Hello all. I am currently looking at the Defender and have a 110 that I am taking on an overnight test drive right now. A little background about myself -- I owned a Disco Series II from 1999-2003 and really loved that vehicle. Ended up trading it in before I ran out of warranty because there was a computer glitch that could not be remedied (traction control and ABS warning lights would crop up from time to time rendering those systems unavailable). Currently own a BMW X5 and am looking at two different vehicles currently - the BMW X7 and the Defender. We have been thinking that we would probably look at getting the 130 instead of the 110 just from a passenger and cargo standpoint, but I really like the looks of the 110 better. Unfortunately, my dealer does not have any 130s in stock right now.

From current owners, is there anything in particular that I need to pay attention to while I am testing it out? Also, for anyone who has tried both, how comparable is the driving feel between the 110 and the 130. For those of you that have special ordered your Defender, how long does it typically take from placing the order to taking delivery? Finally, has anyone else on the forum cross-shopped the Defender and the X7? If so, what tipped the scale to a Defender for you over the X7?

Thanks to all who respond.

 

I have both cars right now. Have had 3 X7s (2019,2022,2025) and a Defender v8 110 (came from a G wagon) . They are totally different cars so its like comparing apples and oranges - but I will try to give you my pros/cons. X7 pros is that it drives like a 7 series and the interior is way nicer than the Defender - even with the V6 it actually goes pretty good. Cons is that they are a dime a dozen and almost drives so good its boring - all long trips with the family we take that car. The defender looks way better and the creature comforts are comparable to the X7. Drives better than my G wagon did, but its more like a SUV/Truck than the X7 which drives like a sedan. Each has its purpose! So maybe get both!

 

My wife "stole" my 2021 Defender and gave me her X5 M50i to drive. It was fun to drive for a few months while I waited for another Defender to be built and arrive. I could never understand how the X5 and 110 are similar size on the outside but the Defender is so much bigger on the inside. The Defender has far more legroom in both rows, plus more cargo room. I did look at an X7 as well, but same issue...not that much bigger on the inside given the extra length. (We're a tall family)

Aside from more interior space, I prefer the Defender over the X5 and X7 for it's capability. I drive on a beach in summer and you don't even have to air down the tires. When heading up skiing, I have found the Defender unstoppable in blizzard conditions and on unplowed roads when other drivers gave up and turned back. You don't mind putting a wet and sandy retriever in the way back of the Defender or picking up 60 bags (2100 pounds) of landscape stone. Up front the seating surfaces in our 2025 with the extended leather pack are as luxurious as any X5 or X7. It's an amazing blend of rugged luxury.

The 2025 110 I just took delivery of took 5 months from order to delivery.

 

I just purchased my 130 - ordered it in late august and took delivery just a few days ago. Timing wise I lucked out a bit as the dealer had 2 slots left for cars to be built in Sept and I took one of them.

i test drove both the 110 and 130, and to me, the feel is really the same. The 130 doesn’t feel bigger when driving it. I wound up getting it with Captain chairs to make accessing the third row easier. I’m glad I did as the extra space is already proving to be very useful

i did look into the X7 and drove my buddies. It was nice but I wanted something different and something I don’t see everyone else driving. X7 is certainly way more luxurious. Honestly, the defender spoke more to my style than the X7 (I know it sounds weird but hey, cars do reflect us). I wanted a bit luxury with more of the ruggedness in a 7 seater. This was the only car that fit the bill.

 

I think with 2100 pounds of stone in a 110 (plus at least one adult to drive) you would be seriously over the vehicle’s GVWR.

My 110’s GVWR is 6845 lbs. I weighed mine on a truck scale. With a full tank of gas, OEM steel wheels and the TuffAnt rock sliders (and no humans), I was at 5440 lbs. The sliders are under a hundred pounds.

You were probably 500-700 (I added 200 for a driver and whatever else you were carrying) pounds over your max.

 

True, I seem to remember reading the Defender payload capacity is around 1900 pounds. But with the self-leveling suspension it didn't drive or handle much different, maybe a little more braking effort was required. The Defender unibody is really solid and having the tires located under the load helps too. I could feel heavy loads more in the LR4, especially the time I picked up 100 10 foot long 2x4's. Can't do that in the Defender with the stupid swinging tailgate.

 

Dynamically both the X5 and X7 are more fun to drive on a twisty backroad, and I find the B58 I6 to be superior to JLR's Ingenium P400 I6. The B58 gives you crazy power, crazy efficiency and is quite literally bulletproof. Despite that, the P400 I6 and P300 I4 in the Defender (P300 130 is an I6) are both great engines, and have a good reliability track record, with the I4 being on sale since 2017 and the I6 in 2019.

Despite having a better engine and better on-road driving dynamics, I'd still take the Defender over any BMW SUV (or I guess SAV in BMW speak). The Defender still handles very well, especially for an off-road oriented 4x4. The ride & handling is excellent if you get the air suspension (which is standard on the 130). If you get a 110, get one with the air suspension, as the ride quality and body control is a lot better than the coils thanks to the adaptive dampers. Plus, the air suspension is significantly more capable off-road thanks to the height adjustment and superior articulation. It also levels out if you have a heavy load in the trunk or if you're towing. The Meridian stereo (400w & 700w Surround) is in my opinion a lot better than the harman/kardon systems in BMWs, but not as good as the Bowers & Wilkins. In fact, the newer Meridian Surround system isn't as good as the same system in the previous-generation JLR products. The infotainment is easier to use than iDrive 8 IMO, and you still have physical HVAC controls, which is an absolute necessity IMO.

Land Rover's 4WD system is vastly superior to xDrive. The traction control, ABS and new advanced electronic architecture allows the car to always find grip. The Defender has the best version of LR's Terrain Response since its inception back in 2004. Last night on my way home from work it was snowing, and while everyone was moving slowly, I set the Terrain Response to Grass/Gravel/Snow and easily passed them without issue. It gives you so much confidence in inclement weather and off-road.

I ordered my 2021 110 in October 2020 and took delivery at the end of January 2021, so about 3 1/2 months from order to delivery. New orders seem to take 4-6 months. Still, well worth the wait!

 

Thanks to all who have responded. I drove the 110 in multiple driving situations last night. Here are my pros and cons so far:

Pros: Interior Layout
Interior storage space
High seating position
Surprisingly little body roll for such a high-profile vehicle

Cons: Throttle response (I feel like sometimes I get it right starting from a stop and other times, it's a mixed bag)
Active Cruise Control (I don't like the fact that it doesn't have some level of autonomous driving compared to the BMW)
Road vibrations (this was a comment that my wife made while riding with me - she said she could feel it in her feet)
Fuel economy

My overall take, so far, is that I like the 110 around town more than I do on the highway. It isn't bad on the highway, it just isn't as nice as the BMW on the highway. It definitely has done enough in the time that I have been driving it to warrant serious consideration, but I have to give some more thought to the use case for a new vehicle.

 

I'm in about the same situation as you are, just a bit ahead - waiting for delivery.

I got lucky and had a chance to get a P300 110 and P400 130 for an extended test - I did post my impressions here before, but never addressed the question you have.

If you're considering 130 for cargo space, prepare to be disappointed unless you're getting the Outbound (2 rows of seats, extra cargo space in place of the third). The 130 I tested didn't give a chance to get the third row down flat, and it was basically one big disappointment as far as cargo was concerned. Since we do carry big things often, we ended up getting a 110 with the standard roof rack. Better departure angle was also a consideration in favor of 110.

130 feels more like a boat, not in an unpleasant way. Otherwise, about the same. Having driven a MY24 Range Rover for a few days since, I'd say all of them feel very similar, though RR definitely won't give you the cargo space you're looking for, with the spare tire taking a lot of it.

These are two very different vehicles for very different target audience. Unless you're planning to take yours offroad, you'd be overpaying for features you won't use that will add complexity and subtract reliability. X7 is a blacktop only vehicle and you might find a better match there, especially if you like the way they drive. For me, Defender felt like a well fitting glove after my bimmers, of which I've had and still have a few, but have already bought my last ones, and won't be buying any more, I don't like the direction they took.

Regarding your comment about throttle response, you didn't mention which engine the 110 you drove was equipped with, it looks like it was a P300. P300 and P400 are totally different, here's my take on them, hope it helps: https://landroverforums.com/forum/20...-drive-122208/ - even the heavier 130 felt like the reaction was instantaneous with P400.

And one last bit about luxury - different trims have different feel. The "Resist" upholstery in the S trim I tested definitely felt plasticky and cheap in comparison to Windsor.

 

Thanks for the response. You addressed what my concern had been about the 130 in terms of the non-flat load floor. My dealership does not have any 130s on the lot so I haven't been able to actually see it for myself.

The one that I drove was a Defender 110X. Exterior was Pangea Green. Interior was Vintage Tan/Ebony Windsor leather. It was a 5 seat model with 20 inch wheels. It had the cold climate package with the heated windshield (which I would never get -- feels like you are looking through a screen door in direct sunlight and at night). It was the P400 and not the P300.

Thing is, I have missed the 110 since I turned it back in to the dealer. Some other pros that I didn't mention in a prior post, I love the fact that you can set it to automatically go to access height when you park the car. That's something that I wish BMW did. Also, as compared to the new BMWs, I love that the Defender still has actual buttons for the climate control. My X5 has the buttons, but if we went the X7 route, we would not have climate control buttons.

Can any of you chime in on what your long road trip experiences have been in the Defender? We have a beach house that is 5.5 hours away that we travel to quite often, so I would likely be doing quite a bit of highway driving in it.