Land Rover Doubles Down On More Seating With The 2023 Defender 130

Land Rover Defenders, Defender 130 On The Left. Photo: Land Rover
Land Rover Defenders, Defender 130 on the left. Photo: Land Rover

Land Rover’s 2023 Defender 130 now has room for your kids’ friends, or your mountain climbing team, whichever applies.

Families, teams, and people who drive a lot of other people around, rejoice! Land Rover’s added another Defender to its lineup and it can bring up to 8 passengers along. Standard.  Let me say that again: The third row in the Defender 130 is standard. Announced yesterday, the new 2023 Defender 130 is longer, starts at $68,000, and is as capable as the other Defenders.

The Defender series takes a more active approach than it’s more posh sibling, the Range Rover. It’s showcased as a functional and rugged Land Rover (though no less attentive to the details).

Related: Rise Above it All With the 2021 Land Rover Defender 90, A Compact Beast of a Luxury SUV

8 People In The Defender 130! Photo: Land Rover
8 People in the Defender 130! Photo: Land Rover

Check Your Garage, Friends

The 2023 Defender 130 is 211″ long from the tip of its nose to the spare tire on the back. No wonder it can accommodate 8 people, plus gear. That said, you may want to measure your garage to make sure your new Defender 130 will fit. Also, in the This-Is-Not-Earth-Shattering-News department for 3-row SUV’s, but you will not have as much room for gear when the third row is in use. Images look like you could maybe do 2-3 carryons or a gaggle of backpacks. That said, when the seats are all folded you will have just over 76 cubic feet of space for your hardware store haul.

Speaking of the third row, it’s got a fixed glass roof back there to keep it feeling light and bright. There is a sliding panoramic moonroof over the first two rows.

Related: Land Rover Defender 90 Luxury SUV: The Freedom of Time All to Yourself

2023 Land Rover Defender 130 Cargo Behind The Third Row. Photo: Land Rover
2023 Land Rover Defender 130 cargo behind the third row. Photo: Land Rover

If You Are Going to Tow, Here’s What You Need to Know

The 2023 Defender 130 will have two powertrain options. An inline 6-cylinder engine alone, or a mild hybrid system (or MHEV in industry-speak) paired with a slightly more powerful inline 6-cylinder engine. The MHEV option raises the base price considerably, from $68,000 to $78,300. Either combination will get up up to 8,201 pounds for towing, but the MHEV will get you 395 horsepower instead of the 296 from the 6-cylinder alone.

Related: James Bond is Turning 60 — and Land Rover is Celebrating by Competing in an Off Road Rally in a 007 Land Rover Defender

Defender Interior. Photo: Land Rover
Defender interior. Photo: Land Rover

Some Features Are Not New, But Are Still Cool

The Defender 130 will come with a wearable activity key. It’s a bracelet that looks like an exercise bracelet, that you can wear while you’re out doing whatever adventure you want to do, instead of carrying a key fob around, worrying that you’ll lose it. There is also walk-away locking, and approach unlocking so you don’t even have to press a button to lock and unlock your car.

Land Rover Defender Front Seats. Photo: Land Rover
Land Rover Defender front seats. Photo: Land Rover

There is also a new, curved 11.4″ multimedia touchscreen. I’ll be excited to check this one out. There is an optional 4-zone climate control system accessed through this screen. Land Rover says the information available in this system will always be up to date via over-the-air connectivity. Navigation will be current, and more of the drive route will be visible due to the size of the screen.

11.4&Quot; Touchscreen In The Defender 130. Photo: Land Rover
11.4″ touchscreen in the Defender 130. Photo: Land Rover

Different Packs for Different Activities

You can select a pack of goodies to customize your Defender 130. There are appearance packs and activity packs. The activity packs are the Explorer Pack ($4,800), the Country Pack ($2,200), the Adventure Pack ($TBD) , and the Urban Pack ($1,600). The Explorer Pack, for example, includes mudflaps, a roof rack, an exterior side-mounted gear carrier, and more.

The Adventure Pack includes an air compressor, a “rinse bag” which is a water pouch with a pump and a spray to wash your gear, a bumper cover to protect it while loading your cool stuff in and out.

The 2023 Defender 130 Wants to Be a Part of Your Adventure

Whatever options you choose, it’s exciting that you can now bring more people along. Land Rover’s storied capability paired with it’s ruggedly luxe interior will be a compelling combination for lots of customers.

Land Rover Defender 130, Three Rows! Photo: Land Rover
Land Rover Defender 130, three rows! Photo: Land Rover
Sara Lacey
Sara Lacey

Sara has written about cars since 2005. She used to beat them up with her kids and write about it at the likes of MotherProof.com and Cars.com. Now an Associate Editor and Contributor for A Girls Guide to Cars, Sara deciphers how a car will work in her reader's lives.

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