Land Rover Defender 130 - long-term review

The Defender 130 is enormous. Truly huge. We’re talking 5.4m long (including the spare wheel), just under 2m high (you can add 75mm to that with the air suspension in its most extreme off-road setting) and weighs 2.7 tonnes. It can seat eight adults, if you don’t mind getting a bit cosy in the rearmost row. It’s so big that I parked it in front of the house, then had to move it a few hours later because it was obscuring the view and blotting out the sun.

This is more relevant than you think because I’ve just moved from London to the green and pleasant countryside. Around here views are important, as are large in-your-face Land Rovers, some of which even deviate from the school run to venture off-road. No Land Rover is as large and in-your-face as this one, and this one is fitted with the least socially-acceptable engine possible – a 493bhp 5.0-litre supercharged V8. Excellent.

We have the daddy-of-Defenders for six months, in which time I’m planning to ferry my children and their friends around in the back – mostly to far flung birthday parties that chew through our weekends – I’ve already used it to supplement several lorries in shipping all our stuff from Streatham to Sussex (more on that in a bit), I shall be measuring it up off-road, taking the kids skiing for the first time (the car will cope, not sure they will) and tackling the now 70-mile commute. 

The spec is stealthy – Carpathian Grey on 22in gloss black wheels, the interior is a feast of black leather and black suede, like an expensive school shoe. No ladders, roof racks or side-pod things here. Options on the car are pleasingly sparse, mainly because it’s £115k in the first place and comes with absolutely everything including 14-way adjustable heated and cooled seats – even the third row gets cupholders, USB-C chargers and bum warmers.

The only option is Secure Tracker Pro (£530 with a 36-month subscription), which in addition to the standard tracker adds a secondary authentication layer between the fob and vehicle, preventing any non-authorised keys from starting the car. Sorry crims.

Frankly it’s off to a flyer, with my kids insisting on sitting as far away from me as possible in the third row and branding it the coolest car ever… because it’s the biggest car ever. We love the Defender, I can’t wait to find out whether it’s possible to have too much of a good thing.