Land Rover resurrected the Defender in 2020, returning the model to the U.S. market as a two-door short-wheelbase (Defender 90) or four-door standard-wheelbase (Defender 110) SUV. Like other Land Rovers, the Defender can travel farther off-road than most of its rivals. However, it emphasizes retro design and rugged capability over upscale refinement and luxurious sophistication.
The new Defender got off to a slow start due to the global pandemic. However, since then, Land Rover has put the SUV on a continuous improvement and enhancement program.
In 2021, a Defender 110 X-Dynamic trim level debuted with unique exterior and interior detailing.
In 2022, Land Rover made numerous changes to the SUV:
This year, the 2023 Land Rover Defender 130 debuts as an extended-length version of the 110. It includes a traditional third-row bench seat, can carry eight passengers, and offers slightly more cargo space than the 110.
In addition, more special editions of the 2023 Defender are available:
The automaker has announced upcoming changes for the 2024 Land Rover Defender:
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Three versions of the 2023 Defender are on sale in 2023. The model designations include the two-door Defender 90, four-door Defender 110, and extended-length four-door Defender 130.
Each comes with a turbocharged four-cylinder (P300), a turbocharged inline six-cylinder with 48-volt mild-hybrid technology (P300 or P400), or a supercharged V8 (P500 or P525). An eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive are standard, and Land Rover offers several off-roading upgrades to improve the Defender’s capability.
In addition, several trim levels are available, depending on the model. They include base, S, SE, X-Dynamic SE, First Edition, X, V8, and V8 Carpathian Edition. Land Rover also frequently offers special-edition and limited-edition versions of the Defender, as outlined above.
Previously, JD Power reviewed the 2021 Land Rover Defender 90. This review focuses on the new Defender 130 model, other updates since then, and how they potentially impact the SUV’s overall appeal to consumers.
The Land Rover Defender competes in the Midsize Premium SUV market segment. According to data collected from verified new-vehicle buyers for the JD Power 2022 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, 72 percent of new Land Rover Defender buyers are male (vs. 57 percent for the segment), and the median age of a new Defender buyer is 53 years (vs. 61).
As part of the APEAL Study, owners rated the Defender in 10 primary categories. Listed below in descending order, you’ll find their preferences, from their most favorite thing about the vehicle to their least favorite:
In the 2022 APEAL Study, the Defender ranks third out of seven Midsize Premium SUV models.
In the following sections, our independent expert analyzes a Defender 130 SE P400 equipped with the following options:
The test vehicle’s price was $87,525, including the $1,475 destination charge.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
In our previous review of the Land Rover Defender, we evaluated the two-door 90 model with the optional front center seat, which brought passenger capacity to six people and a small amount of luggage. The Defender 90 offers between 10.5 cubic feet and 58.3 cu-ft of cargo space.
The Defender 110 is the next step up, and it sits on a longer wheelbase to provide more interior room. You can get the 110 with standard five-passenger seating, the optional front center seat for six-passenger capacity and plenty of cargo room, or a seven-passenger configuration with two small third-row jump seats. This version of the Defender is arguably the most versatile and offers between 10.7 cu-ft and 78.8 cu-ft of cargo space.
Starting this year, a larger Defender 130 is available. It shares its wheelbase with the Defender 110 but is nearly 14 inches longer to provide extra room for a proper three-person third-row seat. That brings the passenger capacity to eight, and the third row is comfortable for adults. However, since the wheelbase is unchanged, entering and exiting the Defender 130’s third row is challenging because there isn’t much clearance space between the rear wheel arches and the second-row seat.
Unfortunately, the Defender 130 doesn’t supply much more cargo room than the Defender 110. That’s because the third-row seat folds in half, taking up plenty of the additional volume behind the second-row seat. Furthermore, the folded third-row seat results in a stepped load floor, making it harder to slide bulky cargo into the 130. (You can see this in the photo at the end of the review.)
Compared to a seven-passenger 110, an eight-passenger 130 offers:
Furthermore, if you get a Defender 110 with five- or six-passenger seating, its maximum cargo capacity measures 2.7 cu-ft more than the 130, and you also get a flat load floor.
Next year, the five-passenger 2024 Defender 130 Outbound variant chucks the third-row seat, and Land Rover says it will provide 88.9 cu-ft of maximum cargo volume. Still, that’s only 10.1 cubes more than a five-passenger Defender 110.
Driving a Defender is fun. You sit up high with a commanding view of the road ahead, you can see the entire hood and front corners of the SUV, and visibility is excellent in every direction except through the rearview mirror. The rear seat head restraints and the spare tire hanging on the tailgate block the view, so you’ll want the available ClearSight camera-based digital rearview mirror.
You expect a Defender to drive like a truck based on its looks and mission. Instead, this Land Rover is smooth, quick, and silent. The adaptive air suspension is nothing short of revelatory, quelling ride harshness and nearly eliminating unwanted body motions. The P400 powertrain supplies a robust 395 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, resulting in a Land Rover-estimated 6.3-second acceleration run to 60 mph. And for a towering vehicle shaped like a brick, it is hushed at highway speeds.
However, don’t let the Defender’s refinement fool you into thinking the SUV is just about looking like it can travel where few other vehicles dare tread. It is legit, even if the 130’s departure angle isn’t as generous as the 90 and 110 (28.5 degrees vs. 40 degrees).
I drove the Defender down a local trail that I reserve for testing only the most capable off-roaders and went further into the mountains than ever. Only a stretch of mud and water left over from Southern California’s torrential winter rains gave cause for pause, and I elected to reverse out to a turn-around spot and head back. Thanks to the 130’s standard high-definition surround-view cameras and parking sensors, that was easier than expected.
So, while you might assume from the new Land Rover Defender 130’s styling and legendary off-roading capability that it forces a significant trade-off in daily driving, that’s not the case. Just make sure to program the suspension to lower when you park the SUV so your passengers can enter and exit more gracefully.
Also, plan to pump plenty of gas into a Defender 130. According to the EPA, our test vehicle should have returned 19 mpg in combined driving. I got 16.1 mpg on my evaluation loop, though, to be fair to the SUV, that did include 30 minutes of off-roading.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Last year, Land Rover introduced a next-generation version of its Pivi Pro infotainment system in the Defender. Equipped with a larger 11.4-inch touchscreen, it featured wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto, wireless smartphone charging, and Amazon Alexa built-in. Land Rover rolled out the Alexa feature as an over-the-air software update.
Unfortunately, since I don’t have an InControl account with Land Rover, I could not use Alexa to issue naturally spoken commands to the Pivi Pro infotainment system. And, since the native voice recognition system takes forever to think about what you said and frequently either cannot complete a request or inaccurately interprets your speech, I quit using it. Instead, I resorted to pairing my iPhone and employing Siri as a digital assistant.
However, using Apple CarPlay created a new problem. I could not identify a simple, easy way to exit CarPlay and return to Pivi Pro. Usually, a Home icon or a Menu icon leads to an on-screen button that will return you to the native platform. While driving the Defender, I either didn’t search for one long enough, overlooked something obvious, or a quick return to Pivi Pro doesn’t exist.
Otherwise, Pivi Pro does a reasonably good job organizing a broad and deep number of features and functions. You can customize what the screen displays, and Land Rover says it will learn your habits over time and presumably simplify the user experience. In addition, the Defender 130’s numerous camera views and data panels are beneficial when driving off-road.
However, it is easy to forget how to find and use something you’ve previously seen pop up on the screen. Also, menus that should be more accessible, like the advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) settings, are buried too deep for quick review and adjustment. Assuming you can recall where to find them, of course.
The exception is a button on the steering wheel for turning the lane-keeping assist system on and off. I disliked this ADAS feature’s behavior, so quickly shutting it off was helpful.
Getting back to Pivi Pro, my regular frustrations with hunting for features buried in multi-layer menus, coupled with the mediocre native voice recognition system and the challenge of quickly exiting CarPlay to go back to the Pivi Pro menus, left me feeling dissatisfied with the infotainment system. Audi, BMW, and Mercedes have made this kind of technology effortless. Land Rover must follow suit.
For the 2023 model year, Land Rover offered three special-edition versions of the Defender.
The first one the company announced was the Defender 110 30th Anniversary Edition. Exclusive to North America, Land Rover built 500 examples of this model, marking 30 years since the original Defender 110 debuted. The 30th Anniversary Edition starts with a 110 P300 S painted Fuji White and adds 18-inch white steel wheels, black leather with white interior trim, several option packages, and numerous off-road and utility accessories.
Land Rover also returned the Defender Trophy Edition to the lineup, this time based on the two-door 90 body style. Equipped with a yellow paint wrap, the Trophy Edition builds on the P400 X-Dynamic SE with numerous off-roading packages, extras, and accessories. Buyers could also attend a one-day off-roading adventure at the Land Rover Experience Center in Manchester, Vermont. Just 220 examples were available in the U.S. market.
The Defender 75th Limited Edition commemorates Land Rover’s 75th anniversary. You can get one as a Defender 90 or 110 with the P400 mild-hybrid powertrain, and it features an exclusive Grasmere Green color inside and out. It also provides plenty of standard equipment, including a power-operated fabric roof panel in place of the sunroof. Land Rover did not announce production volumes but called it “a highly collectible Defender.”
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
I understand why Land Rover created the Defender 130. With a properly sized third-row seat and eight-passenger capacity, it can better compete with vehicles such as the BMW X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS while attracting people who prefer a more rugged, purposeful, and adventuresome design.
In addition, the new 130 helps Land Rover to flesh out the Defender lineup now that the automaker has announced that Defender, Discovery, and Range Rover will become brand names instead of model names.
However, to accommodate that roomier and more accommodating third-row seat, the Defender 130 forces compromise. It has odd design proportions when viewed from the rear quarter angle, a substantially reduced departure angle, and doesn’t provide significantly more cargo space than a Defender 110. In fact, some versions of the 110 offer more maximum cargo capacity than the 130.
Still, any Land Rover Defender is easy to love, including the new-for-2023 Defender 130. But you might want the extended warranty because, in the most recent JD Power 2023 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), Land Rover ranked last among all brands.
Christian Wardlaw is a veteran automotive journalist with nearly 30 years of experience test-driving vehicles. He began his career at Edmunds and now owns Speedy Daddy Media, Inc., an automotive content creation company serving several automotive publishers. In addition to JDPower.com, his work has appeared in numerous new- and used-car buying guides, newspapers, and automotive industry trade journals.
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