The 2023 Land Rover Defender was designed to be what seems like a contemporary riff on the legendary offroader and is every bit as capable.
True, its design lacks the archaic attributes of its predecessor, which developed as a result of a lack of budget rather than from any grand product scheme. And, as a result, some Defender aficionados might view the new model as little more than a low-res cartoon of what’s come before.
But to damn the new Defender so offhandedly is to ignore its very real capability, whether you opt for the two-door 90 or four-door 110. But now comes an even bigger variant, the 130, boasting a cul-de-sac friendly three rows of seats. But the question remains, can the Defender still be a backwoods baller once it’s stretched to accommodate rugrats?
Before you answer, consider this: Both four-door Defenders, the 110 and 130, share the same 119-inch wheelbase – the distance from the front wheels to the rear wheels. The big difference comes in the back, where there’s an additional 13.38 inches of length to accommodate another row of seating.
Like other Defenders, a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six mild hybrid system powers it, developing 296 horsepower and 347 pound-feet of torque in the P300 and 395 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque in the P400. That’s good enough for a 0-60 mph run of 7.5 seconds in P300 trim, 6.3 seconds in P400 trim. Towing is rated at 8,201 pounds, while the roof can carry 230 pounds.
The driveline comes with a two-speed transfer case, a locking center differential and Land Rover’s pioneering Terrain Response System.
To put this automotive hallway to the test, I took the P400 to the off-road trails of Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina, where Land Rover has an off-road driving school, to see if the extra length was an issue.
Well, it is visually.
The extra length endows the Land Rover Defender 130 with a different character from its shorter siblings, particularly the Land Rover Defender 90, which most resembles the original that most of us know and love. It’s a different animal, a bit more sophisticated and a little less rugged than the others, even though it’s not. Perhaps it’s because the longer body brings to mind any number of people movers, none of which go any farther off-road than running into the bush at the end of the driveway.
But don’t judge it because it holds so many people; judge it for what it can do. Say you’re playing a round of eight-person canasta – OK, just suppose it would actually happen – and there’s a flash flood. You can pile the entire lot into the Defender 130 and wade through 35.4 inches of water if you’re 130 has the air suspension, and 33.4 inches if it has a coil suspension. And you don’t even have to guess how deep the water is; there’s a readout on the infotainment system to keep you apprised of the waterline as your vehicle drives through it. Pretty slick.
The same could be said of the entire vehicle. For traversing uncivilized terrain – and no, we’re not talking about political rallies, although we could be – few vehicles match the Land Rover Defender 130 for sheer ability. Climb over a rock bed, drop down a steep hillside, plow through a mud bog or ford a stream; the 130 handles it. But baby’s got back, so cornering off-road means being mindful of its full length as you pivot around a large craggy rock or crest a hill. Yet the steering seems ideally weighted for such delicate off-road maneuvers.
Performance feels the same as any other Defender, even with the extra weight that extra length brings with it. Yet its manner remains unaffected. It still possesses the wheel articulation you need for extreme rock crawling while delivering the comfy ride on-road without any undue side-to-side theatrics. And its blessedly quiet.
Yet that length brings with it room for extra passengers, or extra stuff. The third row, which includes seat heaters on top trim levels, is best left to the shorter folks in your life, although the second row is fairly accommodating, as it is in the 110. But you might be surprised once you fold the seats; the vehicle lacks a flat load floor, a serious shortcoming in an otherwise exemplary luxury offroader.
And yes, it’s luxurious as well as capable, with the opulent, well-crafted interior you’d expect from a British automaker. It can be fitted with leather and can with four-zone automatic climate control. There’s a panoramic moon roof and skylights over the third row.
So, if you’ve been jonesing for a Defender but needed one to cart the whole brood, this may be your answer for traversing uncivilized territory, like the forest primeval, not the local school board candidates debate.
2023 Land Rover Defender 130
Base price: $69,475
Engine: Supercharged, turbocharged, and intercooled DOHC inline-6
Horsepower/Torque: 395/406
EPA fuel economy (city/highway): 17/21 mpg
Length/Width/Height: 200.8/79.1/77.6 inches
Ground clearance: 8.5-11.5 inches
Payload: 1,880 pounds
Cargo capacity: 14-81 cubic feet
Towing capacity: 8,201 pounds
