Defender 130 now available for conquering families

A host of exterior and interior design enhancements and technologies distinguish the new Defender 130, uniquely balancing comfort with customary Defender durability and capability.

Nick Collins, executive director of vehicle programmes, Land Rover, said, “The new Defender 130 brings a new dimension of capability to our most durable and rugged family of vehicles. Its spacious interior welcomes and transports up to eight people in supreme comfort, enabling unparalleled, sophisticated adventuring opportunities for families, with unique design signatures to create a distinct new Defender experience.”

Inside, thoughtful storage and convenience solutions are provided for every passenger across all three rows of seating. This ensures the Defender 130 caters for passengers in every seat, with effortless access to the spacious three-abreast third row in a bright and airy cabin.

The interior design features new colour and material options, providing an amplified all-terrain experience. The latest connected technologies and chassis systems – including a new, larger 11.4-inch Pivi Pro touchscreen, standard Electronic Air Suspension and Cabin Air Purification Plus – provide the ultimate support and comfort for modern off-road excursions.

The Defender 130 will be available in South Africa in X-Dynamic HSE and X specifications, in addition to a First Edition, which is available in three combinations carefully curated by the designers, each one featuring a distinct colour and design theme:
• Fuji White with Extended Bright Pack with Light Oyster Full Windsor Leather interior and Natural Light Oak Veneer
• Sedona Red with Ebony Full Windsor Leather seats and Smoked Oak Veneer
• Carpathian Grey with Vintage Tan Full Windsor Leather and Rough-Cut Walnut Veneer.

The First Edition model builds on the HSE specification with an extensive equipment list including Matrix LED headlamps, heated second- and third-row seating, four-zone climate control, Meridian Sound System, Driver Assist Pack and Privacy Glass. They all feature 20-inch alloy wheels as standard, with a choice of P400 petrol or D300 diesel Ingenium six-cylinder power trains.

Ensuring adventures begin and end effortlessly, all Defenders with Keyless Entry – including Defender 130 – now feature Approach Unlock and Automated Walkaway Lock. When the key fob is detected approaching the vehicle, it automatically unlocks when it is within 1.5m. When leaving the vehicle, the Defender 130 will automatically lock when the key fob is more than 1.5m away.

Spacious interior

Land Rover engineers have created an impressive interior space by effectively shrink-wrapping interior packaging components around the body in white, maximising the amount of usable interior space, without the need for a large on-road footprint.

The elegantly extended rear creates uncompromised accommodation in the third row, with enough width to provide comfortable seating for three adults, while the Defender’s familiar outline ensures generous headroom in all three rows. Additional touches ensure a comfortable passenger experience in the third row, including heated seats, padded armrests, thoughtful storage and USB-C provision to charge devices on the move. Carpets are also fitted throughout to suit the 130’s unique character.

Large windows provide excellent visibility in all three rows of seating while the standard-fit panoramic glass sunroof, which is complemented by a second sunroof above row three, makes the interior light and airy for everyone. Additional comfort is provided by ventilation for each row, with additional ducting providing more heating and air-conditioning capacity via optional Four Zone Climate Control, exclusive to Defender 130.

Passengers in rows two and three also benefit from a small stadium rise, for superior visibility. Getting in to the third row is effortless, as the row two seats slide and fold forwards to provide wide access. From the tailgate, customers can simply lower the Defender’s Electronic Air Suspension with buttons inside the load area to aid with loading items into the rear.

The Defender 130 provides a spacious and practical load area, with up to 3 893L of cargo volume even with the rearmost seats in place. When the seats are not in use, they stow to create a large loading area, giving customers the ultimate choice in configuring the interior arrangement that best suits their needs. They are split in 40:20:40 configuration for added convenience.

For families, Isofix child seat attachments are found on up to five of the passenger seats, on the outer seats of the second and third rows, as well as the front passenger seat. The five-seat version of Defender 130 offers a vast load area of up to 2 516L with row two folded.

Up front, the Defender 130 features a larger 11.4-inch Pivi Pro touchscreen as standard following its introduction in the Defender 90 and 110 V8, allowing enhanced control over the vehicle’s core functions via a crisp and intuitive display. The curved glass interface provides fast, state-of-the-art functionality and is responsive as soon as the vehicle is started, with a simple menu structure and Software Over the Air capability so it is always up to date.

The integrated technology allows what3words addresses to be inputted directly to the navigation bar on the Pivi Pro Infotainment or via the connected car app, working seamlessly alongside the existing HERE-connected navigation and mapping software.

Efficient power trains

In South Africa, the Defender 130 will be available with a powerful and efficient choice of power trains, including the P400 mild-hybrid Ingenium six-cylinder petrol and the D300 Ingenium six-cylinder diesel.

Mild-Hybrid Electric Vehicle (MHEV) technology underpins Land Rover’s six-cylinder Ingenium petrol power train, providing seamless responses as well as enhanced fuel economy. It uses a 48V Belt-integrated Starter Generator (BiSG) that harvests energy normally lost under braking and deceleration, that is stored and utilised later in the journey, while also making the stop-start system more rapid and efficient.

Unstoppable capability

Every Defender 130 is fitted with Land Rover’s Intelligent All-Wheel Drive (iAWD) system and eight-speed ZF automatic transmission as standard. The iAWD technology efficiently and effectively manages the power train and power distribution between the front and rear axles, optimising on-road efficiency and all-terrain capability as necessary.

Every Defender 130 is fitted with Electronic Air Suspension with Adaptive Dynamics and Land Rover’s advanced Terrain Response system for unrivalled all-terrain capability and driver confidence in all environments. The combination of advanced systems ensures comfortable and effortless progress across broken surfaces, delivering agile performance.

The Electronic Air Suspension system allows for up to 430mm of articulation, with 71.5mm of additional lift at the front (73.5mm at the rear) in off-road height to clear obstacles and assist when wading – the Defender 130 will ford up to 900mm of water. The Defender’s off-road capability is managed by Land Rover’s Terrain Response system, which allows the driver to fine-tune the driving experience to any terrain via the Pivi Pro screen.

The foundations for the Defender’s all-conquering all-terrain capability rely on Land Rover’s aluminium-intensive monocoque D7x architecture. With a torsional rigidity of 25kNm/degree, the Defender is three times more rigid than traditional body-on-frame designs and features the basis for the all-independent air suspension, twin-speed transfer box and Intelligent All-Wheel Drive system.

The Defender 130 provides a towing capacity of up to 3 000kg, while hitching is made easier with the Electronic Air Suspension, controlled via a switch panel inside the tailgate. Detachable and multi-height tow bar designs are available for effortless towing.

Source: MotorPress