The Defender Trophy showed us it's easy to be adventurous, even if you've never been for field camp

Motorist was invited to spend a week with the new Defender in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, to see what both car and driver were made of. Here’s what we found out. 

The name, Defender, stirs up many images and emotions in one’s mind. Adventure. Toughness. Derring-do. It is not, however, usually associated with beansprout-y, PES C, wilderness-adverse individuals like myself. 

Nevertheless, it was indeed this less-than-outdoorsy writer who answered Defender’s call, dug his army boots out of storage, and jumped on a plane for Kaohsiung, Taiwan, to take part in the Defender Trophy Experience. 

The Defender Trophy is a revival of the famous Camel Trophy off-roading competition from the 80s and 90s. The event brings competitors from around the world to face off in a multi-day challenge of both brain and brawn, while, of course, featuring the Defender as a core component. 24 contestants were chosen out of over 10,000 applicants, all vying for just two tickets to represent the Asia-Pacific region at the Defender Trophy World Final in Africa later this year. 

This year’s competition has the new Defender 110 Trophy Edition as its centrepiece. Just two colour options are available, Deep Sandglow Yellow and Keswick Green, both of which are exclusive to the Trophy Edition. 

Though many will never look like this, caked in mud is how all Defenders should look.

The special-edition SUV is also adventure-ready, coming pre-fitted with expedition-ready extras like a scuff plate, roof rack, classic look mudflaps, all-terrain tyres plus full-size spare, and of course, Trophy Edition badges and decals throughout the car’s interior and exterior. 

While the real competitors had a whole slew of physical and mental challenges to test their teamwork, coordination, and precision, we members of the media were shown to the kiddie pool for a more curated (read: less muddy) experience, just for us to get a taste of what the real contestants would be going through. 

There were other challenges, like this navigation one, that tested the contestant's brainpower rather than muscular firepower or vehicular horsepower.

There were a variety of tasks we had to complete, and I had varying levels of success in doing so. For example, there was a station where we were told to drive the rather large Defender 110 into a not-so-large space, do a 10,000-point-turn, and drive it out. While this was meant to test precision and communication with your teammate, all it really tested was my patience. Result: Fail. 

Another station involved a very quick brief on how to tie knots, followed by being shown two logs that needed to be tied together to form a bridge. The kicker is that the bridge had to be solid enough to hold all 2.6 tonnes of the Defender that we would have to drive across it. No pressure then, especially since I’ve never even stepped close to field camp, and the only knots I tie are my shoelaces. 

See that rope on the left? I tied that, and nobody fell into the creek either.

Thankfully, under the watchful gaze of the instructors (who re-tightened all my knots), the careful directions given by my teammates, and the helpful external view cameras the Defender comes with as standard, I crossed the DIY bridge without incident. Result: Pass!

The Defender, regardless of whether it's a conventional 110 or a 110 Trophy Edition, has up to 90cm of wading depth.

However, where the Defender really shone was in a tough off-road course with rocks, steep inclines, and proper gooey mud. Despite running on conventional street tyres, the Defender took to the trail like a duck to water, soaking up all the obstacles with ease. I was most impressed by the mud pool, where the car’s low-range gearbox and locking differential worked together to get it out of the sludge without breaking a sweat. 

We were also given the chance to see how this luxury SUV fared on a real-life mountain trail, instead of the controlled environment of the campgrounds. Here, the Defender came into its own, with its air suspension providing not just enough ground clearance to clear the rough track, but also a ride comfortable enough for my passengers to fall asleep despite the trail moving the car around like a tumble dryer. 

The Defender scrubs up real nice, perfect for interspersing days out in the jungle with nights out on the town.

New on the MY26 Defender is Adaptive Off-Road Cruise Control, which does exactly what it says on the tin. Turn it on, and the car handles the throttle and braking for you with surprising finesse, leaving the driver to focus on steering, or in my case, free up some brainpower to do a bit of thinking. 

I’ve never been the biggest fan of the outdoors. Sure, I love good views and fresh air as much as the next person, but you’d probably never catch me organising a hike or a camping trip. I like my creature comforts a little too much, which is why I’ve always been drawn to exploring the great outdoors by car, not foot, so I have a nice cushy interior to run back to. 

And in the realm of cars capable of outdoor adventure, there are few as capable as the Defender, and fewer still with an interior as cushy as the Defender’s, what with its heated and ventilated leather seats, Meridian sound system, and 13.1-inch infotainment display. 

While I, personally, will not be scaling Kilimanjaro anytime soon, the Defender’s magic is that it’s able to invoke the spirit of adventure as much in me as someone who actually might. I may have only been splashing around in the kiddie pool, but having the Defender as my companion still made me feel like I was Michael Phelps. 

So no, I didn’t return from Kaohsiung a hardened off-road warrior, nor did I suddenly develop a love for tying knots or crawling through mud. But the Defender showed a brilliant ability to lower the barrier to adventure, taking something that might feel intimidating, even inaccessible, and making it not just doable, but genuinely enjoyable, even for someone like me.

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