New Defender News

A.J.M

Explorer
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New Defender 90 Bowler.

P300 with cage etc.
On 18s with KO2 tyres.

check out the modified areas for the sill areas.
Had a good chat with the guys and while doing so a guy at the landy show bought one of them for the competition!

They are developing parts and kit for both 90 and 110 and will be making them up for sale eventually for people to buy.

Land Rover have asked them to really focus on these models and see what they can do/come up with.

exciting times ahead then for more parts for off road use in time.
 

SkiWill

Well-known member
Very interesting. I had thought that the pickup version was dead. I'd love to see one revived though. I also think it is beneficial to see that the 130 will be mostly but not ALL rear overhang. If you're going to make a big family hauler, break over angle is going to be less than ideal anyway, so may as well make the back door openings bigger to get in the third row of seats.

I'm a little nervous about the Defender going more "upmarket." That was the same thing that Land Rover said about the Discovery so that the Defender could stay more "utilitarian." That and the fact that you could spec a Defender 110 with coil springs for 2022 models (not that they'll actually build you one with the chip shortage) made me optimistic that Land Rover was taking the potential competition from the Grenadier seriously. And the more options the better for us as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully they keep the 90 and some of the more basic specs like coil springs available to those that want them despite the upmarket push. Seems a little surprising to me though since JLR had said that Jaguar was done chasing the Germans, but that seems to be exactly the move that Land Rover is making now with moving everything upmarket. Fingers crossed that the more off road touring versions are still available in a few years when I'm ready to buy one.
 

catmann

Active member
Another 130 was spotted, this one on Feb 5th in an Edinburgh car park . I think being inside helps give it some real-world scale. I am curious just how much of a premium LR is going to charge for the extra foot of space...

0_defender130camo.jpg
 

DieselRanger

Well-known member
Another 130 was spotted, this one on Feb 5th in an Edinburgh car park . I think being inside helps give it some real-world scale. I am curious just how much of a premium LR is going to charge for the extra foot of space...

0_defender130camo.jpg
This should make for (a) a very capable overland sherpa, and (b) a more rugged alternative to the full-fat Range Rover. Quite confident it will be around or just over $100K off the lot in an average spec, while all the social media and adverts for the new Range Rover seem to be pushing that more into Bentley/Rolls/G-Wagen territory.
 

Small Dog

New member
Hello All:

I have been thinking about a Defender for a very long while - but now considering the new Grand Jeep Cherokee based on my needs. I prefer the styling and the approach/departure / and break over of the Defender. While much more expensive, I like the Defender's interior better when all things are equal. They are both unibodies. They are both very good on the highway. They both have smooth air suspensions. They both are IFS, unlike my current wrangler. The Grand Cherokee is also no Volvo when it comes to off-road. I thought I might want a new Bronco until I sat in one. I just can't pay that much for that level of interior fit and finish.

The reason I can't do a Defender is that the closest dealer is more than an hour away. I also work in a field where 70k on a truck is just fine, but a landrover would seem over the top.

Am I wrong to think that the Jeep Grand Cherokee is a good cross-comparison in terms of offroading ability and very good highway performance with a nice interior?
 

XJLI

Adventurer
The WL platform is even newer than the Defender, so any reliability or long term reports are still out but so far it's gotten really good reviews everywhere. A friend has one, and its a really nice truck.
 

SkiWill

Well-known member
I also work in a field where 70k on a truck is just fine, but a landrover would seem over the top.

Am I wrong to think that the Jeep Grand Cherokee is a good cross-comparison in terms of offroading ability and very good highway performance with a nice interior?

You must work in engineering/construction also! I once got grief for driving my wife's diesel Mercedes to a meeting. We bought it used for $20k and it was the cheapest vehicle there by far, but it had a three pointed start on it instead of a Ram, Blue Oval, or bow tie. I totally understand where you're coming from. A Grand Cherokee is not a rock crawler, but still remarkably capable off road. I have no experience with the new Grand Cherokee chassis, but my family members have had a number Grand Cherokees over the years and I've always been impressed by them, but the interiors were not as nice as a Land Rover. That may have changed since supposedly Jeep really stepped it up with the new Grand Cherokees, but I haven't ridden in one yet. The 3.6 V6 Pentastar and 5.7 V8 have proven to be reliable for whatever that's worth.

Good luck. Also consider that if you're in a field where a $70k pick up doesn't cause anyone to bat an eye, if they're not giving you grief about a Land Rover, they'll give you grief about something else. I once told a friend in marketing that if they wanted to figure out if a product name could be twisted around into something obscene then I could float ideas in a power plant control room. If those guys couldn't twist something around, no one could.
 

jmodz

Active member
I am not interested in the 130 really but what caught my attention is that the P300 engine in the 130 is a detuned i6 instead of the 2.0 4 banger. Who thinks this change will trickle down to the rest of the lineup? I know a lot of people in this thread complained that a 2.0 4 cylinder engine just wasn’t enough displacement to move an SUV like this. Did JLR listen to this feedback?
It will be interesting to see if you can get the i6 P300 at a similar price to the i4 P300 and with 18” wheels.
 

SkiWill

Well-known member
I am not interested in the 130 really but what caught my attention is that the P300 engine in the 130 is a detuned i6 instead of the 2.0 4 banger. Who thinks this change will trickle down to the rest of the lineup? I know a lot of people in this thread complained that a 2.0 4 cylinder engine just wasn’t enough displacement to move an SUV like this. Did JLR listen to this feedback?
It will be interesting to see if you can get the i6 P300 at a similar price to the i4 P300 and with 18” wheels.

In a confidence inspiring move, the Land Rover USA online configurator shows that the i6 P300 has the exact same power output of 296 hp and 295 lb/ft of torque as the i4 P300 while Car and Driver claims something like 347 lb/ft of torque for the i6 P300. The configurator also shows 19.8 gallon tank for the Defender 130 so either the tanks are getting smaller, or they put in the imperial gallon unit, which would correspond to the US 23.8 gallon tank the 2022 Defender 110 came with. Just for fun, I configured a 2023 Land Rover Defender 110, and it also now comes with a 19.8 gallon tank according the the Land Rover USA configurator. So, either they're using the wrong "gallon" for the US market or Land Rover inexplicably chopped off 4 gallons of capacity from the fuel tank between 2022 and 2023 models for no apparent reason. Both the D130 and D110 are listed as the 197" length with spare tire. More likely, this is just the brand's continued (lack) of attention to detail which contributes to its broader reputation.

Assuming that Land Rover can get the units worked out, the D130, especially if the detuned i6 would be satisfied with regular fuel rather than premium gasoline, could be a winner for my family in the future. The configurator only allows for 19" wheels for the D130. If the i6 P300 replaces the i4 P300 in the 90 and 110, I really really really hope that the 18" wheels would stay.
 
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XJLI

Adventurer
Assuming that Land Rover can get the units worked out, the D130, especially if the detuned i6 would be satisfied with regular fuel rather than premium gasoline, could be a winner for my family in the future. The configurator only allows for 19" wheels for the D130. If the i6 P300 replaces the i4 P300 in the 90 and 110, I really really really hope that the 18" wheels would stay.

You can run aftermarket 18s on the P400 110s, I dont see why you wouldn't be able to on the 130.
 

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