Land Rover Defender: 5 things to know about 'James Bond' SUV launching in India

Land Rover Defender is all set for its official launch in India on Thursday. The menacing, go-anywhere vehicle with a rich lineage to bank upon promises to raise the bar in the premium SUV segment by combining its updated technology with its famed off-road capabilities. Little wonder then that the latest Defender has also been featured in the latest James Bond movie - No Time to Die.

And while there is a vast difference between reel and real life, there is not much to doubt about Defender's claim of being as much at home on regular roads as it is where there are no roads at all.

Here are five things to know about Land Rover Defender that will be launched in the Indian market:

• Land Rover Defender docked in India - at Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust - just last week. The new Defender is being introduced in India for the first time since Land Rover entered the country in 2009. It is being launched here as a completely built unit (CBU).
• Defender will start at ₹69.99 lakh (ex showroom) for the Defender 90 variant and max out at ₹87.10 lakh (ex showroom) for the Defender 110 HSE. There is a three-door version as well as a five-door, long wheelbase version of the SUV to choose from - there are five variants in all. Bookings are already open.

Defender can be had either in a three-door or five-door option.

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Defender can be had either in a three-door or five-door option.

• Defender is based on Land Rover's completely new platform called D7X and the car maker is touting its chassis as being the stiffest ever. The company further states that the SUV has been driven over 1.2 million kilometers with over 45,000 individual tests. "It is the toughest Land Rover ever made."
• Defender will only get a 2.0-litre four cylinder petrol engine which has 292 bhp of power and 400 Nm of peak torque. A 3.0-litre hybrid engine is expected here at a later date but the diesel engine available in other markets is unlikely.

Land Rover Defender strikes a pose at Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust.

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Land Rover Defender strikes a pose at Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust.

• Defender is famed for its capabilities in the wild but also seeks to offer a more connected experience on the inside. As such, while it has a max payload of 900 kilos and a massive wading depth of 900 mm along with a completely updated Terrain Response 2 system and air suspension, it also gets Pivi Pro infotainment system with over-the-air updates, a 12.3-inch all-digital instrument cluster, head-up display (HUD) and can be had with either five, six or seven seat options.