Defender 130 X-Dynamic HSE P400 MHEV (2024) Review

The largest Land Rover Defender available is this 130 – a real beast of a car, more than five meters in length. With the optional extra wheel on the rear door, it is over 5.30 meters long. It can accommodate eight people: two in the front, three in the second row and three in the back row. And then you still have (a little) room left for luggage.

Because it has the same wheelbase as the 110, the ‘regular’ four-door, you get extra height in the back. Now there is a bulge there, which has increased the overhang behind the rear wheels. The result is a car you’d rather not drive through narrow streets. But that’s not what the Defender 130 is meant for. In fact, it will not be sold very often in the Netherlands and Belgium, because the 110 already offers a lot of space. And optionally it also has a third row of seats, so that it can accommodate seven people. Only if you want to transport more than six people on a regular basis should you consider it. Or if you haul the refrigerator every day, that’s possible too.

How does the Defender 130 drive?

What we’re wondering is if it’s running like it’s supposed to. And for the Guardian, that now means on the pavement and on the road. Before we dive in, let’s say this: Land Rover as a brand will fade into the background. The JLR Group to which it belongs has created three new brands: Range Rover, Defender and Discovery. Among the first are Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Velar and Evoque. With Defender you have 90, 110, 130 and Hardtop – commercial vehicle. Discovery currently offers two flavors: Discovery and Discovery Sport. It takes some getting used to, especially because the Land Rover name is so strange.

That said, when we step into the Defender 130, it feels as familiar inside as the other new Defenders. Good finish, good materials, screw naked here and there to emphasize bad behavior, fine. The only thing that is very different is the space that you see when you look in your rearview mirror. Then it seems that there is no end to the car. Center headrests in the second and third rows and a spare wheel in the rear door ensure you have the same view as when you’re looking through your mailbox. You can solve this by activating the interior mirror camera mode. At the push of a button, it transforms into a small, wide screen that clearly shows what’s happening behind the car.

Average combination of six

Yes, you are driving a big car so yes, it takes time to get used to how to drive it. If you’re taking it easy, on short hilly roads or on highways, there’s nothing to worry about. The engine runs well, uses its 400 horsepower in a measured manner and the handling is predictable and very tight when steering from left to right. You actually feel its weight shift, but hey, it’s not a kart. In fact, it rides better than we expected, in part due to the fine suspension and conventional air suspension.

If we want to accelerate a little, the inline six makes itself heard. It is supported by a hybrid subsystem that charges itself and provides support when necessary, but is required to proceed. The smooth action is also accompanied by a nice snapping sound, but the action follows a little later. It is mated to a delightful eight-speed automatic transmission. However, you can also tap the lever on the left to shift gears manually.

Hurry up

We knew the left pipe. He jumps and runs like crazy: we immediately understand why the acceleration time from 0 to 100 km / h is said to be a speed of 6.6 seconds for this big car. Medium run, quick acceleration to 100 km / h, all happens quickly and automatically. You can instantly transform it from a gentle giant to a very fast monster. Before we know it, we’re suddenly driving in France to 100 hectares of forest and dune terrain where you can test your car’s off-road capabilities for a fee and with great respect for nature. The asphalt gets a big green tick, but how does that work off-road with a 5.30m car?

We’ve often said about the Defender in general that you can drive it all over the world, whether there’s a paved road or not. Only the sea can stop it. But the statement applies to 90 and 110. The first is, also because of its small size, very fast, and supported by Land Rover’s list of technical equipment to cross any terrain, 110 does not fail to impress him. But more height means you have a better chance of scraping the bottom with your rear end when the ground starts to slope. And the long wheelbase, along with the large turning circle, doesn’t help either.

Going off-road with the Defender 130

We have 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 car is lifted so high that you can almost shelter yourself in the wheel arches if it’s raining. The ground clearance increases from 21.8 centimeters already generous to 29 centimeters. This ensures that the bottom of the rear slope hangs even more on the ground, making its way, leaving with landing angles of 37.5, 28.5 and 27.8 degrees respectively. If you’re thinking ‘huh, what?’: this is 4×4 terminology for how you can go up and down a hill without scratching the bottom of your car.

No matter what we do in rough terrain, the bottom plate never touches the ground. We follow 90 and 110 on their unpaved road through the wet forest, through the loose sand of the dunes, up, down, walking at a walking pace among the trees. Wherever they can go, the Defender 130 will go too. It is surprising that the angle of the steering wheel is generous for a good job of precision to avoid stones and tree debris, or aim on them. In fact it can change around a square centimeter. A pool of water up to a depth of 90 cm, which unfortunately we did not encounter, should not be a problem either.

Very careful

Because we knew that we would encounter a lot of loose sand, the tire pressure of the standard all-season tires was lowered somewhat, so that we would have more tread and more grip on the sand. That, along with setting the suspension to the highest position and enabling off-road driving mode, is really what you need to do. Then all you have to do is send. Only once we get stuck: on a steep sand hill a hundred meters high, we can’t get more. But that’s up to us. We are so serious about the accelerator, you won’t believe it. In the second attempt we go full throttle, we jump around while hanging on the seat belt, but a little later we are on top. 130 doesn’t budge, our knuckles are white from squeezing the handle.

Which brings us to the claim that you can travel around the world with the Guardian: as far as we are concerned, this also applies to the 130. No, the whole day in bad conditions is not scientific proof of this, but experimental cycles. that this Defender also goes through what Land Rover itself has had to go through, gives us all confidence. And the main thing is: you can make the tour around the world with Defender 130 and eight people. Or with a refrigerator.