Should you buy one?

The Land Rover Defender 130 filled a niche we barely knew existed. This is the only non-van on sale today that’ll carry eight passengers – and it is, by a considerable margin, the most capable and comfortable eight-seater around. It’s powerful, premium, unstoppable off-road and, despite its slightly gawky appearance, extremely cool.

However, you’ll need a deep wallet to buy and run one of these cars, along with a capacious driveway to store it. If your needs are more modest – say, you only carry four adults with regularity – then a Defender 110 makes much more sense. You could also consider a Land Rover Discovery or a Range Rover, or go for one of very few rivals from a competitor brand.

The diesel 130 makes the most sense unless you’re buying the car to be a weekend toy, simply because it can almost double the fuel economy of the V8 petrol model. That being said, the V8 is an incredibly likeable and charismatic engine – and we’re sure the performance on tap will be enough to encourage you to forgive the woeful fuel economy every time you step on the throttle.

But the fact remains that, unless you regularly need to transport you entire extended family up a Cumbrian fell, the Defender 130 is probably overkill for most people’s needs. The Defender 130 trades on its feel-good factor – and, despite its high price tag, ridiculous proportions and atrocious fuel consumption, we grew quite fond of it by the end of our week of testing.

What we like

Adult-sized seats in all three rows and extreme levels of comfort in every environment from the Atacama to the M25.

What we don’t like

The sheer size. Street parking can be a nightmare and you’ll drive under every multi-storey car park height restrictor with your eyes shut. Fuel economy is also a step below rivals.