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First Look

Land Rover has given the Defender more luxury and fancier chairs

Plus: more power for its diesel engine, but mostly, Captain’s Chairs!

Published: 07 May 2024

Land Rover has given its Defender a new range of options and a more powerful diesel engine aimed at ushering in a higher level of luxury for when you’re off climbing a mountain/crossing a ravine/mounting a challenging kerb.

We’ll come to the engine shortly, because first we must discuss the addition of two individual Captain’s Chairs in the second row of the very long Defender 130. Captain’s Chairs are of course, brilliant: these LR ones (pictured below) are heated and cooled, get their own armrests and winged headrests, and are standard-fit in Defender X and V8 models. Optional across lesser trims.

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Elsewhere, there’s a new ‘Signature Interior’ pack – again standard on X and V8 cars, optional everywhere else – that adds 14-way adjustable heated and cooled front seats, better material quality throughout the cabin, ‘softer’ accents, a side pocket in the centre console and a nicer headliner.

For one year only, you’ll also get the option of a Defender 110 ‘Sedona Edition’ – that’s the car pictured above – that gets a lush red colour, 22in gloss black alloys, and all the interior accoutrements available with the X-Dynamic HSE edition.

The old six-cylinder D300’s 296bhp hybrid has been boosted so it’s now called D350, and it now produces – that’s right! – 350PS, so 345bhp. We found the D300 to be a refined, sensible powertrain for the Defender, so with more power and more torque – 516lb ft – it should be even more sensible.

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There are many packs available that’ll cater for anything you want to achieve in your new Defender – go off-road, go really very off-road, drive it like a sportscar, drive it like a learner, protect yourself from cold, protect from really very cold, tow some things, tow more things... you get the gist.

Land Rover has also emphasised the updated safety measures in place, with new Defenders now featuring the ‘Secure Tracker Pro’ for the duration of the warranty period, a ‘Walk-Away’ locking feature in case you… walk away and forget to lock it, and a spare wheel lock.

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