The Defender 130 is 13.4 inches longer than the four-door 110 and seats up to 8.
Land RoverThere are quite a few cars that offer two size options. BMW 4 Series, Jeep Wrangler, Ford Bronco, and pickup truck buyers can choose whether they want their cars in two- or four-door flavor. Body-on-frame fans can opt for the Suburban or the Tahoe, the Expedition or the Expedition Max. Plus it’s not hard to find a luxury car that offers an extended wheelbase model, including the over-the-top Rolls-Royce Phantom. But the Land Rover Defender has them all beat, now coming in three distinct sizes.
The Defender 90 and Defender 110 were already on sale, the difference between the two being door count and wheelbase. Now, there’s a Defender 130, and its growth happens out back. The SUV is 13.4 inches longer than the 110, or 30.6 inches longer than the 90. The wheelbase, though, is unchanged from the 110.
That means you get a huge rear overhang that contributes a lot of extra cargo space behind the third row. Land Rover says the 130 offers 13.7 cubic feet of cargo space with all three rows in place, up from 10.7 in the 3-row 110. That third row is also better, with seating for three in the 130 up from 2 in the 110. Fold all the seats down and the 130 can swallow 88.9 cubic feet of cargo. That’s a bit ahead of standard three-row crossovers like the Toyota Highlander and Ford Explorer.
Land Rover
One downside of the new Mega-Defender: There isn’t a V-8 option. The four-cylinder base motor also isn’t on offer, likely a smart choice given the added weight. Instead, there are two inline-six options. The P400 mild-hybrid engine is unchanged in this application, with 395 hp and 406 lb-ft available in the top-trim 130. Yet there’s also a detuned version exclusively for the 130 P300, offering the same 296 hp as the 2.0-liter four-cylinder in other Defenders but 347 lb-ft of torque. That’s a 51 lb-ft improvement over the 110’s P300 model.
The added length will have some penalties on the trail. Approach and breakover angles are roughly in line with the 110, but the maximum departure angle is now 28.5 degrees, down from 40 degrees. At least air suspension is standard, allowing for some increased ride height on the trail.
Land Rover
Defender 130s also get the bigger infotainment standard and available four-zone climate control. The cost of entry is $69,350, a long way from the $54,850 base model 110. But upgrade to the similarly equipped S model and option the air suspension, and third row and the gap shrinks considerably. Regardless, we won’t complain about a new flavor of a product we quite like. Deliveries should start just before the end of the year.
Keyword: The Land Rover Defender Just Got Even Bigger