2023 Land Rover Defender 130 First Edition P400 First Drive: Going Big!
It’s designed to keep on going when the road runs out. But Land Rover’s biggest Defender is also a brilliant long-distance highway cruiser.
The Land Rover Defender 130 has been engineered from the wheels up to keep going when the road runs out. But as the white Defender 130 First Edition cruised at a relaxed 85 mph on the A10 autoroute heading north into Paris, it occurred to me this big Land Rover might also be one of the most relaxed and comfortable means of transporting four adults and their luggage over long distances on the highway. Yes, underneath that brawny off-road swagger lurks a surprisingly competent grand tourer.
I had my doubts when the 130 arrived at MotorTrend's London office: The First Edition P400 was fitted with the $1,550 Off-Road pack, which meant its 20-inch wheels wore knobbly 255/60 Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac tires. Great for a day on the trails in Death Valley, perhaps, but not my first choice for a 1,600-mile round trip through France's Cognac and Bordeaux wine country. We would be driving off the blacktop, but the chalky trails through the vines ain't that rough.
I needn't have worried. When I listened carefully, I could discern the Goodyears humming over the near-perfect tarmac on France's immaculately maintained autoroutes. The big Land Rover's bluff profile also elicited some wind noise around the A-pillars. But for a 4x4 that can take you across Africa without breaking a sweat, the Defender 130 proved an astonishingly accomplished highway cruiser. It rides beautifully, the body motions deftly controlled and the tall sidewall tires soaking up sharp impacts, and the powertrain is impressively smooth.
The 130 retains its composed demeanor off the highway, too, on winding two-lanes, rocky farm tracks, and cobbled medieval streets, helped by steering that allows you to place it accurately on narrow roads and in heavy traffic. It's a calm and congenial way to travel, the high seating position and excellent all-round visibility allowing you to enjoy the views, and the vastly improved Pivi Pro infotainment system ensuring you stay on the right road as the excellent Meridian audio equipment pumps out your favorite tunes.
The 130's longer bodywork and third-row seating increases its overall weight by about 8 percent compared with the two-row Defender 110. That adds about half a second to the 0-60-mph acceleration time, though at about 6.5 seconds, the Defender 130 could hardly be described as sluggish. In P400 specification, JLR's versatile 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six makes 395 hp at 5,500 to 6,500 rpm, but more important, its 406 lb-ft of peak torque is present from 2,000 rpm to 5,000 rpm, so it feels reasonably responsive in all driving conditions.
A big, heavy, square-shouldered off-roader will hardly be the most fuel-efficient freeway cruiser. The 130 averaged an indicated 16.2 mpg over 1,358 miles, returning a worst of 14.6 mpg and a best of 18.5. However, given it was running heavily loaded for most of those miles and on the lightly trafficked French autoroutes, we'd pack 80 miles into a single hour's cruising; the fuel consumption was better than expected.
I chose the 130 for this trip because, with the third row folded flat, it was about the only vehicle in Europe other than a Mercedes-Benz V-Class with the room to accommodate my American wine writer colleagues and their luggage. They would be staying in Europe after their business trip to Cognac and Bordeaux. They would not be traveling light.
In photos, the Defender 130, its extra 13.5 inches of bodywork all hung out after the rear axle centerline, looks slightly awkward compared with the 110. But in real life, the 130's long tail gives it similar proportions to the old Defender 110 and its Series 3 and Series 2 predecessors. Even design chief Gerry McGovern's oddball body-colored square floating in the rear side window works on the 130, breaking up the expanse of glass on the side of the car.
Most important, though, the 35.8 cubic feet of load space with the third row folded—30 percent more than the 110 has behind its second row—swallowed three suitcases, two roll-ons, three soft bags, assorted coats, and some small bags, with room for a case or two of some of France's finest adult beverages. With the luggage piled high, the First Edition's standard ClearSight interior rearview mirror, which shows a widescreen image from a rear facing camera, proved its worth.
The $86,175 First Edition comes equipped with standard features that, as options, would add $8,500 to the Defender 130 SE P400's MSRP. These include the silver exterior appearance pack and different 20-inch wheels, premium LED headlights with auto high-beam assist, 14-way heated and cooled power front seats with memory trimmed in Windsor leather, heated second- and third-row seats, four-zone climate control, a center console fridge, and adaptive cruise control. Effectively saving you at least $2,100 over a similarly equipped SE, the First Edition is the smart way to buy a loaded Defender 130.
Of course, you could spend almost $120,000 on the newly launched Defender 130 V-8, which comes standard with just about every option in the book. But being able to rumble from 0 to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds and nuzzle 150 mph on an autobahn seem like capabilities the Defender doesn't need. And that version's standard 22-inch wheels and low-profile tires mean the low-speed ride quality won't be as nice.
The Land Rover Defender 130 has been designed to be one of the world's most capable off-road vehicles. But my trip through France in the First Edition P400 revealed it also has much to teach makers of most luxury SUVs—and many luxury cars, too—about the merits of a compliant and well-controlled suspension matched with tires that have sidewalls deep enough to absorb the noise and shock of sharp impacts.
As this Land Rover proves, not every grand tourer needs to accelerate like a supercar and corner hard enough to part your hair.