Land Rover Defender 130 stretched to fit whole family
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 condemn the new Defender so offhandedly is to ignore its very real capability, whether you opt for the two-door 90 or fourdoor 110. But now comes an even bigger variant, the 130, boasting a cul-desac 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 fourdoor Defenders, the 110 and 130, share the same 119-inch wheelbase. 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 poundfeet of torque in the P400. That’s good enough for a zero to 60 mph run of 7.5 seconds in P300 trim, 6.3 seconds in P400 trim.
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.
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.
For traversing uncivilized terrain, 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. 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 it’s 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.
So, if you’ve been jonesing for a Defender but needed one to cart the whole brood, this may be your answer.