Nostalgia is a funny old thing. Meant to evoke supposedly superior times gone by, sentimentality often trades on minutiae intended to conjure up images of epochs, again supposedly superior to our present. Thus did Land Rover, in introducing its rejuvenated Defender two years ago, name its trims the “90” and the “110.” Both are model designations steeped in Land Rover history, and really do suggest those simpler times, if for no other reason than the fact that early Defenders were amongst the crudest simplest motorized creations ever manufactured.
In 1983, Land Rover, not nearly the marketing-savvy giant it is today, chose those iconic model names by the very simplest criteria one can imagine: the numbers represented the wheelbases of the two-door and four-door variant of its most popular model. The two-door Defender 90, for instance, stretched 90 inches between axles — actually 92.9 inches, but the media boffins thought a round number sounded more enticing — and likewise, the four-door 110, well, 110 inches. Like I said, simple.
The modern versions, however, despite their numerical reminisces, aren’t nearly so faithful to that wheelbase-as-badge motif. A 2022 “90,” for instance, rides on a 101.9-inch frame, which, if following the original “rounding error” appellations, would make it a 100. The 110, meanwhile, stretches 119 inches between wheels, which should make it a—well, I think you can figure that one out for yourself. There is at least some continuity involved, there being 17 inches difference between the current 90 and 110, just as there was between the originals. One takes one’s historical accuracy where one finds it, I guess.
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
No such name-wheelbase connection plagues the new 130, however, its sole reflection of Defenders past being the badge on its hindquarters. For one thing, the new 130 rides on the same 119-inch frame as the 110, a serious break from the wheelbase-as-badging of the originals (the original 130 rode on a 127-inch wheelbase, rounded up, again, to make it more appealing). For another, the mid-‘80s “130” was a crew-cab pickup, while the 2023.5 130, you may have noticed, is a straight-forward three-row SUV, room made for the extra three occupants by merely extending the rear of the 110’s body some 13.4 inches.
Despite its comparatively pedestrian engineering of its upgrades — the original 130 was made by sawing a 110 “Station Wagon” in two, adding in 17 inches of frame between the two sections, and then tacking on the pickup bed from the One Ten High-Capacity Pick Up — it is nonetheless a worthwhile addition to the Defender lineup. For one thing, it’s far more attractive, the 110 always seeming, to these eyes at least, overly truncated in the rear. The 130’s profile seems far more balanced. Look closely at the two and you’ll find there’s precious few body panels that have been changed. At first glance, however, the 130 is significantly comelier.
The 130 also greatly increases Defender’s passenger-carrying capacity. While the 110 officially boasts two-three-two seating — actually designated as “5+2” — there’s only about 20 inches of legroom in the rearmost row, relegating those seats to children or the completely legless. While Land Rover is yet to release complete specifications for the 130 — including, mysteriously, the available legroom for any of the seats — the third row looks spacious enough to accommodate adults. The 130 also has copious amounts of cargo capacity — a whopping 80.9 cubic feet when rows two and three are folded; 43.5 cu. ft. when just row three is down; and 13.7 cubes when all seats are in situ — all three capacities unsurprisingly more than the 110 can boast.
The price paid for this extra length — the hindquarters are dramatically longer than the 110 — is in reduced off-road-worthiness. While the 130’s approach and breakover angles are essentially the same as the 110’s, its departure angle is a whopping 11.5 degrees less — 28.5 degrees versus 40.0 — than the smaller four-door’s exemplary figure. That means the Defender 130 won’t be able to climb steeper hills than, say, a Lexus GX 470. For most modern SUVs, that compromise would hardly be noteworthy, but considering how much of Land Rover’s bona fides — the Defender nameplate especially — remain rooted in off-road-worthiness, some traditionalists may balk at the degradation.
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
The two engines currently available in the new Defenders both mild hybrids. The first is the P300, which is good for 296 horsepower. Interestingly, the 130’s P300 is a new 3.0-litre Ingenium inline-six variant, where previous Defenders sporting “P300” badging were powered by hybridized 2.0L inline-fours. More confusingly, both the previous four-banger version of the P300 and this new six-cylinder version in the 130 boast 296 horsepower. However, the old 2.0L P300 only managed 295 pound-feet of torque, while the new 2023.5 3.0L versions churns out 347 lb.-ft. The optional P400 3.0L I6 ups the turbo boost for 395 horses and 406 torques, both numbers the same as previous P400s. As for performance, JLR claims the P300 can accelerate to 100 kilometres in 7.5 seconds, while the P400 betters that by some 1.2 seconds. Maximum towing capacity is rated at 8,200 pounds.
All Defender 130s also get Land Rover’s “intelligent” all-wheel-drive system and ride on the company’s electronic air suspension mated to the Terrain Response system for maximum adaptability. And it’s all bolted to Land Rover’s aluminum monocoque D7x platform, which the company claims is three times stiffer in torsional rigidity than the Defender’s traditional body-on-frame architecture.
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130 Photo by Land Rover
Inside, the 130 will look familiar save for the additional full-sized seats. That said, Defender cabins are truly a delightful combination of retro utility and hedonistic luxury. The 130 will not disappoint. The new Defender 130 also boasts a new GPS system by what3words, which claims to have divided the entire globe into a grid of 57 trillion 3m x 3m squares, each, the company says, with a unique, easy-to-remember three-word address. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can’t imagine 57 trillion addresses being even remotely easy to remember.
The New Defender 130 will be available in S, SE, X-Dynamic SE and X specifications, but as with so many vehicles these days, there will be a fully loaded First Edition model with heated second- and third-row seating, four-zone climate control, the topflight Meridian sound system, a Driver Assist Pack and, naturally, the top-of-the-line P400 Ingenium six-cylinder powertrain.
Canadian Defender 130s will start at $93,000, and will be available this August.
Keyword: First Look: 2023.5 Land Rover Defender 130