Take it as read that, alongside the dust fests, the Octa can also handle the mucky stuff – traditionally a Defender’s bread and butter. Outside of Octa mode, it still has the regular car’s suite of terrain settings, only now with the benefit of the increased approach, departure and breakover angles. Horiba MIRA’s off-road course gets considerably more difficult than what you can see in the images on these pages and our test car lapped it up.
And so to the road. Much has been made of the Octa’s potential for width-, weight- and height-defying dynamics and, in many respects, the hype is well earned. The Octa has a marginally quicker steering response than the regular Defender but the real reason it feels so much more agile and, frankly, manageable than its off-the-shelf range-mates is mostly to do with the new cross-linked suspension. Especially in Dynamic mode, the car’s resistance to pitch and squat is notably reduced, and while roll movements start off in a familiar fashion, they’re quickly curtailed and the body’s deftly supported.
For any Defender to conduct itself like this is remarkable, not least in the context of the Octa’s broadened off-road envelope. Moreover, the Octa retains the regular car’s natural manner – the ease and fluidity that result from body movements being so well matched to cornering force and steering input, only with a much tighter operational window. It means that, even on the Goodrich tyres, you can put the Octa down a decent road just as quickly as you like, without having to worry about any unpleasant surprises the topography might throw up.
Is the Octa a driver’s car, then? Of sorts, yes. There’s satisfaction to be had here, though you are still ultimately dealing with a high centre of gravity, geometry that must cope with extreme off-road scenarios, and plenty of weight transfer. Certainly, think twice before cancelling that Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid order if outright dynamism is your priority.
Lastly, and as if the Octa needed another string to its bow, is touring ability. In Comfort mode, you’re treated to a languid gait but on many surfaces Octa mode itself yields the best ride quality. Combined with effortless torque, superb visibility and precise steering that doesn’t subtly leech your concentration, as it can in the regular car, the Octa is excellent company on long drives.