We had so much fun testing the new 2021 Land Rover Defender with our family! It's a great looking seven-seat four-wheel-drive that feels exciting to drive, unlike a lot of seven-seat family cars! In fact, it's the total opposite and it makes you feel like you're still cool!! So let's put it through our BabyDrive testing and see if this rugged off-roader is also practical as a family car!
Well, let's just start with the seating. I can vouch for there being enough space between two child seats in the second-row for an adult to sit as I had to sit there between my girls and it was very comfortable! There are two sets of ISOFix points and three top tether anchorages in the second-row seats and three child seats fit easily across that second row.
There are no top tether anchorages in the third-row seats of this four-door ‘110' version (there's a shorter 2-door '90' Defender as well) so you can't install any child seats back there. However, the seats are comfortable and headroom is good but legroom is really lacking. I could just sit in the third-row and my legs were cramped (I'm 162cm).
You can distribute the legroom quite well throughout the Land Rover Defender. We found with me in the third row (162cm) and a rear-facing child seat in the second row, a 175cm passenger can sit in front. Or with me in the third-row and a forward-facing child seat in the second row, a 182cm passenger can sit in the front.
But you cannot step through to the third row if you have a child seat installed in the second-row seat that tilts forward to let you in.
Storage in the cabin of the Land Rover Defender is very inventive with nets, bands and shelves all over the place, it is good in all three rows. In the third row, there is a net perfect for holding an iPad and an elastic strap that's perfect for a water bottle or fire extinguisher would possibly fit there if you are going on a camping trip. There is a cup holder too that will hold a coffee cup or refillable water bottle.
In the second row, there are map pockets and mounts for media screens on the back of both front seats as well as USB and 12V sockets. There are second-row cup holders and door bins that will hold a large refillable water bottle.
The front dash of the Defender has a shelf that runs the length of it, even behind the media screen which was really useful.
The central console has great storage with a shelf underneath great for your bag or shoes. Cup holders, cordless phone charging tray and complete with chiller cabinet!
Storage is well catered for in the front but the door bins are very disappointing and will not hold a large refillable water bottle and so you have nowhere for your water bottle in the front if you're using the cup-holder for coffee.
One of my favourite features about the Defender is that you can raise and lower the height of the car using buttons in the boot, making loading and unloading easier.
You can check the height of the vehicle when you are going into multi-storey car parks in the dimensions screen, which I found really handy.
You can also control the air-conditioning in all three rows of the Land Rover Defender through the media screen which is fantastic and gives you ultimate control over the comfort of your little rear passengers. Especially if you have small children or bigger kids that will fight over the controls!
The rearview mirror of the Land Rover Defender has the option to be a camera view, which I found takes a little getting used to as you are expecting to see your children reflected back at you! The camera image is lovely and clear and I found I kept flicking between the two images.
The camera image quality within the media screen is excellent, you have an off-road camera too which is good for going through water. And there's also a towing camera.
It has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto too.
The interior of the LandRover Defender is very rugged and feels like you have bolted together your Meccano set, with raw bolts and sweep-out rubber floors which are really practical for families to easily get out the sand etc from beach trips.
There is a child lock button on the driver's door, it locks the rear doors and windows so you don't need to worry about little passengers in the back fiddling with them while you are driving and you can touch-open and lock the Defender from any door with the key in your bag or pocket which I found really helpful when going to and from the car with the children.
Boot space is pretty practical for families and when using only five seats the Defender 110 will hold 14 shopping bags, although the Nissan Patrol and Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series will both hold eighteen shopping bags.
A double, single and twin or tandem pram fit in the boot of the Defender with good amounts of shopping bags.
However, when using all seven seats we could only fit three shopping bags in the boot and no prams would fit, just a compact stroller.
The New 2021 Land Rover Defender 110 is a fun and enjoyable car to drive and gives the school run a new element of cool!
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
Will my pram fit in the boot of the new 2021 Land Rover Defender?
The boot of the New 2021 Land Rover Defender is TINY when you are using all seven seats and you are left with a space that even our little puppies couldn't fit on!
I managed to fit three shopping bags in the boot which is comparable to the Nissan Patrol which also fits three shopping bags and the Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series which fits a whopping seven shopping bags!
A compact stroller will fit in the boot of the Land Rover Defender with one shopping bag.
When only using five seats the boot space is enormous and you could easily do an emergency nappy change or transport a large dog in the back! The checker plate flooring is rough on the knees so be sure to put a blanket down before a nappy change! However it is perfect for pups and pooches as it is hard and durable.
The boot is full of handy storage and features. There is a 12V socket on the left-hand side for tyre pumps (you can even have a built-in tyre pump as an optional extra) and fridges.
Above that is are controls to raise and lower the height of the car, which make loading and unloading easier and helpful for dogs jumping in and out. There are also controls in the central console so you can adjust the height whilst still in the driver's seat.
Within the media screen, you can see the height of the car and I found that really useful when going into unfamiliar car parks so I knew we would fit underneath the barriers.
There is a fabric cargo cover that fastens at each side of the boot. It's fiddly and inconvenient compared with the roller blind style covers in most SUVs.
Bag hooks are provided on either side too.
The boot door also has some storage in it.
When only using five seats fourteen shopping bags will fit in the boot of the New Land Rover Defender. That's comparable to the Nissan Patrol and Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series which both hold eighteen shopping bags.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
The Duet side-by-side twin stroller fits in the boot with five shopping bags around it.
The tandem stroller fitted with seven shopping bags beside it.
The single stroller fitted with six shopping bags alongside it.
The Nano compact stroller fitted upright with twelve shopping bags around it.
Or you could fit a large dog!
Storage in the cabin of the Defender is very good. There are two cup holders in the central console, and they were a good size for a reusable or disposable coffee cup and a large refillable water fitted too. There is a wireless phone charging well behind them.
There is a large, refrigerated, central console storage box and its lid doubles as your armrest.
It's the right size for four stubbies!
Underneath the cup holders is a great storage area with USB, AUX and 12V sockets. I found this area good for storing my handbag or shoes! Also because water bottles will not fit in the door bins this was the best spot to put those although they do roll around.
There is a shelf that runs the length of the dashboard…
…it continues behind the media screen…
…we found it useful for carrying all sorts of things in our daily family life from coconut water and milk…
…to cucumbers!
The glove box will hold my wallet with the manual but it wasn't big enough for an iPad as well.
The door pockets in the front are small and would only hold a large refillable water bottle laying down.
Or an iPad will fit.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
How noisy is the new 2021 Land Rover Defender? How good is the media system in the Defender?
The camera images in the 2021 Land Rover Defender are extremely crisp and clear and they really make reversing and maneuvering easy. There are multiple cameras for going through water and towing as well. Â The parking sensors can be easily muted with the button on the top right of the screen.
There is also a rear camera view in the rearview mirror, which is again an incredibly crisp and clear visual. It takes a bit of getting used to as I am used to using this mirror to check on the kids in the back so I did find I kept switching between the two options.
There is a panel of controls beside the gear lever where you can find the switch to turn off auto engine cut out, although I didn't find it too disturbing when the engine turned on and off at lights for my little passengers during the time that I tested it.
I find this function really disturbing for sleeping babies, you have just got your baby to sleep in the car and you stop at lights and the engine turns off sometimes they will stay asleep but when the engine shudders to a start again it shakes baby awake and all your efforts are ruined!! Even coming to a stop at lights with the engine running can be enough to wake a sleeping child so turning the engine off and on again will definitely do it! I have driven routes I know have roundabouts rather than lights just to avoid coming to a stop for any length of time!!
The indicators in the Defender have quite a soft sound so I didn’t find they affected my daughters while they were sleeping.
The media system in the 2021 Land Rover Defender is lovely and modern, with clear simple graphics and easy to use and navigate.
It has DAB digital radio as well as AppleCarPlay and Android Auto.
You can see the measurements of your vehicle, which I find helpful for the height when going into car parks.
The screen also enables you to control the climate settings for all three rows of seats…
…as well as locking the rear aircon controls so little rear passengers can not fiddle with them.
The Media screen is a good size that is clear and easy to use while driving.
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
One of my favourite features is a fantastic child lock button on the driver's door that with a single press will lock both the rear doors and windows so no little hands can fiddle with them while you are driving!
There is also a great seatbelt removal visual on your driver display.
Road and engine noise are surprisingly quiet in the Defender, it is a solid, robust feeling vehicle that is smooth and quiet to drive. In fact, I'd go as far as to describe it as luxurious!
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
How many child car seats fit in the new 2021 Land Rover Defender?
The new 2021 Land Rover Defender 110 is a seven-seater four-wheel-drive with three top tether anchorages across the back of the second-row seats. Two are within clearly labelled plastic guides and the central one is two-thirds of the way down the backrest and not labelled.
There are ISOFix points in the two outer second-row seats behind covers of seat leather. There is a lovely little detail with a plastic prop that holds the seat leather flap up in place.
In the third row, there are no ISOFix or top tether anchorages so I could not install any child seats back there.
Three child seats fit really comfortably across the second-row seats and I also found with the central child seat removed I could sit comfortably for a long distance between the two child seats (I am 162cm).
When accessing the third row, there is not enough room to bring the seat forward and climb through with a child seat in place, worth bearing in mind if you are running three child seats across.
Legroom is tight in the third row. There is plenty of headroom but there isn't much kick room underneath the second-row seats. I could sit there, just, and I am 162cm.
We found when using all three rows, with me in the third-row and a rear-facing child seat installed, a 182cm passenger could sit in front of it.
Or with a forward-facing child seat in the second row and a passenger in the third row, a 182cm+ driver can fit in front.
Posting bub into their seat from outside the car is good for forward-facing and rear-facing child seats. For the central seat I did have to climb in to reach to do up the seatbelt. The door opening is a big open shape allowing you space to post them in and you can set the height of the vehicle so you are not bending down or up too high as well.
Doing this from inside I found there is plenty of room in the Defender, so it didn't feel cramped for space.
Australia being a country of weather extremes- blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
With only one child seat installed in the second row, there is plenty of room for feeding bub in the back and I actually fed our Bub in the central seat between two child seats too.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
How comfortable is the New 2021 Land Rover Defender? What is the New 2021 Land Rover Defender like to drive?
The New 2021 Land Rover Defender we tested has black leather upholstery with almost black canvas-like panelling that felt robust and hardwearing. I didn't feel worried about kids spills, although parts of the canvas seemed to have been water-stained where rain falls on the seats when you open the door in a downpour (you can just make it out in the outer edge of the seat in the photo below).
The seats have perforated central panels for heating and collecting every little crumb my daughter dropped!!
I sat in all three rows of seats during ur time with the Defender and I found them all comfortable with enough head and legroom for my 162cm height.
The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down.
The cruise control buttons are on the right-hand side of the steering wheel, they are simple to use. I found the cruise control surprisingly accurate in the new Land Rover Defender.
The digital display in front of the steering wheel will bring up your navigation which is easier to use when driving than the media screen.
There is also a great seatbelt removal visual on the screen too.
There are four air-con vents across the front dashboard; two in the centre above the media screen and one at either end.
For the second-row passengers, there are two air vents in the back of the central console box and controls there too. You can reach the vents easily from the front to change or direct the flow.
In the third row, there are pillar vents on either side as well as controls on the right.
The air-con controls for the front are situated below the media screen and are nice and simple to use while driving.
There are also controls within the media screen for all three rows of seats.
And you can lock the second and third-row controls individually. So if you have toddlers in the second-row and teenagers in the third-row you can lock the second-row controls so the little ones can't fiddle with them and leave the teenagers to control their air-conditioning in the third row.
I found once you have three child seats installed in the back of the Defender that visibility was quite impacted out of the back window.
This meant the rear mirror camera was very helpful.
When parking you really need to use your reversing camera.
The rear side windows allow a good view for the driver to see out of when you are changing lanes even with rear-facing child seats installed too.
I also found the bright interior and high seating position great for rear visibility for rear passengers to see out, which can really help to reduce travel sickness with kids too. The back of the new 2021 Land Rover Defender is lovely and light with the side skylights as well (Land Rover calls them safari windows, perhaps for peering up at giraffes and elephants).
The Land Rover Defender is a big vehicle (about as long as a LandCruiser 200 when you include the spare tyre on the back) but I didn't find it too bad to maneuver and park. The camera image quality is fantastic so that definitely helps along with the rear camera.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread when we get big four-wheel-drive's as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, the Defender, quite a large 4WD was not too tricky to reverse park due to the camera quality!
The interior lights in the back are on the side of the ceiling, beyond the driver's reach.
I have found our daughter does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.
Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a 5minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!
It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.
There are handles in the ceiling above both rear doors and in the second-row, these are useful for hanging a baby toy.
The interior of the 2021 Land Rover Defender is fantastic! It is like you have bolted it together with your Meccano set from when you were a kid!
The square rear brake lights and chequer plate details give it a real rugged, off-road style and a nod to its predecessor.
There is rubber flooring and mats throughout the Defender which are great for brushing out and hosing clean after an off-road or beach trip, especially with all the family.
The Defender has keyless entry too which makes it really practical with kids.
BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
How safe is the new 2021 Land Rover Defender?
The new 2021 Land Rover Defender has a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2020. In testing it scored 88% for child occupancy protection (43.22 out of 49), 85% for adult occupancy protection (32.51 out of 38), 76% for safety assist technology (12.24 out of 16) and 71% for vulnerable road user protection (38.39 out of 54).
ANCAP wrote of the Child Occupancy testing
In both the frontal offset (MPDB) and side impact tests, protection was GOOD for all critical body areas for both the 6 year and 10 year child dummies.
The Land Rover Defender is fitted with lower ISOFix anchorages on the second row outboard seats and top tether anchorages for all second row seating positions. Top tethers are not available in the optional third row. Installation of child restraints in the optional third row is therefore not recommended.
Installation of typical child restraints available in Australia and New Zealand showed most child restraints could be accommodated in most rear (2nd row) seating positions, however the Type A rearward-facing capsule could not be correctly installed in the 2nd row centre seating position. In addition, care is required when installing a Type E booster in the 2nd row centre seating position.
The Land Rover Defender has six airbags as standard. Both front passengers get front and side chest airbags and side head curtain airbags extend to all three rows of passengers.
As standard, the Land Rover Discovery comes with seatbelt pre-tensioners in all three rows of seats, anti-lock brakes (ABS), autonomous emergency braking (AEB) for city, interurban and vulnerable road user, automatic emergency call (eCall), blind spot monitor (BSM), electronic brake-force distribution (EBD), electronic data recorder (EDR), electronic stability control (ESC), emergency brake assist (EBA) and emergency stop signal (ESS), fatigue reminder, fatigue monitor and detection, forward collision warning (FCW), lane departure warning (LDW), lane keep assist (LKA), reversing collision avoidance (camera), roll stability system, secondary multi-collision brake, speed assistance – auto / intelligent speed limiter, speed assistance – manual speed limiter, speed assistance – speed sign recognition & warning as standard.
Options on the base variants are adaptive cruise control (ACC)Â and rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA).
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and the parking sensor beeping sound.
I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when my daughter's asleep!
Thank you for this detailed video. Would you say this car would be suitable for 3 forward facing seats (inc 2 HBB’s)? – Children are 8, 6 and 3.
Thank You
You’re welcome! Yes I should think so! Please check our page of seats tested and dimensions https://babydrive.com.au/articles/will-my-child-seats-fit-in-my-car/
How do you fasten a rear facing (non isofix) seat?
If you have 2 rear facing car seats one on each side of the 2nd row. How do you get to the middle to sit?
Often the kid will duck under the rear-facing seats and then you can lean across from the front seat to buckle them in