Land Rover Defender and Octa get interior, exterior and tech upgrades
Image: Supplied
Launched five years ago, the (Land Rover) Defender has received several upgrades, including finishes, design, and technology enhancements across 90, 110 and 130 body designs as well as the Defender Octa.
It gets a new headlight design with signature detailing and fog lights as standard, and flush rear lights with smoked lenses.
There are new exterior colour options that include Woolstone Green and Borasco Grey, enhanced detailing and upgraded materials, as well as a larger 13.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
Adaptive Off-Road Cruise Control is available as an option, while the Defender 130 is now available with an optional integrated air compressor. The Octa gets a new Sargasso Blue exterior colour, a Patagonia White exterior with Matte Protective Wrap and tactile textured Graphite accents.
Exterior
The Defender receives optimised surfaces for the new front and rear bumpers finished in Silicon Silver or Carpathian Grey Satin on most models, and a new textured pattern for the bonnet inserts and side vents, while the gloss black grille-bar with a dark oval badge is now standard.
It stands on newly designed 22-inch seven-spoke Diamond Turned Dark Grey alloy wheels.
Interior
The dash-mounted gear-shifter has been repositioned, and the centre console has been redesigned to make the most of the space on offer.
A new sliding section hides small items out of sight in a closed cubby, and as part of the Signature Suite upgrade, it gets removable side pockets and cable routing to keep items charged without wires trailing around the cabin.
There's still the option for the centre 'jump' seat for three-abreast seating across the front on most models.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Next
Stay
Close ✕
Ad Loading
The Defender gets a larger 13.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
Image: Supplied
For the first time, there's optional Adaptive Off-Road Cruise Control that allows the driver to set a desired comfort level when negotiating rough terrain. The system automatically adjusts the speed to maintain the desired level of comfort while driving off-road.
A new Driver Attention Monitor features a driver-facing camera that provides audio-visual alerts that can be adjusted, enabled or disabled via the driver assistance menu.
Defender Octa
The fastest and most capable Defender yet, with a 467kW 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, gets a revised colour palette, which, in addition to the existing Charente Grey and Petra Copper, there's now Borasco Grey and Sargasso Blue with a coarse sparkle.
The Defender gets It gets a new headlight design with signature detailing and fog lights.
Image: Supplied
In addition to the existing Matte Protective Film available on all Defender OCTA exteriors, there's also an optional Patagonia White Matte Wrap.
There are also new Textured Graphite finishes with a matte surface and high-intensity metallic flake on key touchpoints on the exterior, including the front and rear bumpers, bonnet vent inserts, side fender vent surrounds and two-piece bonnet script with a Phosphor Bronze outer finish.
Chopped Carbon Fibre exterior and interior accents can now be specified as an option, along with four interior colourways and a choice of wheel and tyre combinations, including 20-inch forged alloy wheels.
Behind a chopped carbon fibre cover, there's a specially-integrated 4,500kg-rated winch.
The Defender range is priced from R1 801 100.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

TimesLIVE
5 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Defender Dakar D7X-R leaps closer to final competition spec
Undergoing rigorous testing before its official entry into the 2026 Dakar Rally and World Rally-Raid Championship, the vehicle was showcased on the Hillclimb course and around the Off-Road arena with developmental design tweaks. Set to compete in the updated 'Stock' category for production-based vehicles, the Defender Dakar D7X-R is a competition version of the Defender 110 and comes fitted with race-ready upgrades. The updates include bespoke 17-inch wheels wrapped in 35-inch tyres, increased track width and ride height, a heavy-duty steering rack built to motorsport specifications and a freer-flowing exhaust system. Sponsored by Castrol and apparel company Shackleton, the Defender Dakar D7X-R was put through its paces by America's four-time Dakar stage winner Sara Price and France's legendary Stéphane Peterhansel, who has won the Dakar Rally 14 times. They were recently announced as official Defender Rally team drivers, joining Lithuanian race ace Rokas Baciuška. 'I'm looking forward to the next few months of preparations ahead of our entry to Dakar in the Stock category,' Peterhansel said after the event. 'To go back to the roots with a production car, and with Defender, which is the best off-road brand, I'm proud to be part of it. We will try to write a new chapter of history with Defender at Dakar. It's going to be an adventure and opportunity to show what a production car can do.'

IOL News
6 days ago
- IOL News
KZN businessman in distress as Standard Bank demands monthly R55,000 for new Range Rover damaged during repairs at dealership
A Durban businessman finds himself entangled in a financial quagmire following the purchase of a used Range Rover Vogue SDV8 Fifty Anniversary Edition. A Durban businessman finds himself entangled in a financial quagmire following the purchase of a used Range Rover Vogue SDV8 Fifty Anniversary Edition. The man who wants to remain anonymous for his safety, claims the vehicle, bought in August 2022 from Land Rover Menlyn in Pretoria, exhibited latent defects that manifested after he took delivery of the vehicle which he described as a dream car meant for his family. Upon driving the Range Rover for the first time, he noticed a low coolant level warning light. Concerned, he contacted the salesperson at Land Rover, who advised him to take the vehicle to Land Rover Umhlanga for repairs. This initial visit marked the beginning of a frustrating series of attempts to resolve the vehicle's problems. 'I received the car on Saturday, and I took it in on Monday to uMhlanga Land Rover, but the car was not repaired adequately, and the issue persisted,' he explained. Multiple visits to the dealership yielded little progress, and during the last repair attempt, Land Rover technicians reportedly blew the engine. Left with a non-functional vehicle and dwindling patience, he decided to cancel the deal, fearing he would never have a reliable car again. However, the situation escalated dramatically when both Land Rover and Standard Bank, which financed the purchase, declined to assist him. 'I was told by Standard Bank that they couldn't cancel the deal even after I reported the critical issues," he said, expressing disbelief at their inaction. "I drove the car for less than five months and even during those months, it was always booked in for repairs. I never enjoyed the car from the day it was delivered." Despite the bank's knowledge of the vehicle's mechanical problems, he said they insisted upon R55,000 monthly payments, leaving him increasingly frustrated and in financial turmoil. To make matter worse, he claims after numerous times of being ignored, Land Rover eventually sent him an email from the UK stating that they do not have an engine, and they don't know if they will ever have an engine for the model he bought. "The car was a limited edition; it was for the 50-anniversary edition and some of the parts were not available. Now I'm left with no car, but Standard Bank insists that I meet my monthly R55,000 payments despite them knowing that the car was ruined by the dealership," he said.

TimesLIVE
15-07-2025
- TimesLIVE
Land Rover Defender Trophy revives iconic Camel Trophy competition
Land Rover is reviving the iconic off-road competition that used to be known as the Camel Trophy and was held annually between 1980 and 2000. The new Defender Trophy — now without tobacco sponsorship — will have teams competing in a series of driving, navigational and physical challenges in harsh environments. The global 4x4 competition will have national qualifiers in 74 countries with a final to be held in October 2026 in an as-yet-unnamed venue in Africa. At the global final, competitors will work with wildlife agency Tusk to drive conservation efforts. The location for the final will be revealed in August 2026. The vehicle used in the competition is the recently announced Defender 110 D350 Trophy Edition which is on sale to the public as a more rugged version of Land Rover's best-selling model range. The Defender Trophy is painted in yellow similar to the iconic colour used in the original Camel Trophy (or optionally green) and rides on rugged all-terrain tyres with gloss black 20" alloy wheels. Trophy decals and badges set the special edition model apart along with a dark rear scuff plate, gloss black wheel arch guards and a black front undershield. Inside, the Defender Trophy Edition lays on tough luxury with ebony windsor leather seats and Trophy illuminated treadplates. The exposed cross car beam is finished in the same distinctive colour as the exterior and features laser-etched endcaps with Trophy branding. The six-cylinder 3.0 l turbo diesel engine produces 257kW of power and a lusty 700Nm of torque, with drive sent to all four wheels via permanent all-wheel drive and a Terrain Response system with modes for Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud, Sand and Rock Crawl. With the air suspension raised to its maximum height, the Defender has 291mm of ground clearance.