2023 Land Rover Defender

The P300 2.0L turbo-four remains the base and volume engine of the 2023 Defender 110 (S/SE); 2023 is a carry-over year for the 90/110 powertrains, with the new 130 body added.

Peak torque of the volume P300 turbo-four, unchanged for 2023.

Land Rover USA's published 0–60 for the P300 110 is 7.7 s, unchanged from 2022 as the powertrain and body carry over.

The P300 four is adequate and linear in everyday use but feels strained moving ~4,800 lb, with low-rpm turbo lag and a coarser note than the silky P400 inline-six that reviewers recommend.

The ZF 8-speed automatic shifts smoothly and unobtrusively, though its conservative calibration with the P300 can delay kickdown.

Item measures maximum rating in any configuration; the 2023 Defender 110 tows up to 8,201 lbs, with the volume P300 rated 7,716 lbs.

Permanent AWD with a two-speed transfer case is standard on every 2023 Defender, with Terrain Response 2 and an available active locking rear differential.

Purpose-built off-roader: up to ~11.5 in ground clearance and 35.4 in wading on air suspension, ~38°/40° approach/departure, low range, Wade Sensing and ATPC — the class benchmark alongside Wrangler/Bronco/G-Class.

US 2023 lineup offers three distinct gas engines — P300 turbo-four, P400 inline-six mild hybrid (P300/P400 MHEV in the 130), and the P525 supercharged V8 — but no plug-in or full hybrid was certified for the US this year.

EPA combined rating for the volume 2023 Defender 110 2.0L turbo-four.

EPA city rating for the volume P300 Defender 110.

EPA highway rating for the P300 110 sits at the bottom of the gas-SUV band, reflecting the boxy, heavy body.

Total range from the 110's 23.8-gallon tank at the EPA combined rating.

EPA annual fuel cost for the volume P300 exceeds the gas-SUV band ceiling given low MPG and the premium-fuel requirement.

Every 2023 Defender engine, including the base P300, requires premium unleaded, compounding its below-average fuel economy.

NHTSA has not crash-tested the 2023 Defender or any other model year of the L663 generation, so there is no star rating. Per the item definition, a vehicle NHTSA never rated takes a value of 0.

IIHS has not crash-tested the 2023 Defender and it holds no Top Safety Pick award, so it can't reach the award band. It sits at the bottom of the middle band rather than lower because Euro NCAP crash-tested the same L663 aluminium monocoque in 2020 and gave it five stars.

Every 2023 trim gets AEB with pedestrian detection, Blind Spot Assist, lane keep assist, rear cross-traffic alert, Clear Exit Monitor, traffic sign recognition, parking sensors and a 3D surround camera as standard. Adaptive cruise is still an option on the lower trims, including the volume S/SE (it became standard for 2025), which keeps the score out of the top band.

AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection is standard. IIHS has not run any vehicle-to-vehicle or pedestrian front crash prevention tests on the Defender, so no independent day or night result backs it up. The score rests on Euro NCAP's competent but not class-leading safety-assist assessment.

Blind Spot Assist is standard on every trim and steers the car back from an unsafe lane change, not just warns. Rear Traffic Monitor and Clear Exit Monitor are also standard. No trailer-aware blind-spot coverage is documented.

Lane departure warning and Lane Keep Assist are standard. Lane centering needs the optional adaptive cruise with Steering Assist, and reviewers call JLR's lane assistance functional rather than refined, with abrupt corrections.

Full-speed-range adaptive cruise with Steering Assist is easy to use, but on the volume trims it is an option or comes in a pack rather than standard for 2023. Reviewers find it competent rather than polished.

No 2023 Defender trim offers hands-free highway driving. Steering Assist is hands-on only and checks for the driver's hands on the wheel.

LED headlights with auto high beam are standard, and Matrix and Pixel LED adaptive units are available on upper trims. IIHS has never rated the Defender's headlights, so the score rests on hardware alone and stays in the middle band.

The upright windshield, low cowl and big side glass give strong forward and side sightlines. Thick D-pillars and the tailgate-mounted spare block the rear view, but the standard 3D Surround Camera and the available ClearSight Ground View and ClearSight rear-view mirror largely make up for it.

Cars.com's car-seat check on the L663 Defender 110 gave top grades for LATCH access and for fitting rear-facing seats, helped by the tall square rear doors and flat floor. The two-door 90 is much harder to load, but it isn't the volume body. The 2023 cabin carries over unchanged from that test.

The volume 2023 Defender 110 is a five-seater. The jump seat and the 5+2 third row are options, and eight seats belong to the 130 that arrived for 2023.

The upright, boxy roof gives generous front headroom near the top of the SUV band.

JLR's published front legroom falls below the band floor on its measurement convention, even though the wide cabin feels roomy in practice.

The flat roof and upright rear glass give second-row headroom at the top of the SUV band.

The 119-inch wheelbase gives adult-friendly second-row legroom, well ahead of body-on-frame rivals like the 4Runner.

The 110's optional 5+2 third row is token seating with only 10.7 cu ft behind it. Buyers who need a usable third row are steered to the new 2023 Defender 130, which is a different body.

Space behind the second row is modest for the footprint; the side-hinged door, external spare and upright packaging cost volume.

With the second row folded the hold is tall and square, but it trails longer-roofed rivals like the 4Runner and GX.

Storage is a signature strength: a full-width dash shelf around the exposed cross-beam, deep console, an optional jump seat that converts to a console, wash-out rubber flooring options and loadspace side boxes.

Front seats give an upright command position and good support, but on the volume S they are 12-way semi-powered and heated only, without ventilation or memory. The second-row bench is roomy but flat.

The unibody D7x platform rides better than any body-on-frame off-roader, but volume 2023 P300/S trims sit on coil springs; the more compliant electronic air suspension is optional or standard only on higher trims.

The unibody keeps it quieter than a Wrangler or Bronco, but the slab-sided body makes wind noise, all-terrain tires roar, and the P300 four is coarser than the six.

Heated front seats and dual-zone climate are standard, but on the 2023 110 S the heated steering wheel is optional, and cooled fronts, heated rears and three-zone climate are upper-trim or option items.

For 2023 the cheapest Defender is the five-door 110 with the 296-hp P300 turbo-four, at $53,500 plus a $1,350 destination charge. The two-door 90 S starts slightly higher.

Most US sales are five-door 110s, and the P400 X-Dynamic SE is the popular mid-grade (the same choice used for the 2022 and 2024 scorecards). Its $73,650 delivered price is above the $68,000 top of the SUV band.

Edmunds projects about $7,231 in 5-year maintenance for the 2023 110 P400. Edmunds' $10,827 repair figure on the 2023 page appears to cover years after a used purchase, mostly outside the warranty, so the new-car repair figure from the 2024 Defender's Edmunds page (~$4,300) is used instead. Either way the total is well above the $9,500 top of the SUV band. CarEdge's lower ~$5,765 figure is a nameplate average across model years.

CarEdge projects the Defender keeps 52.1% of its value after five years, much better than other Land Rovers. The 2023 model year is holding up well: it currently trades at about 63% of its original price.

Land Rover's New Vehicle Limited Warranty is 4 years or 50,000 miles, which is normal for a luxury brand, and it did not change for MY2023.

Land Rover has no longer, separate powertrain warranty, so engine and driveline coverage ends with the 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty. That is below the 5-year floor of the band.

The 2023 Defender comes with roadside assistance for the warranty term and trial periods for its Pivi Pro connected services and data, but no free scheduled maintenance. Service plans cost extra, which puts it behind rivals that include several years of service.

$73,650 volume-trim price minus its estimated resale value after 5 years (52% retained, or about $38,298) leaves about $35,352 in depreciation. Add the projected $11,500 in 5-year maintenance and repairs, and owning this vehicle for 5 years costs about $46,852 in total.

The sources disagree. J.D. Power rates the 2023 Defender's Quality & Reliability as average, but Consumer Reports gives no verdict for this model year and owner reports on the L663 generation keep returning to Pivi Pro and electrical faults, air suspension and 12V battery drain. 2023 is the fourth year of the generation that began with MY2020, and the only big change is the new long-wheelbase 130, so the generation's mixed record applies.

In the 2023 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study, Land Rover ranked last of all brands, and it has sat in the bottom tier for years. Consumer Reports' brand reliability rankings also put it at or near the bottom.

MY2023 has the heaviest recall record of the generation so far: ten NHTSA campaigns. They cover two engine-oil defects, a blank center touchscreen that also disables the rearview camera, two DC/DC converter faults, seat-belt pretensioners, the fleetwide driver-airbag clockspring and a third-row seatback latch on the new 130. Several affect only small numbers of vehicles, but between them they reach the powertrain, occupant-protection systems and the electrical system.

The volume P400 uses the 3.0L Ingenium inline-six mild hybrid. It has no long high-mileage record, its 48V system adds parts that can fail, and MY2023 cars fall under two engine-oil recalls, one of them a cracking oil-filter housing. It is paired with the proven ZF 8HP automatic. The P300 2.0L Ingenium four has a history of timing-chain wear, and the supercharged 5.0L V8 is an established engine.

The exposed-structure cabin, with its visible magnesium cross-car beam, powder-coated surfaces and durable Robustec or leather upholstery, feels purposeful and solid. Its deliberately utilitarian hard surfaces keep it below the plushest luxury SUV cabins at this price.

The body built at JLR's Nitra plant is structurally solid. Reviewers and owners report scattered panel misalignment, interior rattles and wind noise, so quality is average at best.

With roughly 190 US Land Rover retailers, coverage is thin outside major metros. Service satisfaction is middling, and owners widely report long repair waits made worse by the 2022–23 parts backlogs.

Land Rover is among the most expensive brands in the US to maintain. Mechanical and electronic parts come mostly from dealers at premium prices, and JLR's well-documented 2023 parts backlogs kept vehicles off the road for weeks. The aftermarket is mostly off-road accessories, not wear or electronic parts.

The 2023 110 S carries the 10-inch Pivi Pro touchscreen; the 11.4-inch curved unit is standard on the 130 and upper trims.

Pivi Pro boots quickly with a shallow menu structure and keeps physical climate controls, a big improvement over the early-2020 software. Owners still report occasional freezes and connectivity glitches.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on every 2023 Defender through Pivi Pro.

Connected navigation and built-in Amazon Alexa are standard; the native voice layer is command-driven and connected services need renewal after the trial.

A Meridian system is standard on the S with a higher-output Meridian Surround system available, though the hard, boxy cabin limits it.

The 12.3-inch configurable Interactive Driver Display is excellent off-road, but on the volume 2023 S it is an option or upper-trim item rather than standard.

JLR Software Over The Air updates the infotainment plus many vehicle modules, but feature-adding releases are infrequent.

The Land Rover Remote app covers locking, locating and remote climate, but is subscription-gated after the trial, has a mediocre reliability reputation and offers no phone-as-key.

Wireless phone charging is standard on the 2023 110 S, with USB-C in both rows and an available household socket in the loadspace.

Keyless entry, push-button start and app remote start are available, and the waterproof Activity Key is a useful option. The side-hinged rear door rules out a hands-free tailgate, and there is no phone-as-key.

A 3D surround camera and 360° parking aid are standard on every 2023 trim, with ClearSight Ground View and the ClearSight camera mirror available.

A head-up display is offered but only on the X and V8-level trims, not on the volume S.

Tall square doors and generous rear headroom make car-seat installs easy and Cars.com gave the 110 top LATCH grades. The side-hinged door with external spare blocks curbside loading and the step-in is high on coil-sprung trims.

There is no NHTSA or IIHS rating for the 2023 Defender, only Euro NCAP five stars. Standard AEB, blind-spot assist, lane keeping and a 3D camera are strong, but adaptive cruise costs extra on volume trims.

Roomy rear seats and multi-row USB-C help, but coil springs on the volume trim, wind noise, only 34 cu ft behind an occupied second row and a children-only third row hold it back.

The ZF 8-speed is smooth and the upright glasshouse with a standard surround camera makes it easy to place, but the P300 four strains moving ~4,800 lb and the vehicle's width and slow steering add effort.

Very expensive to commute in: 18 MPG combined on premium fuel, about $4,550 a year, plus high Land Rover maintenance costs.

Excellent cameras and square corners help, but the body is wide, the 42.1 ft turning circle is large and the side-hinged tailgate needs clearance to open.

A 7,716 lb tow rating on the P300 (8,201 lb with the six), full-time 4WD with low range and a strong roof-load rating make it genuinely capable, though it has no bed and the four-cylinder works hard under load.

The monocoque is very stiff and the ZF gearbox proven, but Land Rover ranked last in the 2023 J.D. Power VDS and MY2023 carries ten recall campaigns.

The factory accessory catalog is among the industry's richest (expedition rack, roof ladder, side gear carrier, compressor) and a domestic socket is available, but there is no bed or high-output onboard power.

Supportive seats and about 430 miles of range make it a decent tourer, but coil springs on the volume trim, wind and tire noise, optional adaptive cruise and no hands-free system limit it.

This is the Defender's defining strength: up to 11.5 in clearance, 900 mm wading, low range, Terrain Response 2 and a big factory expedition-accessory ecosystem.

The vertical-walled load bay, roof rails, side gear carrier, hitch and optional jump seat make it flexible for bulky gear; the side-hinged tailgate is the main limit.

The aluminum monocoque and independent suspension make it far more composed than body-on-frame off-roaders, but a tall ~4,800 lb SUV on coil springs and off-road-biased tires is never agile.

Slow-geared as expected for an off-roader, but accurate and consistently weighted; feedback is filtered.

The pedal is firm and progressive, but the weight shows in 70–0 mph stops of roughly 170–180 ft.

The ZF 8-speed shifts smoothly, but the P300 turbo-four shows low-rpm lag moving this much mass, and stop/start restarts are perceptible.

The turbo-four is audible and somewhat coarse under load, though inoffensive at cruise.

The 110's 119-inch wheelbase puts the turning circle above the SUV band ceiling; the 90 is better and the new 130 shares the wheelbase.

Upright command seating, a deep glasshouse and square corners make it easy to place, with controls close to hand. The step-in is tall and the spare blocks the rear view without the optional ClearSight mirror.

Character carries it: a distinctive shape and off-road ability that makes detours the point. The P300 four is the least engaging engine in the range.

Every 2023 Defender comes with full-time 4WD and a two-speed transfer case, Terrain Response, a Pivi Pro touchscreen with wireless CarPlay/Android Auto, LED headlights with auto high beams, a 3D surround camera and the core driver aids. That is competitive for a ~$55k luxury off-roader, but leather, air suspension and many comfort features need SE-or-higher trims or costly packs.

A ~$74k 110 P400 X-Dynamic SE gives you a 395-hp mild-hybrid six, true low range and real off-road hardware, which is strong capability for the money next to a G-Class. But rivals of similar size cost less, options add up quickly, and maintenance costs are high.

MY2023 added the stretched 130, so buyers can choose from three body lengths (90, 110, 130) seating two to eight, three engines (P300, P400, V8) and about 19 trims from ~$55k to over $118k, plus a mid-year 2023.5 lineup reshuffle.

US sales rose 34.8% to 21,212 in calendar 2023, making the Defender Land Rover's best-selling US model and the volume leader among luxury off-road SUVs.

The Defender name carries deep expedition heritage, and the L663 became a style object that holds its value far better than other Land Rovers. Land Rover's poor reliability and dependability rankings still weigh on the brand's image.

Demand outran supply for most of 2023, and buyers reported dealer markups, including inflated lease money factors. By late 2023 Land Rover offered 3.9% APR on select 90 and 130 models, and some dealers sold 110s below sticker, so deals had started to appear but were modest and uneven.

The L663 generation launched for MY2020, so 2023 is its fourth model year. The lineup was still growing (the 130 debuted for 2023), and the next update (MY2025) was an evolutionary refresh rather than a replacement.

The L663 won MotorTrend's 2021 SUV of the Year, Top Gear's 2020 Car of the Year and the 2021 World Car Design of the Year. Reviewers still treat it as the benchmark for combining off-road ability with on-road refinement, though reliability worries temper the recommendations.