2025 Land Rover Defender Octa: Fierce Defender
First glance: Is this thing serious?
When I first saw the 2025 Defender Octa parked in the corner of the testing ground, to be honest, I was stunned for a few seconds-this was not the square, gentle British gentleman I had in my impression. It looked as if it had been watered by steroids in the gym, with wide-body wheel arches bulging out exaggeratedly, with 22-inch rims and all-terrain tires stuffed underneath, and the heat vents on the hood opening up like shark gills, as if ready to blow out a breath of heat at any time. You can even see the thick anti-collision beam under the car, extending from the front to the rear of the car. The exposed metal texture tells you: I am not just here for an outing, I am here to tear up the rotten road. The whole posture is like a beast lying on the ground ready to go, and even the rear view mirror shell has been replaced with carbon fiber-don't get me wrong, this is not to lose weight, but purely to tell you that "I am so rich that I am burning."
Sit in: A contradictory mixture of luxury and hardcore
Pulling open the door, the familiar smell of Defender still exists-the vertical instrument panel, exposed rivets, waterproof rubber pads on the floor-but the Octa version plays "exquisite and wild" in the details. The seat is made of semi-aniline leather and Kvadrat wool, and there is also hot printed with Octa's exclusive diamond-shaped stitching in the middle. It feels soft and expensive to the touch, but when you look up, there is actually a driver-assisted camera and an off-road mode on the A-pillar. Physical buttons, this sense of separation is simply overwhelming. The 11.4-inch curved screen in the central control responded as fast as a stimulant, but what fascinated me even more was the two huge shift paddles behind the steering wheel-made of metal, with a cold touch, and issued a crisp click sound every time you dial it. The rear space is still so spacious that you can cross your legs, but the sliding panoramic sunroof overhead occupies almost the entire roof. When you look up on off-road, you can see branches sweeping the glass, and you silently pray that you don't scratch it.
Step on the accelerator: the feeling of pushing back the soul out of the body
The moment the start button was pressed, the 4.4-liter V8 twin-turbocharged engine let out a low roar, like muffled thunder coming from the ground. Put it in D, put it on the gas--oh, my God, this isn't an SUV at all, this is a beast in an SUV coat. 626 horsepower, 750 N·m, acceleration from 0 to 96km/h takes only 3.9 seconds-yes, you are right, a size square box SUV runs faster than most sports cars. Turbo lag? non-existent. As long as you dare to step on it, the force will suddenly bounce up like a black bear pressed on a spring. Your back will be pressed firmly in the seat, and the mobile phone in the passenger seat without a seat belt will fly straight into the back seat. What's even more scary is that this is just normal mode. If you switch to Dynamic or Octa's exclusive Baja mode, the throttle response will become neurotic, and the exhaust sound will change from "rumbling" to "bursting". Every time you downshift and replenish oil, the exhaust pipe will make a crackling backfire sound, which is like setting off firecrackers when you pass through the tunnel.
Drive it up: The schizophrenia between the road and the bad road
To be honest, when driving the Octa on the paved road, you will feel a strange tearing feeling. The air suspension can filter out most bumps in comfort mode. Combined with Pirelli Scorpion Zero's all-season tires, high-speed cruising is as stable as skating on asphalt. But as long as you turn the steering wheel a little harder, the two-and-a-half-ton body will tell you what the physical limits are-roll still exists, but the Octa uses a harder anti-roll bar and adaptive shock absorber, and the body's attitude is controlled. Surprisingly good, it can even give you the illusion of "I'm driving a large steel cannon." But don't be happy too early. This product's steering feel is heavy, and the correction torque is very strange. Its arms can easily get sore when stuck in traffic. The most outrageous thing is that you are driving a million-class SUV, but the vibration of the chassis and exhaust noise remind you that it is ready to rush off the road at any time. Sound insulation? non-existent. Lotus? No, this is the wildness that Land Rover deliberately retains.
Cross-country: This is its true destination
Leaving the paved road, Octa is like coming home. The new "soil monitor" in the All-Terrain System can display the trajectory of the front wheel in real time through the camera, allowing you to clearly see which stone the wheel is pressing on. What shocked me the most was its ground clearance-when adjusted to the highest mode, an adult's calf could be tucked under the chassis. I deliberately found a steep slope full of broken rocks, hooked up the low-speed four-wheel drive, locked the rear differential, and then released the brakes to let the car slide slowly down by itself-Octa's steep slope descent was controlled like a precision instrument, each wheel was braked independently, and the body did not slip at all. It's even better when rushing through sand dunes. Baja mode will automatically release the electronic stability system, allowing you to swing your butt through corners like a rally car. It feels like dancing a waltz on the sand, except with a rhinoceros. The only complaint is that the power response in off-road mode is too aggressive. If you tap the accelerator, you can jump, and novices may be scared.
A few bad points that I have to say
Of course, no review only praised but not scolded. First, fuel consumption-after driving all day, I ran an amazing data of 18L/100km in mixed road conditions, and this was just ECO mode. If you want to feel the sound of the V8, it's basically five yuan per foot of oil. Second, the car sometimes suffers from convulsions, and the CarPlay wireless connection is occasionally disconnected, requiring manual re-pairing. In that era when half a second was too long, this was simply unbearable. Third, the price-although the official has not yet announced, based on the Defender V8's selling price of more than 1 million yuan, the Octa version has a high probability that it will exceed the 1.5 million mark. Moreover, because there are so many options, it is likely that the landing price will go straight to 2 million. But then again, you bought one of the most hard-core original off-road vehicles on the planet, with 626 horsepower. Do you think this unique madness is cheap?
Summary: It can give you far more than off-road
After driving the 2025 Defender Octa, I sat in the car and lost my mind for a while. It's not a rational choice-you can buy a more luxurious GLS, a faster Urus, and a more hard-core Wrangler 392 for the same price. But Octa just kneels the contradictory qualities of these three together: it can take the whole family through no man's land, it can also knock off the mustang next door at a red light, and it can also make everyone who knows how to drive at a Barbeque party. People turn around and pay attention. If all you need is a car, which is too expensive and wasteful; but if all you need is a partner who can accompany you crazy at any time, go anywhere, and keep your adrenaline soaring-then Octa is the last living fossil of this era. And to be honest, every time you turn off the engine and look back at its wide butt and exposed trailer hook, the corners of your mouth will unconsciously curl up. That's probably the whole point of having it.
