Land Rover Defender (2021) vs. Volkswagen Golf / GTI (2017) Specs
How powerful is the engine? How much room is in the back seat? Get the 2021 Land Rover Defender and 2017 Volkswagen Golf / GTI specs.
2021 Land Rover Defender and 2017 Volkswagen Golf / GTI Specifications
| Model Year |
2021 |
2017 |
|
| Model |
Land Rover Defender |
Volkswagen Golf / GTI |
|
| Engine |
|
|
|
| Transmission |
|
|
|
| Drivetrain |
|
|
|
| Body |
4dr SUV |
4dr Wagon |
|
| |
|
|
Difference |
| Wheelbase |
118.9 in |
103.5 in |
15.4 in |
| Length |
197.6 in |
179.6 in |
18 in |
| Width |
78.6 in |
70.8 in |
7.8 in |
| Height |
77.5 in |
58.3 in |
19.2 in |
| Curb Weight |
5035 lb. |
3063 lb. |
1972 lb. |
| Fuel Capacity |
23.8 gal. |
13.2 gal. |
10.6 gal. |
| Headroom, Row 1 |
40.6 in |
38.6 in |
2 in |
| Shoulder Room, Row 1 |
60.8 in |
55.9 in |
4.9 in |
| Legroom, Row 1 |
39.1 in |
41.2 in |
-2.1 in |
| Headroom, Row 2 |
40.4 in |
38.6 in |
1.8 in |
| Shoulder Room, Row 2 |
59.2 in |
53.9 in |
5.3 in |
| Legroom, Row 2 |
39.1 in |
35.6 in |
3.5 in |
| Total Legroom |
78.2 in (over 2 rows) |
76.8 in (over 2 rows) |
1.4 in |
| Cargo Volume, Minimum |
34.0 ft3 |
30.4 ft3 |
3.6 ft3 |
| Cargo Volume, Maximum |
78.8 ft3 |
66.5 ft3 |
12.3 ft3 |
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TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2021 Land Rover Defender
| 2021 Land Rover Defender Seat Room and Comfort: Cons |
| Year | Comment |
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As a two-row vehicle, the Defender provides plenty of room. But if you want to use the third-row seat (optional on the four-door), the second row folks will need to slide forward a few inches, such that both rear rows end up with marginal legroom.
This shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Ignore the 197.6-inch length on the spec sheet, as ten of these inches are taken up by the external spare. Without the spare, the Land Rover 110 is merely 187.4 inches long--insufficient for three spacious rows. Even with transverse powertrains, three-row crossovers tend to be as lengthy as the Defender with the spare included.
One good way to maximize space in a relatively stubby vehicle is to mount the seats high so legs angle downward rather than forward, and the Defender's second-row seat is comfortably high off the floor. The third-row seat is not. There is plenty of headroom back there, so space constraints didn't force a low seat. There must have been another reason, such as the amount of space available for the folding mechanism. You might think that the third-row seat is intended for only occasional use, but Land Rover has given it seat heaters and its own HVAC fan control.
All of this said, even a tight third row is better than none at all if you need to carry seven people. And none at all is what you can get in the Wrangler, Bronco, or G-Wagen.
If you only occasionally need to carry a sixth person, the Defender alone offers the option of a front center jump seat in place of the console. What's more, this option is offered in the shorter wheelbase two-door Defender as well as in the four-door.
see full Land Rover Defender review |
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TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2017 Volkswagen Golf / GTI
| 2016 |
As I've noted before (when reviewing the e-Golf), the seventh-generation Golf's front seats are shaped and padded to provide nearly ideal comfort and support in daily driving. The CX-5's driver seat also fit me well, but not quite as well as the Volkswagen's.
Compared to other compact hatchbacks and its ancestors, the current Golf has a roomy rear seat. I can sit behind my 5-9 self with about five inches of air ahead of my knees. Unless unusually tall people populate both rows, the amount of space should be beyond adequate.
Compare the Golf SportWagen's rear seat to that in the CX-5, and a funny thing happens. On paper, the Mazda provides about 3.5 more inches of legroom. When sitting behind myself in both vehicles, though, I had about half as much space ahead of my knees in the CX-5. I've noticed in the past that VW measures rear legroom very conservatively, and apparently they continue to do so. The Golf's interior is roomier than the official specs suggest. Plus its rear seat passengers get air vents. The Mazda's do not.
This said, I'm not entirely comfortable in the Golf SportWagen's rear seat. To me it feels overly reclined. In neither the GSW nor the CX-5 is the degree of recline adjustable. It is in some compact crossovers.
see full Volkswagen Golf / GTI review |
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