I just lately spent a muddy tumble weekend with the all-new Land Rover Defender 130. On paper, it is at present the most Defender one can buy in accordance to certain metrics—length, body weight and the variety of seats—thus confirming my previous theory that considerably of the Defender lineup is about worshiping at the altar of Extra.
I made this thesis next time in the very last Land Rover Defender I drove: the $113,525 Defender 90 Carpathian Version, a blacked-out, array-topping, rectilinear two-doorway with a supercharged V8 producing 516 horsepower and 461 pound-feet of torque. Outfitted with every single achievable luxury attribute, as effectively as the marque’s most able off-road equipment, that 5455-pound menace could accelerate from -60 mph in just 4.9 seconds.
The new Defender 130 adds excess to the luxurious off-street nameplate’s growing lineup in different methods. It dietary supplements the model’s offerings by grafting a formidable 13.4 inches of added size powering the rear wheels.
This addition delivers the 130 with a considerably ungainly profile like it is putting on an oversized, physique-colored bumbag. This compromises the Defender’s decades-extensive dedication to negligible overhangs (the portion of the motor vehicle fore and aft of the wheels), as it has a concomitantly diminishing result on technique angle—an off-road term for the steepness of terrain a driver can safely and securely strategy.
Passenger Up grade
But what it gains is outstanding. With almost all that area provided around to a newly expanded 3rd row, the 130 turns into a bonafide 8-passenger vehicle. And travellers seated in the rearmost positions will not experience as if they have just boarded a crowded clown auto. The overall second row slides forward and features a 60/40 break up to accommodate grownup-sized individuals in just about every single position. (Squeezing a third grownup in the way again may well demonstrate demanding.)
Cargo Room Bonus
Cargo space also increases over the upcoming-major Defender, the 110, raising by a few cubic ft with the third row up and 9 with it down. My companion and I can attest to this point, as even with all the seats upright, we managed to stow two roll-aboard bags, two backpacks and a host of outerwear back again there. And with an accessible fourth local weather zone, common heated seats, a fixed-pane sunroof with shade, and USB retailers, the third-row area may well not be just enterprise class, but it’s unquestionably an improve around steering. In reality, for you measurement queens, with an in general size of approximately 212 inches—including its externally-mounted spare tire—the 130 is as lengthy as a Cadillac Escalade and 5 inches more time than a very long-wheelbase Array Rover.
Access to the back again-back again is also remarkably uncomplicated, especially when compared to the absurd electricity-operated ingress into that final 90 I analyzed. A straightforward tug on just one lever releases the 2nd row and enables it to slide ahead for accessibility.
A Pair of Sixes, no Eights
One issue the 130 cannot offer obtain to, at minimum for now, is the aforementioned V8 engine. Alternatively, the largest and heaviest Defender has to make do with two different iterations of Jaguar Land Rover’s electrically assisted, 3.-liter turbocharged straight 6. Rated for 296 horsepower and 347 pound-ft of torque in the very low-exam P300 variant (foundation cost $69,475 including a $1,475 desired destination cost), or 395 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque in the superior-output P400 model (foundation cost $79,775). This implies that the 5570-pound 130 can get from -60 in 7.5 seconds with the much less strong motor and 6.3 seconds with the more potent one particular.
This is by no means gradual, but it’s a 50 percent 2nd off the times of the 110 with the same powertrain, anything that felt apparent around city and on the highway. The V8 would seem like a shoo-in for this specific vehicle, and we count on to see it applied there shortly, as it is throughout the rest of the Defender lineup.
With additional body weight, the 130 is a little bit guzzlier than its lesser brethren. The P300 and the P400 get the identical 19 mpg merged EPA rating, one mpg lessen than the 110. (17 mpg town and 20 mpg highway for the 130.) But, except if you are driving up 1 of the sheerer faces of Mount Everest, it is no much less capable. I drove the 130 via the aftermath of a tropical storm on an off-street program created to include a foot much less h2o than it did, and the truck didn’t gasp as soon as, even when plowing through a stream whose murky waters had been practically up to the window line.
I enable the Defender’s computer-managed traction manage configurations handle the decisions about which of the 4 driven wheels it should really mail what amount of money of electrical power. Still, I sense assured that if I found the need to have to strike any of the devoted buttons—say, if I observed myself in the snow, gravel, or sand—I would trudge by means of with equivalent aplomb. Like all Defenders, the 130 is so resolutely knowledgeable in the muck it almost can take the anxiety out of off-roading. I’m guessing it will do the identical for your inclement commute or your unplowed driveway.
Glitch-Cost-free Future?
Even much better, not like the last Defender I tested, which sported a host of digital glitches all through my time with it, this 130—with its up to date infotainment system—did not fritz out after. This was the case all through a new check of a new Selection Rover as well, perhaps a sign that Jaguar Land Rover is eventually acquiring really serious about high-quality control. Now that the 130 is out, you and Extra of your pals can discover out for yourselves.
