Land Rover’s largest available Defender is this 130 – a real beast of a car, just over five meters long. With the optional spare wheel on the rear door, it is even more than 5.30 meters long. It is capable of carrying eight people: two in the front, three in the second row and three in the rear row. And then you still have (a little) space left for luggage.
Because it has the same wheelbase as the 110, the ‘normal’ four-door, you will find the extra length at the rear. There is now a bulge there, which has increased the overhang behind the rear wheels. The result is a car that you would rather not maneuver through narrow streets. But that’s not what the Defender 130 is intended for. In fact, it will not be sold very often in the Netherlands and Belgium, because the 110 already offers so much space. And optionally also has a third row of seats, so that it can accommodate seven people. Only if you really want to frequently transport more than six people are you likely to consider it. Or if you drag refrigerators every day, that is also possible.
How does the Defender 130 drive?
What we wonder is whether it drives as it should drive. And for a Defender, that now means on asphalt and off-road. Before we get in, let’s say this: Land Rover as a brand will fade into the background. The JLR group to which it belongs has devised three new brands: Range Rover, Defender and Discovery. Among the first are the Range Rover, the Range Rover Sport, the Velar and the Evoque. With the Defender you have the 90, 110, 130 and the Hardtop – a commercial vehicle. The Discovery currently offers two flavors: Discovery and Discovery Sport. It takes some getting used to, especially because the name Land Rover is so iconic.
That said, when we climb into the Defender 130, it feels as familiar inside as other new Defenders. Nice finish, good materials, a naked screw here and there to emphasize the rugged character, fine. The only thing that is significantly different is the space that you notice when you peek in your rear-view mirror. Then there seems to be no end to the car. The center headrests of rows two and three plus the spare wheel on the rear door ensure that you have the same view as when looking through your letterbox. You can solve this by activating the camera mode of the interior mirror. At the push of a button, it changes into a small widescreen screen that shows crystal-clear what is happening behind the car.
Mild hybrid inline six
Yes, you drive a big car so yes, it takes some getting used to how to drive it. If you take it easy, on short winding roads or on the highway, there is nothing to worry about. The engine picks up smoothly, uses its 400 horsepower in a measured manner and the handling is predictable and quite tight when you steer from left to right. Of course you feel its weight shift, but hey, it’s not a kart. In fact, it drives tighter than we expected, partly due to the fine suspension and the standard air suspension.
If we want to speed up a bit, the inline six makes itself heard. It is helped by a mild-hybrid system that charges itself and provides assistance where necessary, but it really needs to get going. A smooth overtaking action is also accompanied by a nice rasping sound, but the action follows a little later. It has to do with the pleasant setting of the eight-speed automatic transmission. However, you can also tap the lever to the left so that you can shift gears manually.
Dangerously fast
We knew that tap to the left. He jumps and sprints away like crazy: we immediately understand why the acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h is stated as a fast 6.6 seconds for this enormous car. Intermediate sprint, a quick acceleration at 100 km/h, it all happens just as quickly and directly. In an instant you can transform it from a gentle giant to a terribly fast monster. Before we know it, we are suddenly driving in France towards 100 hectares of forest and dune area where you can test the off-road capabilities of your car for a fee and with great respect for nature. Asphalt gets a big green tick, but how does that work off-road with a 5.30 meter car?
We have often said about the Defender in general that you can drive it around the world, whether there is a paved road or not. Only oceans can hold it back. But that statement applies to a 90 and a 110. The first is, also because of its compact size, very agile, and helped by Land Rover’s list of driving technical gadgets to traverse any terrain, the 110 does not fail to impress. little brother below. But too much length means that you have a good chance of scraping the bottom with your backside when the terrain starts to slope. And a long wheelbase, coupled with a large turning circle, doesn’t help either.
Off-roading with the Defender 130
We already revealed that the wheelbase of the 130 is the same as that of the 110, so that part should not cause any problems. If you set the air suspension to the highest position, the carriage is lifted so high that you can almost take shelter in the wheel arches if it rains. The ground clearance increases from an already generous 21.8 centimeters to 29 centimeters. This ensures that the sloping bottom of the rear hangs even further above the ground, making its approach, departure and landing angles 37.5, 28.5 and 27.8 degrees respectively. In case you’re thinking ‘huh, what?’: this is 4×4 terminology for how diagonally you can go up and down a hill without scraping off the bottom of your car.
No matter what we do in rough terrain, the bottom plate never touches the ground. We follow a 90 and a 110 on their unpaved road through the wet forest, through the loose sand of dunes, up, down, slaloming at walking pace between trees. Wherever they can go, the Defender 130 will go too. It is striking that the steering angle is generous for better precision work to avoid boulders and remains of trees, or to aim over them. It really is maneuverable almost to the square centimeter. A puddle of water up to 90 centimeters deep, which we unfortunately did not encounter, should not be a problem either.
Too careful
Because we knew we would encounter a lot of loose dune sand, the tire pressure of the standard all-season tires was lowered somewhat, so that we have more tread and more grip on sand. That, plus putting the suspension in the highest position and activating the off-road driving mode, is really all you have to do. Then all you have to do is send. Only once do we get stuck: on a steep sand hill about a hundred meters long, we can hardly get any further. But that’s up to us. We’re too careful with the accelerator, you won’t believe it. On attempt two we go up full throttle, we bounce in all directions while hanging on the seatbelt, but a little later we are at the top. The 130 doesn’t budge, our knuckles are white from squeezing the handlebars.
Which brings us to the claim that you can travel around the world with a Defender: as far as we are concerned, this also applies to the 130. No, a full day in rugged terrain is not scientific proof of this, but the test cycles that this Defender also undergoes at Land Rover itself has had to go through, gives us all the confidence. And the great thing is: you can do that tour around the world with the Defender 130 with eight people. Or with a refrigerator.
Specifications Defender 130 X-Dynamic HSE P400 MHEV
Engine
2,996 cc
six-cylinder turbo
400 hp @ 5,500 rpm
550 Nm @ 2,000 rpm
Drive
four wheels
8v automatic
Performance
0-100 km/h in 6.6 seconds
top 191 km/h
Consumption (average)
11.2 l/100 km
253 g/km CO2, F label
Dimensions
5,099 x 2,008 x 1,970 mm (lxwxh)
3,022 mm (wheelbase)
2,625 kg
90 l (petrol)
1,232 liters (luggage)
Prices
€172,340 (NL)
€108,540 (B)