We spent week after week on Duluth’s North Shore of Lake Superior, marveling at temperatures that reached into the 60s many days and dipped into the 40s at night only on rare occasions, even as we got into November. But we’re not fooling ourselves. 

We know that we’re likely to get hit with a snowstorm before Thanksgiving, and it could maybe even be a big storm, although optimists among us also theorize we could repeat last winter’s light and mild weather.

At any rate, the proliferation of SUVs of all shapes, sizes and capabilities continues to supply an array of all-weather vehicles in every price range that are capable of enjoying mild weather right along with us but also capable of conquering any severe storms that might come our way and still deliver us home with security and safety. 

One of the prominent examples of beating all possible conditions is the new Land Rover Defender, a bargain entity in the long-standing British tradition of over-engineering and quality-building their SUVs to take on the world.

The gymnastics Land Rover has gone through, along with its national partner Jaguar, has been considerable, coming through ownership by Ford Motor Company and finally finding a home with the financial security of Tata motors from India. 

It was a good fit, because Tata gave Land Rover the power to keep building vehicles in its current factories, and also taking on the real-world challenges of improving its mechanical and technical difficulties of the past. That meant allowing Land Rover to use the high-tech and advanced engines built by Jaguar.

The Defender has been one of the examples of such advancement, and the 2024 model I test-drove for a week came in the SE trim, with the Jaguar-designed 3.0-liter in-line 6-cylinder engine, turbocharged to deliver a potent 395 horsepower and a more potent 403 foot-pounds of torque, through an 8-apeed automatic transmission to all four wheels.

At $72,000, the Defender fits in well among the range of Discovery, Range Rover, Sport models of both, and at a price that can range from $40,000 to more than $225,000. 

The optional Carpathian Grey exterior is a dark charcoal that is both rich and subtle.

I like the new design, which has rounded the corners and extraneous bits, and also adding LED headlights and taillights with specific little styling twists, such as encircling the headlights with a ring of light, and spacing out the geometric shapes of the taillights on the rear end. 

There is a certain sameness whenever you spot an SUV coming or going on the road, but these little features make the Land Rover Defender easy to identify

The Defender handled the family requirements of trips to the shopping center or grocery store with ease, just as it whisked us to football or hockey games stylishly and without adventure. 

Same if you took it on a trip, where it cruises with a confident air of security and smoothness on its styled 20-inch wheels and all-season tires, and the electrocinaclly adaptive air suspension keeps you planted.

That brings us to my traditional favorite definition of all things Land Rover: It is the ideal vehicle if you had to drive from here to Hudson Bay, without ever using roads.

It’s true. The all-terrain capabilities are enhanced by a new coil-spring and air suspension and the two-speed transfer box that can be shifted to allow severe hill or rock-climbing tasks. 

The selectable driving mode switch also lets you choose your intentions, and going into off-road modes takes that a step further.

Back on the road — or off, for that matter — agility and precise steering gives the Defender a sporty demeanor. One of the most vital parts of the drivetrain is the hill-descent control, which lets you shift into a range that holds the vehicle back from running wild on steep downhill streets, roadways or hills.

Inside, the neat but rugged Robastec material on the leather seats toughens them for hard duty, and otherwise the luxurious features can easily make you forget you’re in a rugged SUV.

The panoramic sunroof is a two-pane thing that lets you enjoy the blue sky and whatever else might be up there — although it hasn’t yet offered us a ringside seat to Northern Lights. 

The 400-watt Meridian sound system fills the interior with great clarity for music or voices, or satellite renditions of football or hockey games.