I love my Defender to bits, but is it the best 4×4 ?
It has a wonderfully British imperfectness about it – it is stunningly capable in some ways, and yet leaky and noisy.
It can be easily repaired, and every bit of it is replaceable, but those parts occasionally seem to travel together in a rather loose formation.
A Discovery will do most of what a Defender will if you don’t mind paying modern car prices for all the bits that you will catch on the scenery as you drive through it.
A Freelander will do more than you would imagine, but has it’s limits.
Toyota make some very capable off-roaders, but they are dull.
If you need a 4×4 for the school run/keeping up with the Jones’s and the tricky bit of Tesco’s carpark then VW/Audi and BMW make some good vehicles.
Whatever you consider is the “best” depends on what you want to do with a class of vehicles in which all 4 wheels are driven.