What’s the best 4×4 off-roader?

The same thing can be said for cars.

Box-shaped four-wheel drives – with proper off-road ability and legendary lineage – have never been more popular. Just as workboots and denim overalls find their way onto catwalks amongst the avant-garde of fashion design, utility-focussed four-wheel drives are highly desirable for their practical aesthetic and classic, timeless shape.

Here, we have two examples that are quite similar but also exceedingly different.

In one corner, perhaps the most time-honoured example of old-school four-wheel drive. The heritage of the Suzuki Jimny dates back to 1970, and first arrived in Australia in 1971. The recipe is impressively unchanged: short wheelbase, small overhangs, light weight and revvy petrol engine. There are still live axles with a steel ladder chassis and coil springs between.

It’s motoring at its uncomplicated best, especially in this low-priced Jimny Lite variant. Prices have bumped upwards recently, but the Jimny Lite can still be seen as something of a bargain, especially in this company.

Costing over 600 per cent more – before options and on-road costs – the Defender 90 V8 goes for luxury, power and technology in spades. It’s still a short wheelbase, but the Defender 90 is massive in comparison to the Jimny.

The Defender name carries its own heritage punch, the name back to 1990, but the vehicle it’s based on reached back to 1948. However, this new-generation model shares only a name with its simple, rudimentary, rough and rustic forebears. Underneath that new sheetmetal is a modern unibody chassis paired to independent, height-adjustable air suspension all round.

Technology is such an important factor in the modern-day car. New models are bristling with all manner of features and connectivity in an effort to overpower the competition. Maps, smartphone mirroring, apps, updates over the air, cameras… You name it.

And any new car that came out with a specs list that looked like a 1992 throwback would be akin to sales suicide. Any car, that is, except for the 2023 Suzuki Jimny Lite.

Similar to the savings you’ll get going for a light beer over heavy, the Suzuki Jimny Lite carries a small but significant saving in dollars. Whereas a ‘normal’ Suzuki Jimny carries a retail price of $28,490 with the five-speed manual gearbox, this new Lite variant goes for $26,990 before on-road costs.

The Jimny Lite is missing an infotainment display, instead carrying a basic radio head unit with Bluetooth connectivity. Cheaper steel wheels replace the alloys, but they suit the Jimny wonderfully. Manual air-conditioning replaces climate control, halogen projector headlights replace the LEDs, and the side mirrors have a more basic plastic finish. Quite a bit of gear removed, then, for your $1500 savings.

However, this Jimny still manages to come with full-strength satisfaction.

Why? Because the base Jimny still manages to shine through so impressively. We often talk about how the most basic variant of any car is the most challenging to get right, and I reckon the variant Lite shows the unique appeal of the Jimny’s new/old bones.

It’s still slow, still relatively unsafe, and cramped inside. And in this specification, it’s extremely basic. I’m half-surprised Suzuki didn’t go all-out with manual-winding windows.

However, the charm and appeal of the Jimny are still absolutely undeniable.

Coming in at a hefty $215,480 before on-road costs – nearly 2.5 times the price of a base P300 model – the Defender 90 V8 is not for the faint of heart (or wallet). But although it’s extremely expensive, buyers have been keen to throw down wads of cash to procure one.

The definition of a ‘hot rod’ is something quite fluid. It’s all about modifying vehicles to drive fast, with crazy engine swaps and other performance modifications. Fitting big engines into small vehicles, in other words.

And when you look at it that way, Land Rover has built its own factory hot rod: squeezing a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 – an engine soon destined for retirement – into its high-riding, short-wheelbase Defender 90 is quite mad. And it’s also wonderful.

It’s even more challenging simply because the broader Defender range has a great selection of powertrains to choose from. Six-cylinder petrol and diesel powertrains are all joyous, and even the base 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot motor has loads of performance and charm.

However, nothing is as charming as a classic blown V8, which has seen service in a variety of Land Rover and Jaguar vehicles for many years. The so-called Jaguar AJ-8 dates back to the late ’90s in lower capacities, but the big daddy 5.0-litre variant arrived in 2009 with a new block design and various other upgrades, along with a TVS supercharger and seeing use in a variety of high-end performance vehicles.

It’s not the first time a V8 has found its way into the engine bay of a Land Rover Defender, although we do need to cast our minds back to before they were called a ‘Defender’. In those simpler times, it was called a One-ten, and had the venerable old Buick-designed 3.5-litre petrol V8.

I spent much of my formative years bouncing around to that thong-slapping soundtrack (which you can get a glimpse of here) thanks to the 93kW V8, which drank copious amounts of fuel through those twin SU carburettors.

After that point, the Defender was a diesel-only affair with a variety of four- and five-cylinder engines used. It wasn’t until this newer and thoroughly more modern and sophisticated model arrived did petrol power return. However, this range-topping V8 took a couple more years to eventuate.

This engine will soon be phased out. The new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport have switched over to a BMW-sourced 4.4-litre petrol V8, which uses twin turbochargers and is a better bet against strict emissions and consumption limitations.

Throw in an increasingly electrified and hybridised future for all carmakers (including Land Rover), and this can be seen as a last hurrah for an engine like this.

Then, all of a sudden, that high asking price starts to make some sense. Or at least, some form of justification.

There’s not much to get through in this segment, because the Jimny Lite is both very small and very basic. The important fundamentals of your driving ergonomics are well catered for. I had no issues being comfortable behind the wheel for extended periods.

There’s a small slot above the glovebox for storing odds and ends, and an even smaller spot in front of the gearstick. The centre console is similarly sized (laughably small) to a 70 Series LandCruiser, but with a much nicer finish.

The area where an infotainment display used to be is still there, but only part of it is taken up by the simple radio. There are still some basic controls on the steering wheel, however, and you can fit two very small humans into the second row. Adults will fit, sure, but they will need a happy-go-lucky disposition. And maybe a crowbar.

The boot, only 85L in size, fits bugger-all inside. And it’s made smaller by a compartment bin that needs to be removed if you’re planning on fitting child seats into the back. Few will do this, I’m sure, but I managed to squeeze my two toddlers in quite happily. Actually, they loved the car. There’s something universal about a car that is fun and happy, and my kids seemed to fall in love with this little white box as quickly as I did.

If you’re buying a short-wheelbase Defender as your primary family vehicle, perhaps you’ll need your head read. It’s not a large vehicle after all, with only 4.3m of length when you don’t include that spare wheel mounted on the back door.

In terms of size overall, I’d say that the boot is similar to what you’ll find in a small or medium-sized SUV, while the second row feels a bit bigger. You can fold the second row down flat when you need extra space, but there is an aluminium extrusion crossmember to contend with. So, you don’t get a flat load space.

Three doors means accessing the second row is via the front doors, with the front seats tilting (and sliding electrically) out of the way for access. It’s a bit of a way up to get in there, but it’s comfortable and spacious enough when you’re in there. You have no windows to open back here, but there are air vents, cupholders and USB power outlets.

Sitting up front in the Defender is a nice experience, with the blacked-out treatment continuing here with nary a colour to come across. It’s an all-inclusive set-up, with all of the options ticked. Seating material is a combination of black leather, suedecloth and something called ‘Robustec’. When you look closely, there are small grip dots that provide a nice tactile difference to the regular set-up of perforated leathers.

I’ve always been a fan of the Defender’s interior, which feels set apart from the norm of other SUVs and four-wheel drives. There’s a heritage-style inspiration across the dashboard, which also works well for practicality. There’s loads of room for storing your everyday bits and bobs, including the deep space below the dash-mounted gearshifter.

The centre console – properly refrigerated in this case – isn’t that big, but it does a very good job of keeping your drinks cold.

There are USB-A, USB-C and 12V power outlets lower down in the console, along with a USB-C point higher up and wireless charging mat.

One point of difference in this Defender 90 V8 is the alcantara-wrapped steering wheel, which adds different textural feel to driving the car. Maybe wait until you arrive at home before getting stuck into your wicked wings, however, and you’ll need to be conscious of things like creams and sanitiser on your hands. Because you’d hate to stain it.

Ready to read the shortest infotainment and connectivity section ever to grace Drive.com.au? Even with that preamble, there’s nothing to get through here for the Jimny. The radio head unit is straight out of last decade, but at least has Bluetooth connectivity for playing tunes and talking on the phone. My old 2003 Range Rover didn’t have Bluetooth, so that’s something? Right?

For those buying a Jimny Lite and keen to upgrade, it looks like it should be a fairly straightforward process to install something from the aftermarket. Although, doing so would likely eat into a big portion of your Lite savings.

Infotainment comes via Land Rover’s upsized 11.4-inch Pivi Pro touchscreen.

To go with the screen real estate, the system packs in a wireless phone charger and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio, integrated navigation, and a range of vehicle and off-road settings screens.

Land Rover’s platform also sees the system equipped with a dedicated SIM, allowing over-the-air updates and a range of live functions including weather and parking information, plus access to steaming services and email – once connected.

Remote smartphone access is also possible, allowing remote vehicle lock/unlock, vehicle status checks, or ‘send to car’ navigation destinations.

Land Rover also crams in a 14-speaker sound system into the Defender 90 V8’s relatively compact interior, topped off with a subwoofer for ultimate audio impact.

Unfortunately, the Suzuki Jimny is a little light on for safety equipment as well. It’s not all bad – stuff like autonomous emergency braking and lane-departure warning are included, along with six airbags inside.

However, it’s missing things like a reversing camera, parking sensors, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, speed sign recognition and lane-keep assist.

The 2018 ANCAP crash score is less than impressive as well. Three stars out of five can’t really be seen as a pass mark, and it sets the Jimny behind the benchmark of most other new cars.

Perhaps the most stark difference between old and new Defender, this model scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating from 2020 testing. It scored particularly strong for adult occupant (85 per cent) and child occupant (88 per cent) protection, while vulnerable road users (pedestrians) get a 71 per cent score. Land Rover’s suite of active safety assistance technology got a 76 per cent rating.

It’s macabre, but if you want to see a Defender roll multiple times in a horrific-looking crash on a USA freeway, then head over to this news story. The occupants got out without a scratch, which is quite impressive.