The Land Rover Defender is already a formidable off-road machine straight off the showroom floor — but like a lot of modern Land Rovers, off-roading isn’t really the vehicle’s main mission. These days, the luxury brand is more of a status symbol and mall crawler than something owners will take into the bush, and given what the brand charges for its lineup of SUVs, that’s understandable. But the Defender, which got a total redesign for the 2020 model year that brought it into the modern age, has always been something a little different.
Less expensive than the Range Rover line that truly caters to the luxury set, the Defender banks instead on its off-road chic and legitimate credibility for going into tough places, much like high-end versions of the Jeep Wrangler do. That’s actually a good way of thinking about the Defender lineup: super-high-end Wranglers, from their abilities to their styling to their ethos. The new Outbound variant offers up something a little different for those actually interested in using their Defender as intended instead of as a ruggedized family wagon.
Related: 2023 Land Rover Defender 130 Review: Long and Loving It
More Stretch, Fewer Seats
The Defender comes in three lengths: the short two-door Defender 90; the medium-length two- or three-row, four-door Defender 110; and the long-length, three-row Defender 130. But wait: The new Outbound takes that longer Defender 130 and deletes the third row, so it’s now a two-row 130 with an extra-large cargo area. No more foldaway third-row seats means a much taller cargo area, so not only do you have the 13.4-inch increase in overall length versus a Defender 110, but your cargo space behind the second row grows from a Land Rover-reported 35.8 cubic feet for a normal 130 to a hair under 47 cubic feet for the Outbound. This additional room is meant for overlanders and outdoor adventurists who need the space for gear, camping equipment or anything else they want to keep dry.
That’s pretty much the extent of the special changes for the Outbound; the rest of the things that came on my test vehicle are also available through other Land Rover packages and options selections. The look is a bit special, with only four colors available: Fuji White, Santorini Black, Capathian Grey and Eiger Grey. All Outbounds get matte-finish bumpers and grille, with Anthracite gray side vents. Twenty-inch gloss-black wheels are standard and wear chunky Goodyear Duratrac all-terrain tires; 22-inch matte-gray wheels are optional. Inside, you get one color choice: ebony (but you can choose between Resist fabric or optional full Windsor leather). “Robustec” trim is used, and there’s a satin-black powder-coat finish on the Defender’s cross-car dash beam.
In other words, it’s dark in there, and it’s even darker thanks to the fact that the Defender 130 Outbound’s rear-quarter windows for the cargo area are now opaque panels instead of glass.
The Gear Is Optional
Looking at the pictures of the test vehicle I drove for a week, you’d think the Outbound comes ready to tackle the terrain, but my test car also had a number of options to outfit it for such duties. That storage bin on the rear-quarter window and the roof rack up top are part of the Explorer Pack; the ladder on the other side that lets you access the rooftop is a stand-alone accessory. All of that can be had on any Defender, you just have to click the appropriate option package when building out your Land Rover. It certainly does make for a beastly-looking SUV, one that appears like it was lifted straight out of villain casting for the last James Bond movie (which, frankly, I think it might have been). But does the Defender 130 Outbound really behave any differently than a normal Defender 130?
No, not really. It does only offer one powertrain: the Ingenium turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six-cylinder engine making 395 horsepower and 406 pounds-feet of torque, same as the last Defender 130 I drove. The newly available supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 engine is not available in the Outbound, but that’s OK because the turbo six is still a fantastic engine. It’s quick enough, with Land Rover saying it’ll boost the Defender from 0-60 mph in 6.3 seconds, and due to the full-time all-wheel-drive system, losing traction is rare.
The biggest difference in how the Defender 130 Outbound drives versus other versions comes down to the tires: My test vehicle had the 20-inch wheels wrapped in Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac tires, which are decidedly louder than other all-terrain options or all-season SUV tires, but not offensively so. If you do any kind of off-roading but still drive the majority of the time on pavement, these really are the best compromise tires to get, in my experience. (I upgraded my own Jeep Wrangler from the original-equipment BFGoodrich M/Ts to Duratracs years ago and never looked back.) The ride quality is excellent in the Defender 130 Outbound, and while steering feel is decent, it’s a tall and tippy-feeling SUV; it feels quite narrow, so you’re not likely to be hustling it around twisty roads anyway.
What the Defender 130 Outbound does best is haul five people in relative comfort (backseat legroom is just OK, not huge) and allow them to bring a ton of stuff. Without a third row, the cargo area opens up considerably, making for an all-weather area that can hold muddy gear or plenty of luggage. It’s not terribly easy to access, though, as the Defender has a rear swing gate instead of a liftgate, and it opens from left to right; if you’ve parallel parked your Defender in the U.S. and need to get into the cargo area, you’re standing in traffic instead of against the curb. But that’s just being nitpicky.
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Not Cheap, But Not Outrageous
The overall experience is very much like that of the normal three-row Defender 130: smooth, comfortable, quiet and upscale. It’s a Jeep Wrangler that went to a fancy British finishing school for some additional education and manners training. That refinement and interior quality in particular doesn’t come cheap, but it’s also not an eye-popping amount like some of its German competitors.
The base price for a Defender 130 Outbound is $85,975 (including destination), which isn’t cheap by any standards and is well above what you’d pay for a loaded Wrangler Rubicon — but not that much more. My moderately optioned test vehicle had Comfort and Convenience Pack options and a few stand-alone spiffs to ring in at a $93,788 grand total. You can certainly get a less expensive Defender, but this one might just be my favorite so far. Good looks, exceptional abilities and no need to cart around seats for people I rarely carry anyway. Maybe when it’s time to graduate from my own Wrangler, one of these will be on my list.
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