I have been eagerly waiting for the 2023 Land Rover Defender 130, a bigger and more spacious version of its Land Rover Defender 110 and Land Rover Defender 90 siblings. After my first test drive, I was impressed by the additional space and comfort offered by the Land Rover Defender 130. The third-row seating is the hallmark of the 130, allowing you to haul up to eight people with surprising comfort. The interior design is purposefully chunky and mechanical, with plenty of exposed Torx screws, grab rails everywhere, and so many little storage compartments that you're sure to collect at least a few of your friends' smartphones with every journey.
The Land Rover Defender 130 is literally grander, 13.4 inches longer than the Defender 110, making room for a third row of seats and potentially seating eight adults. The generous aluminum guard up front will keep the worst of the brush off the paint and plastic, while the high rear bumper and exhaust advertise this thing's 28.5-degree departure angle. The side profile of the 130 is generous, looking every bit the sixteen-foot-long SUV that it is, especially parked next to a Defender 110.
Getting into the third-row seating is a bit awkward, as the second row only slides forward a few inches, leaving a narrow gap to duck through. But once you're there, it is surprisingly comfortable, with good visibility from the third row, thanks to generous side windows and even a separate sunroof overhead. The second-row seats are more spacious, sliding and reclining, and folding flat along with the third row, offering a maximum of 76.1 cubic feet of cargo space.