Land Rover Defender 130 review

Off road, the 130 handles and performs much as a 110 does. Although the 110 was already a big car anyway, the common wheelbase means there’s no marginal trade-off on agility or manoeuvrability for the extended version.

It can feel wide on narrower forest tracks, but visibility is good and the car’s extremities are easy enough to gauge; and you can rely on Land Rover’s low-range transfer gearing, ground-clearance-boosting air suspension, standard-fit Pirelli mud and sand tyres, and excellent electronic traction, stability and hill descent control systems to make the car haul itself through deep ruts and puddles, up muddy slopes and down steep drops safely - and without troubling its driver to do much more than keep a steady hand on the wheel, and a sensible toe on the accelerator pedal.

On the road, Land Rover’s well-tuned air suspension reins in the 130’s greater size and mass well, and its D300 Ingenium diesel engine also has the torque and refinement to make performance assured and pleasant. We didn’t have the opportunity to test the car fully loaded with occupants, in which condition you would doubtless be aware of the extra weight being carried. But, in pretty light-loaded condition at least, it showed little distinguishable compromise to body control or drivability relative to a 110. 

What of the supercharged V8 variant? For a brand whose engines have never been the star of the show, there’s something admirable about how this new super-Defender celebrates its motor without overshadowing or compromising the attributes that are so intrinsically associated with its name.

There’s a muscular but understated baritone on start-up, which befits the sinister aura cultivated by the black-on-black-on grey paint scheme and chrome quad-exit exhaust, while cultivating a sense of occasion that you have to argue is rather more obvious and aspirational than that of a diesel workhorse.

So too is it incongruously and hilariously quick. In a straight line, grunt is delivered with such surprising immediacy and captivating aural drama that you quite forget the sheer size and weight of the damned thing. The squeal of the supercharger alone is a joy to be savoured, giving way as the revs climb to a viscous, angry growl that simply can’t be matched for charisma by the BMW V8.

It can be overbearing and ostentatious, indeed, but only when called for. At more sedate speeds, the V8 is no more intrusive than the engines available elsewhere in the Defender line-up. You could drive it for weeks at normal speeds and completely forget what was under the bonnet – until you noticed that it had been averaging fewer than 20mpg the whole time.