AutoRank

LAND ROVER DEFENDER - Model Report

Reliability, mileage, fuel mix, safety, and defect profile from AutoRank.

Reporting Period: Last 5 years Report Date: Generated today Filters: All years, fuels and engines autorank.co.uk/models/land-rover/defender

Time Period & Model

Time period snapshot: Last 5 years

Manufacturer: Land Rover

Model: Defender

Model reliability rank

MOT-based rank from 691,563 selected-period tests.

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Overall MOT pass rate

74.6%

Share of this model's 691,563 selected-period MOT tests that pass.

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Efficiency, emissions & tax

Average MPG

28.7 mpg

CO2 emission

264 g/km

Euro emissions

Euro 5

Tax cost

£360/yr

Average vehicle miles

113,029

Solid average mileage for this model.

Life expectancy miles

113,198

Moderate mature-fleet mileage expectation.

Average vehicle age

22.2

Older average age in the represented fleet.

Vehicles represented

94,646

94,642 valid MOT, 4 under 3 years.

Tests analysed

691,563

691,563 MOT tests in the selected period.

Rarity ranking

Based on Make & Model

Uncommon

94,646On the road

Insight summary

Land Rover Defender is an uncommon model in this snapshot, with 94,646 represented vehicles and 0.23% of the active UK pool tracked by AutoRank. For the last 5 years, it has a pass rate of 74.6% from 691,563 MOT tests, with a reliability score of 55. The current pool shows an average of 113,029 miles and an average age of 22.2 years, while mature-fleet mileage is estimated at 113,198 miles. Diesel leads the fuel split, followed by petrol, and the most frequent defect themes are windscreen damage, braking components and lighting. The practical read is that the Land Rover Defender looks like a solid used-car baseline rather than a rare find, with age, mileage and common wear items doing most of the explaining.

Fuel type breakdown (by model)

Fuel	Vehicles
DIESEL	92,616
PETROL	1,879
LPG	71
ELECTRIC	43
HYBRID ELECTRIC (CLEAN)	20
ELECTRIC DIESEL	7
GAS BI-FUEL	7
CNG	1
GAS	1
STEAM	1

Euro NCAP Safety

NCAP rating

5 / 5

Adult

85%

Children

85%

Pedestrian

71%

Safety systems

79%

Top 25 most common defects (by model)

Defect	Count
Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (3.2 (a) (i))	14,062
Service brake efficiency below requirements (1.2.2 (a) (i))	8,129
Nearside Front Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))	8,126
Nearside Front Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt (2.1.3 (g) (i))	8,067
Offside Front Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))	7,726
Rear fog lamp not working (4.5.1 (a) (ii))	7,544
Registration plate lamp inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps (4.7.1 (b) (ii))	7,262
Steering box leaking oil (2.1.1 (e) (i))	6,368
Offside Front Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt (2.1.3 (g) (i))	5,954
Horn not working (7.7 (a))	5,669
Windscreen washer provides insufficient washer liquid (3.5 (a))	5,492
Windscreen washer not working (3.5 (a))	4,905
Nearside Rear Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))	4,758
Nearside Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively (3.4 (b) (ii))	4,633
Nearside Rear Lower Shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush (5.3.2 (c))	4,565
Offside Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively (3.4 (b) (ii))	4,420
Offside Headlamp aim too high (4.1.2 (a))	4,389
Nearside Headlamp aim too high (4.1.2 (a))	4,326
Offside Rear Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))	4,179
Nearside Stop lamp(s) not working (4.3.1 (a) (ii))	4,165
Offside Stop lamp(s) not working (4.3.1 (a) (ii))	4,108
Stop lamp(s) all not working (4.3.1 (a) (iii))	4,049
Nearside Headlamp aim too low (4.1.2 (a))	3,967
Nearside Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt (2.1.3 (g) (i))	3,936
Offside Rear Lower Shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush (5.3.2 (c))	3,878

All 25 defects ranked by recorded countShowing 144,677 defects across this top 25 set

Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (3.2 (a) (i))

14,062

Service brake efficiency below requirements (1.2.2 (a) (i))

8,129

Nearside Front Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))

8,126

Nearside Front Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt (2.1.3 (g) (i))

8,067

Offside Front Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))

7,726

Rear fog lamp not working (4.5.1 (a) (ii))

7,544

Registration plate lamp inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps (4.7.1 (b) (ii))

7,262

Steering box leaking oil (2.1.1 (e) (i))

6,368

Offside Front Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt (2.1.3 (g) (i))

5,954

Horn not working (7.7 (a))

5,669

Windscreen washer provides insufficient washer liquid (3.5 (a))

5,492

Windscreen washer not working (3.5 (a))

4,905

Nearside Rear Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))

4,758

Nearside Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively (3.4 (b) (ii))

4,633

Nearside Rear Lower Shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush (5.3.2 (c))

4,565

Offside Windscreen wiper does not clear the windscreen effectively (3.4 (b) (ii))

4,420

Offside Headlamp aim too high (4.1.2 (a))

4,389

Nearside Headlamp aim too high (4.1.2 (a))

4,326

Offside Rear Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii))

4,179

Nearside Stop lamp(s) not working (4.3.1 (a) (ii))

4,165

Offside Stop lamp(s) not working (4.3.1 (a) (ii))

4,108

Stop lamp(s) all not working (4.3.1 (a) (iii))

4,049

Nearside Headlamp aim too low (4.1.2 (a))

3,967

Nearside Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt (2.1.3 (g) (i))

3,936

Offside Rear Lower Shock absorbers has an excessively worn bush (5.3.2 (c))

3,878

Land Rover Defender reliability and MOT data