ULTIMATE OVELANDER

Go big or go home. Or in case of the new, big-as-a-barn Land Rover Defender 130, take your home anywhere you please.

-  PARTH CHARAN

AN UNRELENTING Sun blazes overhead as I survey a steep dune, in a desert roughly 30 kilometres north of Dubai. In front of me is the tactile-but-not-spartan dashboard of the Land Rover Defender 130-the latest and largest of the current-era Defenders. The cockpit is a familiar enough setting-replete with cubbyholes, button-tufted edges on door pads, and an abundance of grab handles. In fact, to effectively spot the difference, you have to step out of the car and walk all the way to the back of the Defender 130. Despite there being no inches added to the wheelbase, it's quite a walk. Especially on Arabian sands that tend to move as if perpetually upended in a giant hourglass.

Normally, when faced with a steep ascent, the instinct is to reach for the gear lever, relying on timely upshifts to keep you in the meat of the power band. In the Defender however, I let the eight-speed gearbox do all the work. In "Sand" mode, it manages to hold revs just long enough to make sure you get a steady supply of torque to get you out of pretty much any quagmire. Any concern about the added bulk of the Defender altering its terrain-conquering abilities is put to rest, even with the shallower departure angle. The new Defender 130 upholds tradition and, like the former and much-loved "OG" version, gets three rows of seating and 340 millimetres added exclusively to the rear overhang. While this does take away from the proportionality of the Defender 110, the added space is a considerably greater addition to the most utility-focused Landie there is.