Defender kicks off off-road challenge to showcase rugged credentials

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – Back in the day when carmakers had fat marketing budgets and tobacco sponsorship was kosher, there was the Camel Trophy, a gruelling off-road challenge featuring largely Land Rover Discovery cars and predecessors of the Defender.

The competition took place annually from 1980 to 2000 in places such as Africa, South America, Mongolia and Siberia. It tested driving skill, physical stamina, teamwork and mental agility. It ended when tobacco sponsorship was banned.

Now that Defender has emerged as a standalone brand in the Jaguar Land Rover group, it has come up with a new challenge. The Defender Trophy kicked off in 2025, with preliminary rounds in regions such as Europe, North America, China, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Winners will go on to the finale scheduled for October in Southern Africa.

I was invited to sample part of the challenge at the 2026 Asia Pacific Defender Media Experience in Kaohsiung on March 19 and 20. I never knew I could have so much fun driving at crawling speeds over unpaved surfaces.

The first day took place at a multi-station course in Yingda Mulu, a camping site about an hour’s bus ride from Kaohsiung. I drove a Defender Trophy Edition over an obstacle course replicating various off-road scenarios. They included rocks; a narrow forest trail; an embankment, which tilted the car 26 degrees to one side; and two deep troughs – one filled with squishy mud and the other water.

At each station, I had to touch hanging green balls with the car’s wing mirror, and avoid the red ones. With an instructor by my side, I managed the course reasonably well.

The next station was crossing a bridge fashioned from four tree trunks. With the help of a teammate, I had first to secure one end of the logs with rope. Even though the Defender is equipped with off-road cameras, which guide you over tricky paths, we took turns being a spotter to a teammate. I am glad to report no car fell into the ravine on my watch.

The station which required the most teamwork involved moving a three-segment wooden pyramid.

Using pulleys attached to two Defenders, we had to hoist and reposition each segment before reassembling the pyramid. I coordinated the movements of the two cars, while two other teammates tussled with guide ropes to manoeuvre the segments.

After a lot of shouting and sweating, we completed the task, although not perfectly.

Another station involved entering a small octagon via a narrow path and turning the car 180 degrees around to exit. Again, one spotter and one driver. I was a better spotter than driver. Another challenge was to drive a car attached with a 5m horizontal pole on a twisty course only 6m wide. I failed that one partly because I was going too fast and because the car sometimes failed to engage the intended gear – a trait not uncommon in the Defender.

The last station was driving to and negotiating various L-shaped obstacles within four minutes while not going over 30kmh. I passed this despite a one-minute penalty for exceeding the speed limit and touching a pole.

The next morning, we set off for an off-road drive in the Sandimen Mountain Forest, negotiating a narrow twisty trail which put the Defender’s credentials to the test. I drove a 3-litre inline-6 turbodiesel D350 110 with 345hp and 700Nm of torque.

As expected, the car’s immense torque made short work of the steep slopes. But I was amazed by how the 5m-long and 2m-wide vehicle with a 3m wheelbase managed to pass most hairpin turns at one go.

Although we were progressing slowly in a convoy, there were still opportunities to see the 2.5-tonne beast springing to a gallop when you opened the throttle to close occasional gaps. Its air suspension made what might have been a tooth-shattering ride bearable.

After the mountain road, the Defender stretched its legs on well-paved B-roads and highways. It was along these stretches that you appreciated its finer qualities. The car was effortless at the wheel, with its prodigious power augmented by a sturdy steering and overall tractability.

Making a car which performs equally well on rough terrain and fast-flowing roads requires clever calibration. While I have not driven its predecessor, I am satisfied by how the current car handled itself across a sufficiently varied range of conditions at the abridged version of the Defender Trophy.

Before this, I had my doubts since driving variants of the new Defender, which was launched in 2020. After all, it appeared rather bloated and overweight compared with its forebears.

The 2026 model year Defender comes with small cosmetic tweaks (mainly to its lights), a larger 13.1-inch infotainment touchscreen with 3D-surround camera, Meridian hi-fi, 20-inch gloss black wheels and front seats with 14-way adjustments as well as heating and cooling.

The Trophy Edition comes with extras such as side-mounted gear carrier, wheel arch protection, roof ladder, roof rack, mud flaps and raised air intake.

Five participants represented Singapore in the Asia-Pacific qualification round which ended on March 22. Two finalists have emerged – Singaporean Ron Ng, 35, a global training manager at GoPro, and New Zealander Charles Murray, 30, a competitive mountain bike rider. In October, they will meet in Southern Africa, together with an expected field of 33 other finalists.

Interested in taking part in the next Defender Trophy? The good news is that you do not have to be a Defender owner. Participation in the Asia-Pacific round, however, is only by invitation.  

Overheard at the event