2026 Land Rover Defender: Solon Buyers Guide

Quick Answer: The 2026 Defender at a Glance

The 2026 Land Rover Defender comes in three body styles: the two-door 90, the four-door 110, and the eight-seat 130, spread across 13 trims with MSRPs from $65,350 for a 110 S up to $170,550 for the twin-turbo V8 OCTA Black, plus a $1,950 destination charge on every configuration. Three engine families cover the lineup — a 296-hp turbo four, a 395-hp mild-hybrid inline-six, and a 518-hp supercharged V8, topped by the 626-hp OCTA — and permanent all-wheel drive is standard on all of them. Land Rover Solon, at 6137 Kruse Drive, keeps new and Certified Pre-Owned Defenders on the lot for Northeast Ohio buyers from Solon, Hudson, Beachwood, Aurora, and greater Cleveland and Akron.

Still a truck, on purpose

A lot of luxury SUVs spend their entire design budget disguising the fact that they're built on a truck platform. The Defender does the opposite. The side-mounted spare, the exposed door hinges, the flat glass and boxy roofline that Land Rover could easily round off for better aerodynamics but doesn't — all of it stays, because the shape is the point. What's changed since the nameplate's 2020 relaunch is what's underneath that shape: a fully independent air suspension on most trims, a cabin built around a 13.1-inch Pivi Pro touchscreen, and, depending on configuration, enough wading depth to cross 35.4 inches of standing water while a 3D surround camera reads the depth in real time. It's a genuinely capable off-roader with a genuinely well-finished interior, and that combination is rarer in this segment than the marketing for competing SUVs would have you believe.

Land Rover Solon has been selling and servicing Land Rovers out of the same Kruse Drive address for decades, with a service department that's been running since 1991 — long enough that some of the dealership's current Defender owners bought their first Land Rover here as a Discovery or a Range Rover Classic. That kind of tenure matters more than it sounds like on a vehicle this mechanically involved: a service advisor who's seen three generations of Land Rover electronics knows which warning lights to take seriously and which ones are just the system being cautious.

Three bodies, one philosophy

Body style is the first decision, before trim. The 90 is the two-door, original-proportions Defender, seating up to five with a turning circle that's genuinely useful on tighter Northeast Ohio roads and in parking structures around Beachwood Place or downtown Cleveland. The 110 is the volume seller: four doors, up to seven seats with the optional third row, and the widest trim spread of the three body styles at seven configurations for 2026, running from the four-cylinder S all the way to the 626-hp OCTA. The 130 stretches the wheelbase again for genuine eight-passenger space across most trims, and it's the only body offering the two-row Outbound configuration, which trades the third row for cargo and towing capacity instead.

Every 2026 Defender ships with permanent all-wheel drive and an 8-speed automatic regardless of body style. The engine is what actually separates the trims: a 2.0-liter turbo four (P300, 296 hp) on entry configurations, a 3.0-liter mild-hybrid inline-six (P400, 395 hp) starting at X-Dynamic SE, a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 (518 hp) on the V8-badged trim, and, exclusive to the 110, the 626-hp twin-turbo V8 in the OCTA — a different engine entirely from the "V8" trim's supercharged unit, worth keeping straight since both get called "the V8 Defender" in casual conversation.

Pick your 2026 Defender

What Defender owners say about this store

Land Rover Solon's Google rating sits above 4.6 stars across hundreds of dealership reviews, and Defender buyers show up in them constantly — it's clearly one of the store's hero models. Melanie A. spent nearly three months working with the sales team before ordering a new Defender, and when the exact build she wanted wasn't sitting on the lot, the dealership tracked one down out of state and had it shipped in. She wrote afterward that "the entire experience felt effortless, personalized, and genuinely luxurious," singling out salesperson Greg Loeding for making sure she "didn't have to compromise on a single specification." Julie L. described a more straightforward path to a Tasmin Blue 110: "We loved the Tasmin Blue Defender 110's ride with air suspension... We tend to keep our cars a long time and love the timeless, classy look of the Defender. This will be great for camping trips and transporting the whole family." Shorter reviews echo the same theme — Rana M. wrote simply, "Ask for Mike, he'll take care of you! Love my Defender!"

What repeats across those threads is a sales process that doesn't rush a five-figure-plus decision, whether that means three months of comparing Certified Pre-Owned and new builds or tracking down a specific color and configuration from another state.

Owning one in Northeast Ohio

The buying decision is only half the picture. The Defender service & repair guide covers what Cuyahoga County winters and road salt do to a Defender's tires and suspension, the service department's decades on Kruse Drive, and what a Land Rover Solon appointment actually looks like. Money questions — Ohio's sales tax, what "MSRP plus destination" adds up to trim by trim, and current lease offers — live in the pricing & leasing guide. Land Rover Solon also keeps a full rundown of Defender color and interior options and a head-to-head against full-size domestic SUVs for buyers still cross-shopping.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 2026 Land Rover Defender cost?

MSRPs start at $65,350 for a Defender 110 S and run to $170,550 for the OCTA Black, plus a $1,950 destination charge on every configuration, before Ohio sales tax, registration, and any dealer-installed options. The 90 and 130 body styles fall in between; see the pricing guide for the full trim-by-trim breakdown.

Is there a new Defender coming out in 2026?

The 2026 Defender is the current model year on sale now, and it's the range covered throughout this guide. Land Rover has already begun previewing a 2027 update on its own site, so if you're comparing specs from another source, confirm you're looking at 2026-labeled figures and not a 2027 preview.

What's the difference between the Defender 90, 110, and 130?

Body length and seating, mainly. The 90 is a two-door with room for up to five. The 110 is the four-door volume seller with an optional third row for up to seven. The 130 stretches the wheelbase further for up to eight seats, or, in Outbound trim, a cargo-focused two-row, five-seat layout instead.

Does the Defender have a third row?

Yes, on the 110 (optional, bringing seating to seven) and standard on most 130 configurations (up to eight). The 90 doesn't offer a third row given its two-door proportions.

Is the Defender a good tow vehicle for Ohio buyers hauling a camper or boat?

The six-cylinder and V8 Defenders are rated up to 8,200 lbs with a braked trailer, and Advanced Tow Assist handles the counter-steering during reversing, which matters if you're backing a trailer down a boat ramp on one of the area's lakes. It's genuinely one of the more capable tow rigs in the luxury SUV class.

See one in person

Photos flatten the size difference between a 90, a 110, and a 130 more than people expect, and the door-hinge details and interior fabrics are easier to judge in person. Land Rover Solon keeps new and Certified Pre-Owned Defenders on the lot at 6137 Kruse Drive, with financing available the same visit as a test drive.

MSRP figures exclude the $1,950 destination charge plus taxes, title, registration, and dealer-installed options; the dealer sets the actual selling price. Fuel-economy and performance figures are manufacturer and EPA estimates, and real-world results will differ. Equipment and availability shift with configuration and production timing; confirm current specs and inventory with Land Rover Solon. Customer quotes are excerpts from public Google reviews of Land Rover Solon.