Compare the2024 Jeep WranglerVS 2023 Land Rover Defender

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Jeep Wrangler are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Land Rover Defender doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Wrangler 4-Door are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Defender doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Both the Wrangler and the Defender have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

Jeep’s powertrain warranty covers the Wrangler 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Land Rover covers the Defender. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Defender ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Jeep pays for scheduled maintenance on the Wrangler for 2 years and unlimited miles. Jeep will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance (up to 2 visits). Land Rover doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Defender.

There are over 12 times as many Jeep dealers as there are Land Rover dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Wrangler’s warranty.

The Wrangler has a solid front axle with a floating power axle for durability that the Defender’s independent front suspension and exposed front driveshafts don’t offer.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Jeep vehicles are better in initial quality than Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Jeep above average in initial quality. With 12 more problems per 100 vehicles, Land Rover is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Jeep vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover With 83 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Jeep higher than Land Rover.

The Wrangler Rubicon 392’s 6.4 V8 produces 9 lbs.-ft. more torque (470 vs. 461) than the Defender V8’s optional 5.0 supercharged V8.

On the EPA test cycle the Wrangler 4-door running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the Defender 110/130:

The Wrangler 4xe can travel with zero emissions for 21 miles. The Defender can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Wrangler Rubicon 392’s fuel efficiency. The Defender doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Wrangler 2.0 Turbo/4xe’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Defender doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Wrangler offers a manual transmission for better acceleration, control and sportiness. The Defender doesn’t offer a manual transmission.

The Wrangler Rubicon 392’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Defender doesn’t offer launch control.

For better traction, the Wrangler 4-door Rubicon 392/Xteme 35’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Defender (315/70R17 vs. 285/65R18).

The Wrangler has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Defender doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Wrangler Rubicon has an active front sway bar, which helps keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnects at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Defender doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

For better maneuverability, the Wrangler 4-door’s turning circle is 3.3 feet tighter than the Defender 110/130’s (38.8 feet vs. 42.1 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Wrangler 2-door has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Defender 90 (9.7 vs. 8.9 inches), allowing the Wrangler to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Wrangler 4-door Xtreme 35’s minimum ground clearance is 1.4 inches higher than on the Defender 110 Air Suspension (12.9 vs. 11.5 inches).

The Jeep Wrangler may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 to 550 pounds less than the Land Rover Defender.

The Wrangler 4-door is 9.2 inches shorter than the Defender 110, making the Wrangler easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Wrangler 4-door has .2 inches more front headroom and 2.1 inches more front legroom than the Defender 110.

The Wrangler 4-door has a much larger cargo volume than the Defender 110 with its rear seat up (31.7 vs. 10.7 cubic feet).

The Wrangler’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the left swing out door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The Defender’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

The Wrangler can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Wrangler can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Defender can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Wrangler’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Defender does not have an oil pressure gauge.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Wrangler has standard extendable sun visors. The Defender doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Wrangler’s sun-visors swivel front-to-side to block glare from the side windows. The Defender’s visors are fixed into the windshield header.

The Jeep Wrangler JL comes in four door and soft top bodystyles; the Land Rover Defender isn’t available as a soft top.

The Jeep Wrangler outsold the Land Rover Defender by over 12 to one during 2022.