E.C.D. Automotive Design began importing Land Rover Defenders from the U.K. to Florida about 10 years ago and, since then, the company has grown into a brand that offers customers the option to choose how they’d like to personalize up to 12 models available in their catalog.  I was fortunate to get a chance to drive two of their products and, since they started with Defenders, I was happy that it was their bread and butter (a D90 and a D110) that I was able to sample. 

It was explained to me that every ECD is built to spec based on what it’s owner wants, and that was immediately apparent when I looked over the two vehicles that were parked side by side that sunny Friday morning.  Even buttons for the windows, door locks and cupholders can be placed wherever the person placing the order requests.  This certainly adds a layer of attention that many of us may never experience when it comes to spec’ing a vehicle, and, though I have never lived up to this level of purchasing with a vehicle, it certainly sounds appealing.  That detailed manner of construction carries over to every aspect of the machine—flooring, seating (covering and configuration), steering wheel, shift knob, engine, transmission, wheels, tires, paint color, etc…………  All of that, and ECD adds whatever “kit” (ladders, brush bars, roof racks, rock sliders, snorkels, and the list keeps going) one wants to convey to the world they are into.

Fit and finish was excellent in both Defenders I drove, and that includes when driving over bumps or cruising at 80 mph.  For those of you not familiar with old school Land Rovers, cruising at anything above 60 in one of these babies straight out of Solihull is typically very risky business.  Fortunately, the ECD team sorts their Defenders so thoroughly that they can be driven on pavement at highway speeds with ease (and, most impressively, in comfort).  The two I drove had distinctly different driving characteristics—the D90 was laid back, with creamy acceleration and power on tap for towing a heavy trailer or maintaining a steady pace with a cablin full of passengers.  The 110 was more aggressive and spoke to those of us who enjoy surprising our fellow drivers with the prowess with which we move from stoplight to stoplight.  Quick shifts, a most-responsive throttle pedal, and even a quicker-than-normal steering rack were ingredients for the recipe that made this particular Defender feel like I was driving a factory spec 110 that had been given a smooth dosage of tetrahydrogestrinone (otherwise know as “The Clear”)  due to the additional prowess it traveled with being so subtly integrated into  the overall characteristics of a standard version.  

Altogether, I found myself walking away from both Land Rovers and suddenly looking back at them, completely impressed.  They do not feel as they have been re-engineered and are suddenly brand new vehicles that meet today’s standards of NVH and the like.  Instead, they come across as perfectly customized iterations of Land Rover Defenders that one would build to if they had the ultimate team of stylists, mechanics, and machinists at their disposal.  No matter what one’s exposure is to an E.C.D. Automotive Design Defender is, it is evident that the company has used every bit of its 10 plus years importing the vehicles learning how to create the best versions for their customers.  Each sense of the onlooker is excited, coddled, or surprised by the level of detail and completeness of their Defenders, and it is these tangibles that help one to believe that E.C.D.’s Land Rovers really are the best 4x4s by far. 

Thanks to FP for guiding me through the products so expertly.