The Land Rover Defender is widely regarded as one of the most off-road-capable vehicles to ever walk this earth and now, the company has unleashed the Defender 130. Previously, the Defender was being offered in two variants: 110 and 90 and now, the 130 has arrived with longer dimensions and an eight-seat layout. While the other two variants are already on sale in India, it wouldn’t be wrong to assume that the flagship 130 variant will also set foot in India.
Land Rover has stretched the legs of the Defender because as compared to the 110, the 130 is longer by 340mm. However, the wheelbase of the 130 is exactly the same as the 110. The added length has liberated some extra space behind the rear wheel to accommodate one extra row of seats.
It might have the exact same wheelbase of 3022mm but the extended overhang of the Defender 130 is prominently visible to the eyes. If you take a good look at the rear three-quarter angle, the SUV looks a lot more voluptuous. Apart from this, the overall design and aesthetics remain the same.
The Defender 130 carries on with the same dashboard layout as the 110. It gets the largest 11.4-inch curved touchscreen infotainment system that comes integrated with the firm’s Pivi Pro software.
Even the recently added last row of seating is properly well attended with amenities like heated seats, padded armrests, storage cubbies, second panoramic sunroof and USB-C ports.
If you tumble down the last row and the second row, it liberates 2516 litres of space, making for a perfect recipe of an inter-continental tourer.
You might think that with the addition of the third row, the Defender will become a bit more civilized when it comes to off-roading but that isn’t the case. It still justifies its Defender moniker as it gets adaptive air suspension, giving up to 430mm of articulation. At its highest setting, this sophisticated suspension setup helps the Defender wade through 900mm of water!
The Defender 130 comes with the option of three mild-hybridised powertrains including the entry point P300 petrol straight-six which puts down 300hp and 470Nm. The P400 variant of the same engine shoots the performance figures up to 400hp and 550nm. The diesel unit is dubbed as D300 and it puts down 300hp, 650Nm which helps the Defender sprint from 0-100kph in 7.5sec.
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