Land Rover Defender · Engine family · 3 offered

Land Rover Defender 3.0L six-cylinder

The AJ120 is the most common engine code the VIN decodes to on the 3.0L six-cylinder configurations below; hybrid variants of the same displacement carry their own code. Rated at 296–395 hp. We decode it on 60,054 VINs across 81 factory builds, and 3,230 of those cars are on sale today at a typical $53,893.

Cylinders
6
Power
296–395 hp
Induction
Naturally aspirated
Fuel
Gasoline
Fitted
2020–2026
Drive
AWD
Gearboxes
Automatic

◷ Updated August 30, 2026 ▤ National asking prices, refreshed nightly

$53,893
Typical asking price, cars with this engine
3,230
On sale today with the 3.0L 6-cyl
2020–2026
Model years it was fitted
81
Factory configurations
60,054
Defender VINs decoded with it

Where the 3.0L 6-cyl sits in the Defender engine lineup

Every engine family this model was sold with, ordered by size. The bar spans the model years it was fitted; the price is what cars carrying it ask today. Older engines look cheaper because the cars are older — the only fair comparison is an engine whose years overlap this one's.

2.0L 4-cyl
2020–2026
$42,833
296 hp · 1,633 on sale
3.0L 6-cyl this page
2020–2026
$53,893
296–395 hp · 3,230 on sale
5.0L 8-cyl
2022–2026
$86,426
493–518 hp · 460 on sale

2020–2026 Across the 7 model years both were sold, 2.0L 4-cyl cars ask about $11,060 less — $42,833 against $53,893.

3 engine families, one nameplate. Open the Land Rover Defender price hub to compare them side by side, or to jump into any of the others.

Which Defender years got a 3.0L 6-cyl engine

Every model year this engine was fitted to, newest first. The bar is how much of the family's VIN volume sits in that year — long bars are the years this engine was everywhere.

Year Share of VINs VINs On sale Builds
2026 12,909 1,711 9 2025 12,569 246 13 2024 11,989 288 12 2023 10,407 440 14 2022 4,642 255 14 2021 3,278 109 11 2020 4,260 181 8

VIN counts come from our decode of the model's build patterns, not from live listings. A year link opens the full Defender report for that year — every engine of the model, not just this one.

81 factory configurations with this engine

Each one is a distinct build as the VIN decodes it — trim, body, gearbox and equipment. Open a build sheet for its full spec and the VINs recorded on it.

2026

4 builds

2025

2 builds

2024

4 builds

2023

3 builds

2022

6 builds

2021

2 builds

2020

3 builds

Showing the 24 most-built configurations of 81. Every 2026 Defender build →

The 3.0L 6-cyl Defender: common questions

Which Defender years have the 3.0L 6-cyl?

2020–2026, without a break — 7 model years in our VIN decode, across 81 factory configurations and 60,054 VINs.

What does a 3.0L 6-cyl Defender cost?

$53,893 is the typical asking price across the 3,230 cars with this engine on sale today. The year-by-year ladder above splits that by model year — the spread between the oldest and newest year is far wider than the spread between engines.

What is the engine code, and does it matter?

AJ120 — the code the VIN decodes to on the configurations on this page. It matters when you order parts or read a service history: the same displacement badge on another model can be a different code with different outputs.

3.0L 6-cyl Defender on the market

Individual vehicles carrying this engine, each with its own listing-history page. The sample is pinned to fixed VIN buckets, so it does not reshuffle day to day.