Land Rover South Africa has announced when the Defender 130 will arrive on local shores, with the company confirming the new, eight-seater model will arrive here “toward the end of 2022”. Pricing will be released closer to the launch time. The local arm of the British marque has further confirmed which engine options our market will be getting. Here’s what you can expect…
The local Defender 130 line-up will comprise a duo of engine options. These include the firm’s D300 Ingenium diesel unit and P400 mild-hybrid powertrain. The former, 3.0-litre six-cylinder oil-burner produces 221 kW and 650 Nm of torque, available from a lowly 1 500 r/min to 2 500 r/min. Land Rover says this model accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 7.5 seconds.
The P400 model features a 3.0-litre six-cylinder Ingenium petrol motor and a 48 V belt-integrated starter generator. The mild-hybrid set-up produces 294 kW and 550 Nm. Torque is available from 2 000 r/min to 5 000 r/min. This variant completes the 0-100 km/h sprint in a claimed 6.6 seconds.
Power and torque are sent to the Land Rover’s Intelligent all-wheel-drive system (iAWD) via an eight-speed automatic transmission. All models feature electronic air suspension and the firm’s “advanced” Terrain Response set-up as standard.
As a reminder, the eight-seater Defender measures 5 358 mm bow to stern, 2 008 mm wide and 1 970 mm in height. The wheelbase measures 3 022 mm. Thanks to the extended rear overhang, the latest addition to the range offer “even greater” interior space and luggage capacity.
Land Rover claims the Defender 130 boasts 389 litres of boot capacity when all the seats are in place. With the third row stowed away, 1 232 litres are offered, while folding down the second row increases space to 2 291 litres.
