Land Rover Defender OCTA | PH Favourite Cars 2025

A road-going Dakar racer with a 635hp V8? How could this not make the cut?

By Cam Tait / Tuesday, 30 December 2025 / Loading comments

Nothing makes you as aware of what you’re driving quite like a Land Rover Defender OCTA. Obviously, a regular Defender dwarfs practically anything on the road bar double-decker buses and oil tankers, but the OCTA’s beefier arches, knobbly tyres and towering suspension are enough to make the standard model appear dainty. Then there’s the matte bronze colour scheme with matte black accents specced on this one, clearly for maximum intimidation. From the moment you set eyes on it to the press of the start button, you’re well aware that the drive you’re about to make will be anything but normal.

That becomes doubly apparent the moment you come across a road lined with parked cars or, heaven forbid, a narrow street through a sleepy village. Being only a smidgen narrower than a Challenger 3 tank, you’ll find zero sympathy from other road users when squeezing past them on any lane that’s barely wide enough for two. And it’s not just people in other cars, either. Having stopped in a car park to grab some of the snaps that accompany this write-up, I was swiftly accosted by a disgruntled rambler who’d become enraged by how I’d parked the car for the shot. Explaining that we’d only be in the empty car park for five minutes to get a few photographs only angered them further, and they left in quite a huff. Aside from a G63 or perhaps the most garish Lamborghini Urus, it’s hard to imagine any other car that could incite such a hysterical reaction.

But you know what? I couldn’t care less. Perhaps the OCTA’s brashness has rubbed off on me, or perhaps tearing about in it is just too much fun. Granted, there is an electrical element to OCTA’s powertrain, with a 48-volt starter motor providing the mildest of hybrid assistance, but it’s otherwise up to the supercharged 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 up front to deliver the bulk of the 635hp and 553lb ft of torque across both axles. No Defender has ever had so much grunt, says Land Rover, at least from the factory. To back that claim up, the OCTA can propel all 2,585kg of its bulk from 0 to 62mph in four seconds flat, while Land Rover’s had to cap the top speed at 155mph (with road tyres on), because who knows what would happen if it were left completely unshackled.

More impressive is that those numbers actually translate into real-world performance. With all that weight, it’s remarkable how responsive and on its toes the OCTA feels. The BMW-sourced V8 may not be as characterful as JLR’s old supercharged 5.0-litre unit, but boy is it effective. Not in the way that a Range Rover V8 rapidly gathers pace without anyone really noticing, it’s proper pin you to the back of your seat-style performance. Coupled with that is a much faster steering ratio, resulting in a keener front axle despite the specially developed Goodyear off-road tyres fitted to our test car. That all means it’s surprisingly nimble and adjustable, and it’ll comfortably throw its weight about on a twisty road without hurling you around the cabin like a rag-doll.

Of course, you’ll need to engage OCTA mode, denoted by a black diamond button at the base of the steering wheel, to experience this frenzied state. It’s the first time a Defender has been fitted with a proper performance mode, says Land Rover, and activating it will send up to 85 per cent of the power to the rear axle, slacken off the traction control, sharpen up the throttle response and amplify the exhaust note. As for the suspension, each corner gets air springs with semi-active dampers, with the Range Rover Sport SV’s 6D Dynamics system replacing the standard car’s anti-roll bars that hydraulically adjust the ride and height depending on the conditions. It’ll still ever so slightly pitch and lean in the corners and under hard acceleration, especially if you tick the off-road tyre box, but the way the suspension system keeps in check the immense heft it has to manage, with all the forces it has to deal with, is frankly astonishing.

Don’t be fooled into thinking the OCTA and its newly developed performance setting are for track use in the traditional sense. Think of it more as a road-going Dakar car, which is essentially what it is given its maker is entering a stripped-out and more purposeful version of the OCTA in the upcoming rally. So when you press and hold the black diamond button on the steering wheel, you get performance settings that are tailor-made for the rough stuff. That includes an off-road optimised launch control and a special ABS setting for better braking performance on loose surfaces. You can obviously jack the suspension up to wade through water, various configurations for the beefed-up diffs and a bunch of terrain modes for those times when powering out isn’t an option.

Most of these are accessed through physical buttons and dials on the dash, all of which are big and chunky enough to operate with a set of gloves on (be it racing or of the winter explorer kind). Otherwise, it’s the usual Defender mix of comfort and luxury, so much so that you feel completely isolated from the outside world. Perfect for an arctic expedition or desert slog. All models come in 110 form, and the options list is remarkably small. The Petra Copper metallic paintwork on our car is among them. It’s a no-cost option by itself, although if you want the matte finish, it’ll set you back £4,500. Sounds normal, right? Well, you’re not actually paying for the car to be painted with a matte finish. Instead, Land Rover wraps the car in a matte protective film, which keeps the paintwork in top condition and ‘heals’ itself when exposed long enough to sunlight. That makes a lot of sense for a car built for tearing up gravel tracks, but it does look a little bodged given that you can see the difference in finish between the matte door skin and metallic sill.

Anyway, how many OCTAs will actually end up going properly off-road? Not too many, I suspect. That’s not a dig at its owners, it’s just that this is a performance version of a car that, while capable of great things, rarely sees much off-road action bar the odd muddy bit of grass and the occasional sprinkling of snow. Let’s not forget it’s £148,045, after all. Nevertheless, like the standard Defender, it’s immensely versatile. Whack it into normal mode and it feels like a regular Defender V8, albeit with better body control. It’s quiet (perhaps a little too quiet for my liking), refined and as effortless to manoeuvre as any Range Rover. Admittedly, those off-road tyres generate a fair bit of road noise and it does need small corrections to keep it pointing straight and true, all things that would be eliminated by choosing road rubber - but where’s the fun in that?

Nope, you buy an OCTA not because it’s the most capable Defender ever made, but because there simply isn’t anything else quite like it. I, and many others, find the vast majority of massive SUVs with equally massive engines repulsive. They’re excessive, wasteful and typically rubbish at being a performance car in the traditional sense. The OCTA, however, is an exception. It’s not trying to be something it isn’t, instead embracing its off-roader roots and amplifying it with a stonking V8 and chassis wizardry that somehow prevents it from toppling over. Novel experiences are hard to come by these days, but the OCTA is the first car in years where I’ve actually wanted to muck about with all the different drive modes, like you would a new toy on Christmas Day. A proper misfit, then - and therefore a shot in the arm for a new car market woefully short of V8-powered mavericks.

SPECIFICATION | LAND ROVER DEFENDER OCTA

Engine: 4,395cc V8, twin-turbocharged
Transmission: eight-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 635@5,855rpm-7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 553@1,800rpm-5,855rpm (590 with launch control)
0-62mph: 4.0 seconds
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 2,585kg
MPG: 21.4
CO2: 298g/km
Price: £148,045

Honourable mention | BMW M3 CS Touring (G81)

The OCTA ultimately got the nod for this year because it was so refreshingly different to everything else I’d driven. However, the car I’d actually like to have on my driveway and use everyday would be the new BMW M3 CS Touring. Not least because the Defender is a thirsty so-and-so, but mostly because the CS Touring is just so damn hard to find fault with. Take the changes at face value and you’d be fooled into thinking BMW has barely done anything. The dampers have been upgraded, the geometry tweaked, the steering recalibrated and the DSC fine-tuned. It’s also 15kg lighter courtesy of some carbon-backed bucked seats. But, as has been the case with M-branded specials that came before it, the CS Touring feels better in almost every department compared to the standard car. It’s sharper, more communicative and while naturally firmer, it’s not discerningly less comfortable than the Competition. It is, however, £30k more than the Comp, and BMW is making them in such tiny numbers that they’ve probably all sold by now. Shame, because it’s damn near the perfect M car.