The headset is coming this fall with a 128GB version available for $499.99 plus “an additional storage option for those who want more space” at an unspecified price. Compared to its predecessor, the Quest 2, the Quest 3’s design is 40 percent lighter, while a new Snapdragon chip inside has twice the graphics performance.
Image: MetaQuest 3 exploded view
It’s also compatible with the Quest 2’s games, which is good since the old headset is sticking around but at a lower price. Meta said that starting June 4th, the Quest 2 will drop its price by $100 to $299.99 for the 128GB version, while the 256GB version is getting…
We finally know more official details about Meta’s next VR headset and how it will aim to compete with Apple. It’s expected to be released around Sept. 27.
Let’s clear this up right away. The Land Rover Defender 130 is an epic exception to the three-row SUV rule. Those large, lumbering hulks lurching around the suburbs are mostly just minivans in all-wheel-drive disguise, making for the totally joyless driving experience you expect. Cut a couple inches from the ride height, replace a rear door with a sliding one, and you’re back in your parent’s Previa, Aerostar, or Caravan. For the most part, three-row vehicles are a compromise made “necessary” by certain life choices (aka children). I own one and speak from 50,000 miles of experience. They suck. Big SUVs—not kids.
The Land Rover Defender 130, on the other hand, is not your dad’s Chevy Astro van. Sure, it will haul your kids, their friends, the dogs, and a coach’s bag of soccer balls—but the Defender can trace its lineage back to some of the most iconic off-roaders ever built. In its current form, it both looks and feels unlike anything else on the road today.
Land Rover Defender 130: Not your dad’s Astro van.
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Gitty Up and Go
For the moment, the 2023 Defender 130 comes win two mild hybrid 3.0 liter turbocharged in-line six-cylinder powertrains. The P300 version gives the throttle command of 296 hp and 347 lb-ft of torque, while the P400 commands 395 hp/406 lb-ft. The pair gets from 0 to 60 mph in 7.5 and 6.3 seconds, respectively. Both come mated to an eight-speed, ZF automatic transmission and an electrically driven supercharger to mitigate turbo lag.
The 2024 model year offers the option of a V8 with 493 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque and snap off to 60 almost a second faster (5.4 seconds.)
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Behind the Wheel
There are no bells and whistles that would make the Defender 130 feel less gargantuan. It’s a big, boxy bus. But that’s the point. Land Rover added more than a full foot over the four-door 110 version (13.4 inches,) all of it behind the rear wheels for the sake of the back row passengers.
Adding length equals more metal and more weight. The 130 is beefed up roughly 600 lbs compared to the 110—to a total curb weight of 5,600 lbs.
That said, it’s rather satisfying in its own way. The size, height, and build quality make it feel nearly indestructible. You get the sense that it’s sort of a rolling Chuck Norris joke. The Defender doesn’t dodge potholes. Potholes duck at the sight of the Defender.
Hyperbole aside, all but the most massive bumps you hit in the Defender get smoothed out by the standard air suspension and adaptive dynamics. The steering feels sharp and offers plenty of feedback for an off-road specialist—but with all that girth, you don’t want to come into corners super hot. The brakes don’t grab quite as aggressively as they do in the 110, so better to get on them a bit early and manage it through the bends.
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The P400 I tested generally offered plenty of power, though it was a bit sluggish when winding up on the highway. The V8 in the smaller Defender 110 I drove last summer felt much more capable and appropriate for a road-going schooner. Of course, it’s a bit pricier. The V8 model costs nearly 50 percent more than the sticker of the well-equipped P400 SE I drove. Land Rover hasn’t released fuel economy estimates for the V8, but it’s certainly thirstier than P400’s unleaded-chugging V6 that manages a mere 17 mpg city and 21 mpg highway (19 mpg combined.)
While all of the Defender’s powertrains are rated to tow up to 8200 lbs, if you’re frequently hauling a small boat or trailer around, the V8 might be worth the upgrade.
Just like the other variants, the 130 comes with a full-sized spare tire hitched to its side-hinged tailgate, which blocks a good bit of rear visibility. But with a flip of a switch the rearview mirror displays the camera view from the back, so you don’t have to worry about what you can’t see when you’re backing out of the driveway.
After a week behind the wheel, my only substantial gripe comes on the highway. At speeds over 60 mph, the air seems to scream off the big, honking side mirrors. Thankfully, the test model came outfitted with the 700-watt Meridian sound system to drown out wind noise.
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On the Inside
It’s sort of an odd straddle, but Defender manages to feel both utilitarian and luxurious at the same time. Rather than burled wood or carbon fiber, the trim is mainly durable plastic accented with visible bolts and rivets. It’s a treatment that cleverly contrasts the well-padded, supple leather seating and accents.
The massive center console, door nooks, and dashboard cubby all ensure tons of storage for passenger phones, drinks, or other gear, while the PiviPro infotainment system seamlessly manages Defender’s nav and settings. For those who would prefer their phone to drive the music or maps, Defender also offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
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With all three rows up and ready to ride, the cargo area is only big enough to accommodate a pair of carry-ons, but with all the rear seats stowed, there’s 81 cubic feet of cargo space. Not bad, but weirdly the Land Rover’s storage floor isn’t flat. The third row juts up a bit creating a sort of a plateau, which can make it tough to slide your gear into the back.
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The Way Back
Getting into the third row, as in most vehicles of this ilk, requires a bit of flexibility. But once ensconced, it’s not a terrible place to sit even for a six-foot-tall human. I managed to slink into the back without hurting myself (impressive, I know) and was pleasantly surprised with the experience. There’s ample space overhead as well as an extra moonroof that gives the third row an airy quality. The leg room was acceptable—plenty for an hour-long ride, though I wouldn’t want to be stuck there much longer. There are even USB-C chargers to keep the iPads gassed up and the kids quiet.
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Hit the Trails
If you, unlike most of the folks who will buy one, do have the inkling to head off-road, the 130 lives up to the Defender legacy. When it’s time to hit the dirt, ground clearance can be increased from the normal 8.5-inch to 11.4 inches and the Defender can ford nearly three feet (35.4 inches) of water—in case you find yourself on the wrong side of a Hudson River tributary or an incredibly soggy steeplechase.
The 38-degree approach angle is the same as the others in the Defender line, but due to the increase in length in the rear, the departure angle is diminished from the Defender 110’s 40.0 degrees to 28.5 degrees for the 130.
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The standard all-wheel-drive system includes a two-speed transfer case with a locking front differential. For those who need one, a locking rear diff comes as an optional extra. Off-roading enthusiasts should also consider swapping out the Pirelli Scorpion all-season tires for some rubber better suited for mud and rocks.
Three rows and Land Rover heritage is a compelling argument for the Defender. It’s a real off-roader, and not just a minivan doing a bit of cosplay. Of course, few who decide to put one in the garage will dare to take their adventures off the tarmac. But luxury isn’t all leather and hand finished wood. It’s also knowing that if you want to, you can.
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Will Miami be able to slow Jokić at all?
This year’s NBA Finals, which begin tonight (8:30 p.m. ET on ABC), features one of the most unlikely matchups in recent memory as the Nuggets, owners of the best regular-season record in the Western Conference, face a Heat team that narrowly escaped the play-in tournament before embarking on a stunning postseason run.
Denver should win this series—rather handily, you might say. It won 53 games in the regular season behind an MVP-caliber season from a player (Nikola Jokić) who has been even better in the playoffs. But if there’s anything the Heat have proved over the last month and a half, it’s that they’re greater than the sum of their parts and shouldn’t be taken lightly. They’re playing their best basketball of the season at the right time, but do they have what it takes to pull off another shocking upset?
It all starts with trying to find a way to neutralize Jokić. No one has been able to do that thus far this postseason. In 15 playoff games, he’s averaging 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and an NBA-best 10.3 assists per game. Jokić’s ability to make opponents pay as both a scorer and a passer makes him a nightmare to defend.
In this series, that responsibility will likely fall to Bam Adebayo. Adebayo is a strong defender (he was named second-team All-Defense for the fourth time this year), but Jokić has cooked him in their previous matchups. Listed at 6’9″, 255 pounds, Adebayo is substantially smaller than Jokić (6’11”, 284). In their most recent meeting, a 112–108 Denver win in Miami on Feb. 13, Jokić had 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting with 12 rebounds and eight assists. (Adebayo had 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting and only two rebounds.) When guarded by Adebayo one-on-one in that game, Jokić went 5-for-5 from the floor, using a wide variety of offensive maneuvers to his advantage. (Check out a supercut of those matchups here.)
If the Celtics had advanced, they would have had the ability to ask either Al Horford or Robert Williams III to be Jokić’s primary defender. But for the undersized Heat, Adebayo is really the only guy capable of the job. Cody Zeller might get a few minutes here and there, but he didn’t even play in Game 7 against Boston after he was a disastrous minus-7 in two minutes of action in Game 6. Kevin Love has also fallen out of the rotation. Of the eight players who saw non-garbage-time minutes for Miami in Game 7, only Adebayo is taller than 6’7″.
I think they’re going to apply ball pressure more with them than the other teams have. They’re going to put their bodies on him in ways that other teams have not. It won’t be the same game plan, but look at how they played Joel Embiid last year. Embiid had to constantly move through bodies to get to where he wanted to go. Jokić is going to have to do the same thing. They are not just going to run freely and let him go where he wants.
So here’s the big problem for the Heat: If they aren’t able to guard Jokić one-on-one, which is highly unlikely, other defenders are going to have to gravitate toward him to help Adebayo. That’ll leave one of Denver’s excellent perimeter shooters (Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or the not-quite-excellent but more than capable Aaron Gordon) open on the outside for Jokić to find with one of his otherworldly passes.
The series will be an uphill battle for the Heat, but so have the previous three. Jimmy Butler thrives in situations like this, and Miami could get a big boost later in the series with the return of Tyler Herro. Herro broke his hand in the first half of the first game of the Heat’s first-round series against the Bucks but was cleared to resume basketball activities last week. While he won’t play in Game 1 tonight, he’s reportedly hoping to return to the court for Game 3. Will it be enough to give the Heat a chance?
3. The impressive power display from Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in the Angels’ 12–5 drubbing of the White Sox. Trout hit a 461-foot homer, and Ohtani hit two that traveled 459 and 425.
Which of the following acts did minor league manager Phillip Wellman not perform when he was famously ejected from a game on this day in 2007?
Cover the plate with dirt
Toss the rosin bag like a grenade
Carry second and third base off the field with him
Pantomime a home run swing and run around the bases
Yesterday’s SIQ: On May 31, 1996, which slugger earned a two-game suspension by leveling Brewers second baseman Fernando Viña with a vicious forearm shiver in an effort to break up a double play?
Albert Belle
Jeromy Burnitz
Jose Canseco
Frank Thomas
Answer: Albert Belle. Of course it was the notoriously ill-tempered Belle. “He Thrives on Anger” was the headline on Michael Bamberger’s Sports Illustrated profile of Belle that ran just weeks before the incident with Viña.
The play in question occurred in the top of the eighth inning, with Cleveland leading Milwaukee, 9–3. Belle got on base after being hit by a pitch (on a full count, so it probably wasn’t intentional) and when Eddie Murray hit a tailor-made double play ball to Viña, Belle (6’2″, 225 pounds) forcefully knocked Viña (5’9″, 170 pounds) to the ground as he attempted to apply a tag to start a double play. (Here’s a video of the play.)
Belle came to the plate again in the ninth, and Brewers reliever Terry Burrows buzzed him with three inside pitches before finally hitting him in the shoulder. Before taking his position in the outfield at the start of the bottom of the ninth, Belle spoke with Cleveland pitcher Julián Tavárez, according to the Associated Press. Tavárez’s first pitch to leadoff batter Mike Matheny nearly hit him, and Matheny charged the mound, sparking a benches-clearing brawl that saw Tavárez throw an umpire to the ground.
Belle was initially suspended five games for the hit of Viña, but the ban was later reduced to two games after a closer look at the video showed that he did not strike Viña in the face.
Sharpe and Fox Sports, according to the report, have reached a buyout agreement which will end his run with the show that he joined in 2016.
The former NFL great has spent many mornings arguing with his co-host, Skip Bayless, and it seems as if tensions between the two have led to this move.
Shortly after the news came out, fans pointed to a heated moment between the two that came last December while they discussed Tom Brady’s career versus Sharpe’s career.
Was this the tipping point? We obviously can’t say for sure that it is but if you watch this video you’ll understand why Sharpe wants to be done with this show and with Bayless.
Personally I’m happy for @ShannonSharpe for leaving. Skip has proven time and time again that he’s a POS. I’ve had a pretty similar experience to this with someone I thought was a friend. https://t.co/i0PKS7NVSR
NBA referee Eric Lewis, who is under league investigation for potentially operating a Twitter burner account, will not work the NBA Finals, according to a report from Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
League spokesman Mike Bass told Reynolds, “Regarding Eric Lewis and the social media posts, we are continuing to review the matter and he will not be working the finals.”
The NBA released the list of 12 officials who would be working the final series of the season between the Nuggets and Lakers, and Lewis was not on the list. Lewis has worked each of the last four Finals, and has historically been one of the league’s most respected officials.
The investigation into Lewis centers around a Twitter account with the name “blair cuttliff” that only responded to tweets involving mentions of Lewis. The investigation into Lewis comes five years after former 76ers executive Bryan Colangelo lost his job after a league investigation confirmed that he was running an anonymous Twitter account defending himself against tweets involving him and his decisions as Philadelphia’s general manager.
While this isn’t the first time that the league has investigated an individual for operating a burner account, it is the first time that an investigation like this has involved an official.
Although the league has not concluded its investigation, Lewis’s absence from the Finals indicates that there will likely be some finality to the NBA’s inquiry in the near future.
