Land Rover Defender OCTA (2025 – ) review

If you’re among the sub-set of an already dwindling number of people wanting a Land Rover Defender with a massive petrol engine and the existing £110,000 V8 version simply isn’t costly enough to buy or run then … enter the OCTA! And if the starting price isn’t sufficient the £160,000 Edition One should tick all the boxes, though at this level the fact it’s a chunk cheaper than an AMG G-Class might – weirdly – count against it for ultimate bragging rights. Beyond such first-world problems it goes without saying the 4.4-litre engine leans harder on its turbos than electric motors to achieve its 635 horsepower so fuel consumption is best described as catastrophic and insurance will likely be equally ruinous. None of which is likely to trouble the target audience one jot.

Land Rover has put a huge amount of effort into making the OCTA even tougher than the regular Defender, with reinforced this and upgraded that to delivery durability to match the butch looks. All very impressive but, as a brand, it still doesn’t have the greatest reputation for reliability and one of the cars on the event we attended got stuck when the four-wheel drive system reverted to two-wheel drive. This turned out to be a calibration issue for the fact the OCTA needs reprogramming by a dealer when switched from the standard road wheels to the off-road ones we drove it on. Human error rather than a reliability issue, then, but worth bearing in mind if, like some owners are apparently doing, you choose to order your OCTA with both sets of wheels and ambitions to swap them around according to the type of terrain you’re driving on.

If your ‘safety’ priorities include being able to travel at enormous speed over rough, rocky terrain, wade through rivers and churn the ground with massive knobbly tyres in any weather this is the tool for the job. As is any Defender, the OCTA just doing it faster and with more noise and drama. Back in the real world there is lots of safety tech, including various sensors to compensate for the lack of visibility that results from the chunky bodywork and the usual interventions if you don’t react to a hazard ahead or seem to be drifting out of lane. Thankfully the more annoying ones like the excessively loud speed limit alerts can be disabled with two presses of a button on the steering wheel to select a configurable custom mode for the safety systems. Phew.

Where the (relatively) less powerful Defender V8 is only available as a short-wheelbase 90 the OCTA is based on the five-door, long-wheelbase 110. Which makes it a lot more practical if you regularly carry more than one passenger and/or luggage. The sculpted sports seats are firm and figure-hugging compared with those of the standard Defender, but supportive and comfortable with that. And we liked the ‘technical’, outdoorsy vibe of the tough Ultrafabrics upholstery on our First Edition test car, this contrasting stylishly with the chopped carbon trimmings. A relatively more luxurious leather option is fitted on the standard OCTA but, in Defender fashion, it’s still a utilitarian vibe and if you want a more luxurious experience you’re best off heading over to the Range Rover side of the showroom. There meanwhile isn’t the space to explain the technicalities of the incredibly clever suspension Land Rover has developed specifically for the OCTA, other than to say it simultaneously holds it firm in the corners like a sports car while also delivering the bump gobbling compliance for flattening lumps, bumps, potholes and anything else in the vehicle’s path. True, on the off-road tyres there is a little more road noise and a brittleness to the low-speed ride quality over a regular Defender. And the engine is unashamedly loud. But for the target audience this is all pretty much the point.

As you’d hope for at this price the OCTA isn’t left wanting for kit, while the chunkier bodywork, different grille design, unique badging and taller stance set it apart from lesser Defenders. To those ends wheel choice has bigger implications than just looks, the standard 22-inch wheel and tyre combo meaning a higher top speed while the (to our eyes) cooler off-road spec 20-inch ones and all-terrain tyres standard on the Edition One mean this is restricted to 99mph. The muted colour choices – including an exclusive dark green on the Edition One – are suitably menacing but perhaps a little sombre for a car supposed to be built for excitement. Maybe more choice will come on this score. Inside it’s basically a top-spec Defender, the familiar central infotainment screen running Land Rover’s slick Pivi Pro operating system while the clever multi-purpose dials mean you have all the functionality of physical switchgear but without too many confusing buttons. Neat.

The BMW-supplied 4.4-litre engine at the heart of the OCTA does have a degree of hybrid assistance, though this of the mildest variety and can’t power the car on electric drive alone. Because that’s not the point. No, this is about good old-fashioned, fossil-fuelled excess, with 635 horsepower going through all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox and additional driver modes developed specifically for this model. These include a road-focused Dynamic setting that stiffens the suspension to deliver on the promise of the sharper steering and reduces roll in the corners and pitching under acceleration or braking. A dedicated OCTA mode meanwhile goes the other way for a looser feel that’s meant for off-road but is actually rather good fun anywhere. Even with all that power you feel the weight blunting the acceleration somewhat but all things relative – this is still an awesomely fast car, and one not afraid to make some song and dance about it in the process. None of which is going to earn you any points for social responsibility. But you’ll probably be having too much fun to lose any sleep over that.