Land Rover debuts its most capable and powerful Defender ever, the Octa, for 2025. We took it on an 8-hour drive from Western Colorado to Moab, Utah, one of the most epic of off-road driving locations in the US, to put it to the test.
Not only is the Octa capable for waterfording and rock crawling, it can also handle high-speed baja rally style driving with ease.
Watch to see Davy Jones jump it AND coach me through my own baja track drive!
It was the most gnarly and awesome overlanding I have ever done.
Octa is named for the top of a diamond, the hardest material on Earth, and its shape, the octahedron. This new top trim of the Octa surely is hard and fast, with a 4.4L twin turbocharged V8 with a mild hybrid producing 626 horsepower and 553 pound feet of torque. It also comes with an entirely new 6D dynamic suspension providing capability not seen before on any Rover. Paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, four-wheel drive and all-terrain tires, the Octa can tow up to 7,700 pounds.
The 33” all-terrain “bulletproof” tires contain Kevlar.
Here’s a transcript, cleaned up via AI and edited by a staffer: All right, you guys—I’m in Colorado with the 2025 Defender OCTA. This is the most powerful, bigger, wider, and faster Defender that you haven’t seen before—well, actually, that’s not entirely true. I have a reveal video on my channel from about a year ago. But today, we’re going off-road. We’re driving for hours—all the way to Moab, Utah, which is a legendary overlanding and off-roading destination.
We’re going to put this OCTA through its paces on a fast Baja-style track and some serious rock crawling through the mountains. The vistas and valleys here are stunning.
This is a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with a mild hybrid system. It makes 626 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque, paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission. It has four-wheel drive and a unique 6D Dynamic Suspension that doesn’t need anti-roll bars. It rides on 33-inch all-terrain tires with Kevlar—yes, bulletproof material—developed specifically for the OCTA. It’s taller and wider than any other Defender, with better approach angles, integrated width indicator lights, and up to 39.4 inches of wading depth. We tested that by crossing a two-and-a-half to three-foot-deep river.
The OCTA also performs like a rally racer. We had race car driver Davy Jones take us on a two-mile rally track at about 60 mph. Then he let me drive it. I even caught a bit of air.
“Lift off, lift off, lift off! Turn to the left—there you go. Nice!”
That was fun. Got good air, too.
All right, sorry—it’s about 100°F out here, so I have the car running while I get some interior shots.
One quick note about the exterior: this is the Petra Copper color, and this particular spec includes the optional matte paint protection film (PPF) straight from the factory. That’s a $5,000 option. What’s neat is that if you get scratches from off-roading, some of them will self-heal due to the PPF. And because it’s factory-installed, you can even order just one panel—like a single door panel—and have it replaced as an accessory. Defender offers that directly.
What’s even cooler? Two more groups of media are going through this program after us. If the scratches on this vehicle don’t self-heal, Land Rover will re-wrap the panels before the next group arrives. Wild.
Let’s look inside.
The rear door opens in typical Defender fashion. Still has a privacy shade, the cool rear windows, and even speakers back here. This is the 110-length version—Defender 90 is the short one, and Defender 130 has a third row and a longer wheelbase. We also have a tow hitch, recovery hooks, and styling elements unique to the OCTA. And check out all the pinstriping on the side—those scratches are from trees and branches we hit off-road today.
Inside, we’ve got semi-aniline leather—which is now very dusty—and a huge panoramic sunroof with a sliding shade. Yes, it does open.
Center armrest with two cupholders, tons of dust everywhere from the day’s adventure. These are the Body and Soul seats, which I’ll talk more about from the driver’s seat. Rear passengers get four-zone climate control, two USB-C chargers, and heated outboard seats. The floor is nearly flat, so three passengers can sit comfortably. The seatbacks even have storage pockets. If you opt for the Edition One OCTA, you’ll get crushed carbon fiber on the back of the seats. There are LATCH anchors for two child seats and tethers for three.
The OCTA gets its own key. The name “OCTA” comes from “octahedron,” the geometric shape of a diamond’s top. You’ll see that emblem throughout the vehicle in badging and trim.
Inside, the semi-aniline leather continues across the dash. Land Rover interiors are always well done, and the Defender is no exception. There’s a dedicated OCTA Mode button—hold it down and it activates a dynamic off-road setting. That’s what we used for the Baja section. Paddle shifters turn red in OCTA Mode. There are plenty of drive modes, of course, and you can engage OCTA Mode from the touchscreen as well.
For the rock crawling we did today, we used Auto mode—which can detect terrain like rocks—or you can manually switch to Rock Crawl or other settings. We also used low-range four-wheel drive and adjusted the air suspension for lift or lowering as needed.
Storage inside the Defender is unchanged from the standard model: storage under the center console, two cupholders, wireless charging pad, and a cooler box in the console. Climate controls and heated/cooled seat buttons are all familiar.
Now, the Body and Soul seats. These are interesting. They have a feature called Sensory Audio. The seats vibrate in sync with your music or, in Wellness Mode, they play ambient music while generating seat vibrations designed to relax or invigorate. Serenity Mode was my favorite—it felt great during the day.
We have the standard gear selector, a full suite of cameras—including excellent backup and off-road views. We used them constantly. You can get a tire view and even a towing camera. There’s also a head-up display, which is quite large.
So—what do you think of the OCTA? Would you take it over a regular Defender? A G-Wagon? Maybe a Bronco Raptor? It’s extremely capable and luxurious. Of course, there’s a price: it starts at $150,000 USD or $190,000 CAD. The one I drove, with options like the factory PPF, came out to just over $200,000 CAD.
Let me know what you think. Leave a comment or question. Don’t forget to subscribe and follow me on social—I’m @xoconniepeters everywhere.
Connie Peters is an automotive video creator and journalist covering all types of cars and trucks for the past 10 years in suburban Vancouver. You can watch all of her videos on her YouTube channel or find here on social media: Instagram.com/xoconniepeters , TikTok.com/@xoconniepeters, Facebook.com/xoconniepeters, Threads.net/@xoconniepeters
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