the braking system is capable of shedding pace with equal alacrity, the tires locking and unlocking expertly to dig into the soft ground. This is important because, in the corners, the OCTA will, understandably, understeer if you carry too much speed. Nothing on the course proves insurmountable, though, which underlines the fact that this SUV is engineered for some serious fun. On the drive event, we learn that, starting in 2026, Land Rover will compete in the famous Dakar Rally, using a vehicle based on the Defender OCTA. This vehicle will compete in Group T2, a class for production-based 4x4 vehicles, against the likes of the Nissan Pathfinder and Toyota Land Cruiser. The final challenge of the drive event is particularly apt, given the Dakar news. We drive to a location called the Dunes, a dried-out lake some 10 km from Lambert’s Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. The Dunes has been transformed into a 250-hectare playground where owners of off-road vehicles are given free rein to tackle the sand in an eco-friendly fashion. In preparation for this challenge, the Land Rover technicians drop tire pressures by 20 psi at each corner to ensure there’s better traction available. We also select the Sand mode in the Terrain Response System and set off in pursuit of adventure. Long story short, the Defender OCTA is an absolute tractor. At various points in the dunes, becoming stuck seems an absolute certainty. The SUV slides sideways around the tighter corners, wheels spinning madly, digging in too deep when the opposite would have been the preferred response. But the resolute traction created by the all-wheel drive system pulls the OCTA out time and time again. First impressions are complete, then. My recommendation: fit the Defender OCTA with those racing harnesses, weld in a roll cage, add a fire extinguisher or two and you’re ready to tackle the Dakar Rally right now. The 2025 Land Rover Defender OCTA is now available for order across Canada.
This mode also encompasses a traction control setting with minimal intervention and a special ABS program that allows for some wheel lock to shorten braking distances. The braking system, by the way, includes 400 mm front discs and six opposed Brembo calipers, the kind of stuff typically reserved for supercars. The closed course is tight and the obstacles are significant, including two ditches that warrant double-caution warnings. (In rally racing, a double-caution is the second-most serious level of threat; it indicates an obstacle that could break a car in two.) With only two laps at our disposal, it’s impossible to gauge exactly how fast the OCTA could be when driven at full chat. Here’s what we did learn, though. Acceleration on loose sand is impressive, sending the Defender forward with impressive speed. Once underway,
"The Dunes has been transformed into a 250-hectare playground where owners of off-road vehicles are given free rein to tackle the sand in an eco-friendly fashion."
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