Diesel Defender gets a power boost

Land Rover has pumped up the power in its diesel Defender line-up in SA by replacing the D300 model with the D350 engine.

The new 3.0l six-cylinder twin turbocharged diesel engine — available in the 90, 110 and 130 models — has outputs of 257kW and 700Nm, respective increases of 36kW and 50Nm over the unit it replaces.

Pricing for the D350 line-up is between R1,870,700 and R2,327,700.

The launch of the new D350 diesel engine follows a raft of recent updates announced for Defender.

These include the optional Captain Chairs Pack in the long-wheelbase Defender 130, which adds luxurious individual chairs for second-row occupants. Separated from each other by an aisle that gives easier access to the third row, the second-row Captain Chairs are heated and cooled.

Another new addition was the Signature Interior Pack, which comes standard on Defender X and V8 specifications, and optional for Defender Dynamic HSE. The luxury pack combines a suite of upgrades, including front seats with 14-way electrically controlled seats and heating, cooling and memory functions, with supportive new winged headrests. In the second row, climate seats are fitted, with winged headrests on Defender 110 and 130 models. The third rows of the Defender 110 and 130 get heated seats.

The Signature Interior Pack also brings a more luxurious look and feel to the Defender’s cabin, with Windsor Leather and Kvadrat seats, available in ebony or caraway/ebony and new Ultrafabrics available in light cloud/lunar colourway.