A South African road trip highlights the OCTA’s strengths—and a few weaknesses too

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Adventuring in OCTA, the Most Powerful Land Rover Defender Yet

A South African road trip highlights the OCTA’s strengths—and a few weaknesses too

Basem Wasef

2 April 2025

Land Rover’s 2020 relaunch of the beloved Defender reimagined virtually every aspect of the iconic boxy truck. While the new model’s deep offroad capabilities stayed true to its spartan roots, the redux introduced comfort and civility along with softened styling cues that reflected a more approachable demeanor.

Five years following the debut, Land Rover teased a new variant using alien imagery. A more aggro variant was depicted drifting luridly across the fully paved Nürburgring Nordschleife, foreign territory for the famously rugged offroader. While high-performance, limited production version of the previous Defender had been available in other markets, those spicier variants were never offered within the 4-year run of NAS (North American Spec) models; this was something entirely new.

“We weren’t aiming to be a [Ford] Raptor or a [Mercedes-Benz] G-Wagen,” SVO Director Jamal Hamidi explains at the latest model’s launch in South Africa, an epically adventurous locale for the most powerful model in Defender history. But he does acknowledge that both models were benchmarked during its development—a noteworthy detail because he spent nearly 3 decades at the Blue Oval, and served as the chief engineer behind Ford’s groundbreaking Raptor.

How does Land Rover—ahem, defend the OCTA’s lofty $153,625 starting price? Beneath its swollen-fendered bodywork is a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 powerplant producing 626 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque. The monster power output is the headline grabber intended to outshine the likes of the G63 (577 hp) and the Raptor (450 hp), a number which, along with the brawny Nürburgring visuals, might appear to position the OCTA as a pavement bruiser. But the OCTA’s more telling differentiator is the so-called 6D Dynamics suspension, a system first leveraged in the 2024 Range Rover Sport SVR. Featuring a complex network of hydraulic circuits, the system promises a far wider range of talents—firmness when desired during on-road driving, softness when necessary while off-roading, and the ability to independently control pitch and roll without the aid of conventional stabilizer bars.

Two-and-a-half days of on and off-roading through South Africa promises virtually every texture of terrain from smooth pavement to packed gravel to rock-strewn trails to sand dunes. Our  tester comes equipped with the $15,800 Edition One package whose visual enhancements include Faroe Green paint, special wheels, and so-called chopped (aka, forged) carbon fiber in and out. The detail freshens up the Defender’s looks a bit, especially since the swollen wheel arches add around 2.7 inches yet don’t make the sport ‘ute look as mean as it could.

Piloting the most powerful Defender in history to highway speeds requires aggressive use of the right pedal in order to really kick your head back. Perhaps it’s the relatively linear power delivery, the elevated stance, or the long-ish gearing. The surprisingly muted exhaust note doesn’t dramatize the experience either; unless the pedal is mashed deep into the floorboard, the OCTA just doesn’t feel like it’s hurtling forward as hard as it actually is. Its stated 0 to 60 mph time of 3.8 seconds is impressive (and vanquishes the G63 and Raptor, though the Raptor R beats it by a tenth), but under most circumstances the acceleration doesn’t feel particularly explosive or urgent.

On to the twisting single-lane roads leading through Bain’s Kloof Pass, the OCTA maintains impressive body control while hustling through tight switchbacks despite its bulk. Dynamic mode stiffens the hydraulic dampers, managing pitch and roll through the dampers’ valving system since the setup lacks conventional anti-sway bars. However, the OCTA’s on-road talents are somewhat muted by its choice of tires, and more specifically, the lack of available summer performance rubber. Our tester was shod with Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac RTs which were specially developed for the OCTA. These are the most offroad-focused tires on the menu, and fittingly the best suited for the rugged adventure we were soon to experience. But these tires (which are bound to 20-inch wheels) are on the squishy side on-pavement, and therefore produce less steering precision. Another downside is torque steer on hard acceleration because power is transferred to the front wheels when the rear tires slip, thus leading to kickback at the steering wheel. Larger 22-inch wheels can be optioned, but they’re bundled to all-season Goodyears which still won’t deliver the on-road sharpness that would come from proper summer performance tires. Furthermore, the OCTA is electronically limited to a 112-mph top speed when wearing the off-road rubber, making it feel ill-suited to autobahn-style high speed cruising.

Once we’re off the road and onto sloppy stuff, the OCTA finds its true footing. Switching drive modes loosens the electric intervention and maximizes the adventuring chops that were refined from 13,960 tests which covered everything from ice driving in Sweden to rally stages in Lastours, France to rock crawls in Moab, Utah. Here in the badlands beyond Cape Town, the previously limiting Duratracs have become the key to negotiating some seriously daunting terrain. Hamidi says they outperform venerable BF Goodrich KO3s offroad, and judging how they ascended rock faces and tenaciously plowed through loose gravel, we believe it.

While Land Rover’s familiar drive modes are still available (Grass, Gravel Snow; Mud and Ruts, et al.), the quickest shortcut to offroad badassery comes from tapping the clear ‘OCTA’ button at 6 o’clock on the steering wheel. The setting triggers maximum suspension travel (around 10 inches), reduced electronic intervention, dirt-friendly anti-lock braking, and an available launch control. Cruising over ruts and bumps at highway speeds in OCTA mode make this Defender feel in its element; the compliant suspension soaks up bumps and rocks while there’s still enough control to take corners at high speeds. While not quite as seamless as Mercedes-Benz’s latest G63 (which also sports a new hydraulic suspension), it’s also important to remember that Benz’s sporty ‘ute claims a starting price that’s nearly $34,000 more dear. A test on sand dune reveals even greater capability; the Goodyears manage to dig out of fine silty sand with ease, aided by the engine’s copious torque and the sophisticated traction management system.

Back on the road, the Defender OCTA bounces out of its element and into a strange state where it feels quick but not potent, imposing but not grandiose. For all its pomp and go-fast marketing I was hoping for more burble and pop from the exhaust; out of the box it only starts to make itself heard as it approaches its 6,500 rpm redline, and then the 48 volt mild hybrid powertrain reflects its refined BMW origins rather than the nasty Ford powertrains Hamidi oversaw while he was stationed in Detroit. The option of more aggressive street tires would also be welcome, as there’s a sharpness lacking in its handling response due to the rugged all-terrain Goodyears.

So, how about those slidey Nürburgring images that originally teased the OCTA? “It’s really focused on being an offroad vehicle,” Hamidi explains, adding that the ‘Ring was leveraged as an environment to ensure OCTA could cruise at speed over the bumps and irregularities like the famously punishing Carousel section. The OCTA’s interior is also a bit of a let down because apart from unique seats, it doesn’t feel particularly special compared to more ordinary Defenders. The Edition One’s so-called chopped carbon fiber accents do aid the cause, but the package is also already sold out. While alluring as an offroad weapon, the Defender OCTA misses an opportunity to expand the breadth of its capabilities as a compelling on-road performance tool as well. The positioning is in keeping with the Defender brand’s newfound focus within Land Rover’s three revised silos of Defender, Range Rover and Discovery. However, we do wish there was more on-road focus to counterbalance all that offroad swagger.