Land Rover Defender. Image: JLR
• Land Rover SA's first media event since March 2020 saw journalists get behind the wheel of the new Defender.
• The Defender Mzansi Expedition was a three-day trip covering 800 kilometres in the Western Cape.
• Humanitarian Kingsley Holgate joined the expedition in the Cedarberg to distribute much-needed supplies.
Land Rover's 'Defender Mzansi Expedition' took Wheels24's Sean Parker on a beautiful trip around the Western Cape, all for a good cause.
Land Rover Defender Mzansi Expedition
Labelled the 'Defender Mzansi Expedition', it's a three-day trip around the Western Cape in the new Defender.
Apart from my luggage, my driving partner and I packed in six-packs of DoMore porridge meals into the Defender's 646-litre boot.
The 3.0-litre straight-six mild-hybrid (MHEV) engine in P400 with 294kW made heading up Bainskloof Pass a breeze on day one.
The in-line six-cylinder engine has a lovely throaty rasp on start-up and under hard acceleration.
The Defender boasts a maximum approach angle of 38 degrees, departure angle of 40 degrees and a breakover angle of 28 degrees.
On the early evening of day one, the convoy arrived at the Kromrivier Cederberg Park. This would be our rest stop for the night.
We were joined by famed explorer and humanitarian Kingsley Holgate and his team, including son Ross and grandson Tristan.
Holgate's team is currently on a 70-day, 10 000km Mzansi Edge Expedition, following the entire land border of the country and track the Atlantic and Indian Ocean coastlines.
Day two saw the Defender Mzansi Expedition and Mzansi Edge convoys traveling together to deliver nutritious meals to schools in Algeria in the Cedarberg.