender 110 S, the most popular configuration, revealed a vehicle equipped with features like 19-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats, and a panoramic glass roof, all contributing to a comfortable and versatile driving experience.

In contrast, the 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport emphasized a sportier aesthetic within the Range Rover lineup. Its shorter wheelbase and chopped top gave it a more athletic stance compared to the traditional Range Rover, although from certain angles, it appeared somewhat tall and narrow. The SV Edition Two, the highest-performance model, featured 23-inch carbon-fibre wheels and a carbon-fibre hood, enhancing its sporty appeal. Inside, the Range Rover Sport maintained a minimalist design with a focus on luxury, offering red leather upholstery and sport seats with illuminated inserts. Despite its sporty mission, the interior felt somewhat cramped due to high console and dash panels, though material quality remained high.

The 2024 Land Rover Defender offered a range of powertrains, starting with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine in the P300, delivering 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Our P400 test model featured a mild-hybrid turbocharged 3.0-litre inline-six, producing 395 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque. For those seeking more power, two supercharged 5.0-litre V8 options were available: the P500 with 493 hp and 450 lb-ft, and the P525 with 518 hp and 461 lb-ft. All engines were paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and full-time active four-wheel drive. The Defender excelled in off-road capabilities, particularly with the Defender X trim, which included an adaptive air suspension system and Terrain Response 2 system. The most powerful V8 could accelerate from zero to 96 km/h in 5.1 seconds, while the P400 model provided ample power for highway driving.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport offered multiple powertrain options, all with an eight-speed automatic transmission and standard four-wheel drive. The base Dynamic SE model featured a 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six engine with 395 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque. A plug-in hybrid variant increased output to 454 hp and 487 lb-ft. The Autobiography trim offered a more powerful plug-in hybrid with 543 hp and 590 lb-ft, while a BMW-sourced twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8, producing 523 hp and 553 lb-ft, was available for both Dynamic SE and Autobiography models. The SV Edition Two pushed the V8's output to 626 hp, making it the most powerful Range Rover model. It could accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, with a top speed of 290 km/h. The Range Rover Sport excelled in handling, thanks to its sport-tuned air suspension, four-wheel steering, and brake-based torque vectoring, providing a luxurious ride and impressive agility.

The 2024 Land Rover Defender struck a balance between luxury and functionality, featuring soft-touch materials alongside practical elements like grip handles and rubberized floors. Seating capacity varied from five to eight passengers, depending on the configuration. The Defender 110 offered an optional third row, while the Defender 130 provided three seats in the third row, though space was limited. Cargo capacity varied by model, with the Defender 130 offering up to 2,155 litres with all rear seats folded. The Defender 110 provided 962 litres behind the second row in the two-row version, while the two-door Defender 90 offered 441 litres behind the second row.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport, positioned between the Range Rover Velar and full-size Range Rover, offered a two-row, five-seater configuration. Front-seat occupants enjoyed similar headroom to other midsize luxury SUVs, while rear-seat headroom was only slightly less than competitors. The Sport provided 835 litres of cargo space behind the second row and 1,860 litres with the rear seats folded. Although it lacked a split tailgate, power operation and an "access height" setting for the air suspension facilitated loading and unloading. The Sport's towing capacity matched the Defender's at 3,500 kilograms for turbo-six and V8 models, with plug-in hybrids rated at 3,000 kilograms.

The 2024 Land Rover Defender featured a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel and an 11.4-inch touchscreen, which, while smaller than some competitors, complemented the Defender's utilitarian persona. The system included navigation, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth, satellite radio, HD radio, and a 10-speaker Meridian stereo system. The straightforward setup provided a blend of refinement and utility, with home buttons for easy navigation.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport shared its screen setup with the larger Range Rover, featuring a 13.7-inch digital instrument cluster and a 13.1-inch touchscreen. Standard features included wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa integration. While the screens looked impressive, the minimalist design left few options beyond the touchscreen, requiring widgets for climate control and drive mode selection. Steering wheel controls offered limited alternatives, but the Pivi Pro infotainment system was responsive, with natural-language voice recognition. The SV Edition Two test car included "Body and Soul Seats" with embedded transducers, providing a unique, albeit somewhat gimmicky, experience.

The 2024 Land Rover Defender came equipped with a comprehensive suite of standard driver assistance features, including forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. Additional safety tech included traffic sign recognition, automatic high beams, rain-sensing windshield wipers, and a 360-degree parking camera system. However, the lane-departure and lane-keeping assist systems were overly sensitive, potentially causing interference during normal driving. As of the time of writing, the Defender had not been crash-tested by the IIHS or NHTSA.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport also offered a robust array of standard driver-assist features, including automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, traffic sign recognition, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and a driver attention monitor. The standard 360-degree camera system and digital rearview mirror aided parking, though the parking sensors were overly sensitive. Like the Defender, the Range Rover Sport had not yet been rated by the IIHS or NHTSA.