FIRST DRIVE: Land Rover Defender Octa

_{Land Rover’s Defender is the de facto SUV in the company’s stable, the pioneer of its lineage, and an icon celebrated worldwide. And those who own them swear by them! Back in 1947, the then board of the Rover Company approved the "all-purpose vehicle” that would be built on the lines of the Willys-Overland post-World War Jeep, thereby birthing the Land Rover mule that was touted to do one thing and one thing right: “rove the land,” and thus the Land Rover brand was established.}

Back in April 1948, the Land Rover Series I was officially launched in Amsterdam and boasted a 2,032mm wheelbase and a 1.5-litre engine from the Rover P3 pushing out all of 37kW. It was a rudimentary thing with little in the way of frills, and therein lies its popularity as the British army took to it like a duck to water. Even the British monarchy took a liking to it as its official royal chariot. Over the years, the Defender has gone into various states of metamorphosis, but the latest model has seen the greatest design departure and is the one that has had the most tongues wagging.

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Many purists sniggered and took jibes at this new Defender, mainly due to its perceived looks that seemed decidedly soft and tame relative to its predecessors. And in all fairness, I think it was a case of judging a book by the cover, which usually turns out to be the complete opposite in some instances. When we finally got our hands on the current Defender back in August 2020, we promptly took it off-road – the Defender’s natural habitat – to put it through its paces and ascertain whether it still has what it takes.

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In short, it remains a capable SUV with modern finishes, but still made of very stern stuff. And that has allayed any of my concerns about this modern Defender’s supposed shortcomings. Since then we have sampled every other derivative of the model, including 90, 110, and 130 body styles, various engine configurations from petrol to diesel, and even plug-in hybrids. Many bases were thoroughly licked then, but then the engineers conjured up another plan—to push the limits of the platform both dynamically and technically. This has yielded the crown jewel in the Defender mettle, the Octa, named after the strongest carbon stone – the diamond and its octahedral shape – is the most powerful and capable Defender yet.

So what makes the Octa such an endearing model in the Defender lineup? Could it be the fact that there is a BMW-sourced 4.4-litre, twin-turbo engine making 467kW and 750Nm? Or the thoroughly tricked-out suspension that has been fettled to the hilt? Well, it's all these working in unison with the rest of the car that will have you sit up and take stock. The entire thing has been three years in the making, so high expectations have been heaped upon it. And to thoroughly put it through its paces, the global media event took place right here in Mzansi’s Western Cape province. An entire gamut of challenges lay ahead to try and find chinks in the Octa’s armour, and we’ll delve into that a little later. Styling-wise, though, the engineers took what was already a proven platform, widened the track, and blistered the wheel arches to accommodate chunkier, rally-inspired 20-inch wheels and tyres. This has resulted in a 68mm wider overall width, while the ride height has been jacked up by 28mm—taking the wading depth from 900mm to 1m.

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Exterior upgrades are subtle and include blacked-out Defender logos, exposed carbon inserts on the front flank vents with gold Defender lettering, and, at the rear, hexagonal-shaped quad exhaust pipes that belt out a very familiar BMW M5 octave. Hoisting yourself up into the interior, and once settled in the pound seat, you are greeted by fine Octa-specific details such as the exposed carbon front seats’ back shell and steering wheel with an Octa mode red button. The rest of the cabin features familiar Defender furniture with a minimalist layout of buttons and controls.

Firing up the Octa awakens the distinctively BMW M V8 baritone instead of the 5.0-litre V8 Supercharged growl we have come to expect of JLR’s flagship models. And all the better for it because, as I came to experience at the launch, the Beemer motor is a far more versatile engine with a breadth of talents covering both performance and efficiency aspects rather well.

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The 6D Dynamic Air Suspension dampers employed in the Octa are similar to those used in supercars like the McLaren 750S. Yes, I agree, quite extreme, but there's a method to the madness. The cross-linked three-valve hydraulic dampers provide precise control over body roll, both on and off-road, ensuring precise body control and improved overall wheel articulation off-road, thereby eliminating the need for anti-roll bars in the Octa. Geekily brilliant!

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Three tyre options are available: the 20-inch off-road tyre, as those shod on our launch cars that have a 160km/h top speed, or you can opt for the 20-inch all-terrain tyres with a 210km/h vmax, while for those who won’t be venturing off-road at all, the 22-inch road tyres can ensure a 250km/h top speed. On the road, our extreme tyres exhibited a bit of road noise, but this seemed to plateau once on the move, and one can drink up other aspects of the vehicle instead. Our launch route saw us leave the V&A Waterfront and wind our way out of Cape Town CBD down the N7 towards the narrow yet spectacular Bain’s Kloof Pass in the Cederberg.

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While the previous 5.0-litre V8 Supercharged engine was rambunctious, swinging on the chandeliers at a party-type engine, it simply misses the mark in blending efficiency with performance, hence the switch to the BMW motor. And it's a mellow and unstrung engine with ample power and torque, while the ZF automatic gearbox does the shuffling duties with relative ease and buttery smoothness. On the road, the Octa drives similarly to any other Defender, but the new engine and tricked suspension add another layer of competence and capability. To see what the model can do off the beaten track, we veer off the bitumen and onto some treacherous terrain dotted with ancient, jutting rocks. 

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These were no match for Octa as it devoured everything in its path with the greatest aplomb, pushing through many obstacles. We then switched to a high-speed rally stage type loop to prove the model’s performance over shaky ground, and it is here that things began to make a great deal of sense. Yes, Land Rover is planning to enter the gruelling Dakar Rally with the Defender Octa in 2026. This means that the first 2,000 units built have already been allocated to new owners for deliveries starting in March this year, while an additional batch of cars will be built in infinite numbers for customers. These are said to have more options that can be specified since the first 2,000 units are solely of the highly specified First Edition models.

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The Octa’s steering ratio has been tightened up to 13.7:1, and this comes into its own when driving hammer and tongs off the beaten track and on-road, where the markedly improved agility and dynamism come firmly to the fore. As part of honing the model, Land Rover put the Octa through a rigorous 1,000,000-kilometre durability and reliability test in varying environs and the most extreme weather conditions. Off-road prowess is nothing short of spectacular, and the Octa feels very much at home in these harsh driving conditions, clambering over rocks and wading through rivers in the most composed disposition as though begging you to try and “make its day!” 

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Matt Becker, the tech guru and former Lotus and Aston Martin chief engineer, now heads Land Rover's engineering department and was instrumental in how the Octa performs and steers. The latter is more pronounced in sweeping roads, but due to the optional rugged tyres shod to our test car, this is possibly not as sharply pronounced as it would be with the Michelin 22-inch road tyres. Even so, threading the Octa through a series of sweepers is something to be relished, and that V8 in Dynamic and Octa mode delivers froth-at-the-mouth performance that inspires confidence when overtaking slow-moving traffic, something that the previous 5.0-litre V8 Supercharged engine simply could not muster. Even during our dune driving excursion, the Octa remains ever competent with the V8 engine offering ample torque to scale some rather daunting dunes.

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Stopping power is impressive with dinner plate-sized 400mm front discs clamped by six-pot Brembo callipers, while the rear 365mm brakes remain sizable and effective in the Octa’s arrest of speed, which is impressive. For a car that was chastised for looking soft, the current Defender has held its own, debunked any would-be rumours, and has gone on to become not only one of Land Rover’s most popular models but also one of its most versatile vehicles. The fact that there’s such a vast spectrum of models to choose from in the model’s portfolio, it's no surprise that the Defender continues to remain Landy’s masterstroke, even in this modern guise.

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The Octa, meanwhile, brings an exciting chapter to the range, crowning the Defender with the most capable and polished jewel in its mantle. It’s the ultimate rockster in the Defender range and arguably the most desirable yet. The diamond standard!

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Pricing: R3 499 100