Land Rover Defender OCTA Is the World Conquerer We've Been Waiting For
We were given an exclusive invite to Colorado toTest Drivethe all newLand RoverDefender OCTA very early in its arrival. Built upon the Defender 110 V8 edition, the OCTA is the Defender to end all Defenders. Wider body, biggest engine possible, with exclusive lifted suspension and strengthened chassis reinforcement; Land Rover is marketing the OCTA to buyers who need the upper echelon of driving needs. But from what we encountered, it might be overkill for its main objective, at a price point ($152,000 USD) that's quite hard to swallow.
Then what would be the reasons you buy the Defender OCTA? Are you shopping it for the looks, or ultimate challenges, or for high speed expeditions? We tackle each approach and came to the conclusion that, for us, it's defined by two out of three scenarios, while one of which didn't quite make the cut.
From first glance and with no other Defenders present, you'd easily mistake the OCTA for a standard 110, minus a few aesthetic differences. This is key – we don't want a super loud, extra-built-out 'look at me' design change since we're pretty big fans of the Defender to begin with. So what the OCTA does well is restrain itself from being the top-of-the-line trim.
That being said, when you're familiar with Defenders and perhaps with a neighboring one, the OCTA stands out quite apparently. The first thing you'd notice is the wide flared arches – while it measures 'only' 2.7 inches in total, it's noticeably wider than the standard 110 from all angles, thanks to its defined fender panels and a different fender edging. The car also sits 1.1' higher than the standard, however this wasn't as apparent in real life. Other standout features include the obvious OCTA badge on the rear quarter panel, as well as a much more aggressive front and rear bumper arrangement, utilizing a new honeycomb design for the former and quad exhaust exits for the latter. We love the OCTA wheels too which are not only much more aggressive in style, but shroud the valve stem for added off-road protection. Lastly, Edition One OCTA are offered with a slathering of forged carbon fiber across the exterior panels – subjectively, we'd opt away from these as they tend to pull away from the overall aesthetic of an off roader.
Being truthful, if you're considering an OCTA purely for the looks, we wouldn't recommend it. It's designed right and we would 1000% side with a subtle upgrade in design over a complete overhaul and makeover, but it's simply not enough to justify the new price tag. But it's a start.
During our trip to Grand Junction, Colorado and on our journey to Moab, Utah, we encountered a plethora of terrain challenges, the majority of which included off-road trails. One major expedition involved rock crawling, switchbacks, and eventually conquering The Beehive State's mountainous red rocks and even some river crossing.
This gave the Land Rover Defender OCTA a real opportunity to shine, however it might have backfired a bit for us. On our adventure, we were of course accompanied by multiple Defender OCTA as well as standard 110s. The rough surfaces, sharp rocks and fairly-huge boulders in our way posed no threat to the OCTA's lifted, protected and air ride suspension-fitted vehicle, but to our realization they weren't much of a problem for the 110s either.
The OCTA is that much beefier than its standard brethren: fully independent, multi-valved '6D Dynamics' hydraulic suspension corners were a key aspect of the OCTA's unique setup, which metaphorically laughed off the loose gravel and stones on our Moab trails. For the larger boulders, we were given a piece of mind that the underbody was protected with skid plates which shielded us from any possible damage. In fact, there was one instance where we were sure the skid plate was hit, but upon inspection we found no apparent damage which not only meant it did its job, but it did its job exceptionally well. Software-wise, OCTA's Auto Terrain mode once again was pure confidence inspiring – it defined 'set it and forget it' as we found ourselves not even bothering with the mode selector the entire trip. And thanks to the redesigned exterior at the fore and aft, no entry or exit was ever steep enough to scrape or scuff.
The conundrum however was literally in front of our eyes though, as we followed a standard 110 almost the entire time. Where ever we went, the 110 was already there just a few feet ahead of us. While we didn't have any crew present in the standard Defenders, we imagined they didn't break a sweat either which reinforced the thinking of 'why spring for an OCTA if the 110 is good enough?' It's like the athletic older brother, with all the equipment and training, being outpaced by their younger sibling the entire 400m. Therefore if you're dishing out the cash for the OCTA, the price – which is more than $40,000 USD above the 110 V8 – is more for the confidence and piece of mind that it can conquer all trails, instead of the trails themselves.
Ironically, we found the on-road performance for the OCTA a bit more fitting of the price than the off-road. With the new OCTA mode and the numbers game with the engine, the flagship trim is seriously fun in this department.
The Defender OCTA utilizes a BMW-sourced 4.4L twin-turbo V8, executed as a mild hybrid with a performance-assisting electric motor. Land Rover claims the power equates to 626 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque at most, depending on the mode selected. While in Dynamic mode even, the OCTA gives full power to the driver, but maintains driver aids to keep that power down. OCTA mode, however, is one step above and thus separates it from a run-of-a-mill 110.
Our first task in Colorado was to explore the best scenario for OCTA Mode and Land Rover didn't beat around the bush to showcase exactly what this would be: a baja-style, off-road circuit that mixed fast corners and hairpins with slaloms, banks and even a few jumps. Our Land Rover pro driver gave us a passenger ride-along for a sighting lap before handing over the wheel and right away we knew – or felt – that the OCTA could master this one-mile course with ease. All 626 hp – somehow – found its way onto the loose dirt and gravel in the best way possible while allowing for a fine balance of slip and grip. The engine worked in unison with the lifted suspension and 22' off-road wheel and tire package and gave us confidence to really gun it on the rough surface. During our turn, and with our inexperience, we mustered the courage to go 55 mph, but perhaps it wasn't enough – our trained pro driver took the wheel back and really, really exerted what the OCTA can do. And for a hot second, we saw he hit 78 mph.
So if you're the proud owner of the Defender OCTA, what environment would benefit you the most? In our opinion, it's built for the fairly affluent semi-urban landscape – think an hour or two outside of Chicago or Indianapolis – who has access to both highways, twisties, canyons and trails. We'd configure our Defender OCTA less on the rugged side to highlight the aggressive widebody and bulging curves, and maybe skip the matte PPF offered from factory, or the 20' wheels with extra chunky tires. Why? Because if we had to rank our use for it, we'd bring our OCTA to road trips that might include a bit of faster off-road courses, more so than truly off-road mountains and deserts.
Out of the three aspects listed here, design and on-road capability take the cake for us, but that doesn't mean we'd not appreciate the off-road capability – we just felt the OCTA was overkill for even the advanced trails we were on. We've seen this formula before with other automakers like Porsche and Lamborghini, but we're actually proud that Land Rover prioritized the off-road angle more so for their example. Whether or not you utilize your OCTA for everything to its potential is one thing, but we're confident it could tackle anything and everything you throw at it, and that means the $152,000 USD is justified.
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