This is the SUV you’d want, if you want to look stylish. Thing is though, looking stylish doesn’t come cheap.
Mid-sized is how Land Rover prefers it, the model filling out the obvious blank space between the decidedly compact Evoque and the comfortably large Range Rover Sport. Unlike its full-sized siblings, the fourth addition to the Range Rover line-up is the product of something other than Gaydon’s full-fat approach to SUVs. Because this new Range Rover is unequivocally car-based.
Its predominately aluminium platform is the same architecture used by the latest Jaguar XE and XF. The F-Pace is an even closer blood relative, despite starting at Php 500,000 less than the Velar.
The Velar is a looker in person. Car manufacturers talk about identities and design languages: the Velar looks like the ultimate and most successful interpretation of how much more dynamic Range Rover has been trying to make its range. It feels like the zenith; as if Range Rovers hereafter will need a new set of guidelines. With an exterior this good, I think this maybe the best-looking SUV in the market today.
It's been a conscious process of smoothing the look – stripping away fussy details to create a futuristic aesthetic. It’s also the most aerodynamic car Land Rover has ever produced. There are a wealth of lovely details, such as the slender LED headlights, and the flush-fitting door handles that pop out when you unlock it. These felt cheap on early cars, but careful development now means that these door handles operate with the chunky precision of its most premium rivals.
It looks dynamic too, with its tapered tail and raked-back windscreen. Altogether there’s a resemblance of a concept car in the Velar’s purity, and it makes the other Ranger Rovers look positively frumpy in comparison. Mind you, it still has an elevated seating position that leaves the driver imperiously lording it over more humble cars – core to the appeal of a Range Rover.
Beneath the skin, the Velar is an entirely logical extension of the Range Rover line-up: more rugged than an Evoque, but less so than the Range Rover Sport or full-fat Range Rover Autobiography.
If you think the Velar looks like a show car from the outside, you should see inside it.
The cabin is well executed, just like the exterior, although there are a few technology gripes. It's built around an infotainment and climate-control system relying on two 10.0-inch touchscreens, which takes a bit of getting used to, but offers snappy responses and supports the Velar's pared-back aesthetic once you're used to it. With that said, it's slow to start up and attracts fingerprints at a terrifying rate. The graphics on the main infotainment screen are a bit low-rent compared to what's offered in the latest Mercedes and BMW systems. The system’s crowning glory are steering wheel buttons that can also be repurposed. Rotate your finger slowly around the left-side roundel’s edge, for example, and you’ll turn up the volume. Push the middle of it and that roundel’s graphics change and it becomes a way to scroll through functions displayed on the instrument panel — all while your hands stay on the wheel and your eyes not far from the road.
Away from the technology, the Velar has a stunning interior. The suede-look seat trim dappled with grey textile highlights for the armrests, headrests and seat bolsters, along with blonde wood inlays for the doors are absolutely lovely. Add a pinch of gloss black, stir in a few chrome highlights, and you're left with one of the best-presented cabins on the market today. It's just a really nice place to spend time. The sort of interior that makes you breathe a sigh of relief when you step inside. Maybe that's just the heated, cooled, and massaging seats.
Yes, all lovely. However, the interior isn't all that practical given the Velar's size. Front passengers are well catered for, but the pinched glasshouse and long luggage space mean legroom is average behind taller drivers, and visibility out is limited.
Push the start button and the engine springs into life with a muted snarl. It's quite a raucous unit than in the Jaguar’s, but Range Rover has put it through finishing school, smoothing some of the rough edges to deliver a quieter, more grown-up feel.
The 2.0-litre Ingenium diesel motor produces 178bhp and 430Nm of torque - enough for respectable performance,
It’s still a four-cylinder diesel and is inherently less smooth and hushed than the six-cylinder diesel is. But, overall, it does a respectable job on refinement, being a little bit vocal when cold and when revving hard, but never really disturbing the car’s occupants.
At step-off and when given a cue to kick down, the Velar’s powertrain, although smooth, tends to make you wait longer than you’d like before it winds into meaningful action. And although it revs fairly willingly for a four-pot oil-burner, it never chimes in with the really forceful slug of torque that you might want for assured overtaking, towing or light off-roading, either. You get an eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard – no manuals in the range, remember – and four-wheel drive.
Thanks to the air suspension, you're able to raise the car up for greater ground clearance or drop it down for easier entry. Although our time in the car was spent exclusively on the blacktop – where most owners will spend their time – there's a raft of off-road modes on offer capable of configuring the car for mud, sand, rocks... Essentially any terrain. Most owners won't care, but the Velar will venture further off the beaten track than any of its style-focused rivals.
In Dynamic mode, there’s certainly more than enough precision and poise here to prepare the Velar well for fast road use.
Get to the limit of grip and you’ll find the torque vectoring system keeps it online very faithfully as you power out of corners and its M+S tyres hang on to dry tarmac surprisingly well.
Given this is such a large car on the road, you might be a little bit disappointed by this car's overall practicality. Needless to say, Land Rover might argue that you're a Range Rover customer, and this isn't your top priority – if it were, you'd buy a Land Rover Discovery.
So, consider it an adequately roomy car for four and you won't be that disappointed. If you have kids, the Velar will look after you reasonably well. For instance, it has just the two Isofix points, both on the outer rear seats. The Isofix sockets are easily accessible though, rather than buried deep between the seats, and there is plenty of room in the back to maneuver the children into position.
Four adults can make themselves reasonably comfortable, but there is not an enormous amount of rear knee room, and anyone forced into the middle fifth seat will find themselves straddling the transmission tunnel, which isn't ideal for longer journeys.
The Range Rover Velar is not short of boot space – and that’s before you fold the rear seats down, which adds over 1,000 litres more flatpack furniture capacity. Not that Range Rover buyers buy flatpack furniture. Antiques, possibly, if clichés are to be believed. Making life even sweeter, there are multiple fold-out curry hooks in the boot as well, plus load restraint rails available as an option. Shame the rear seats don’t fold totally flat, though.
The Range Rover Velar may be up against some tough rivals, but it's a pleasure to drive, thanks in no small part for its ability to make the driver feel very special indeed. The futuristic looks and glossy interior are a big part of that – yes, all Range Rovers have a similar family face, but this is a great-looking car in the metal, with great stance, and a sporting look without being aggressive.
There’s also that interior, with the twin-screen technology and that innovative Kvadrat fabric for those who don't do leather. As a long-distance GT the Velar is a serious contender. It's not perfect, though – the four-cylinder diesel engine is pretty much the only sensible option to go for if you're paying for your own fuel, and you're still out of luck if you want to buy an electrified Velar.
Rational buyers will recognise there are better-rounded Range Rovers out there, but a car needn't always be a rational purchase. It feels large on the road – but in all other aspects, the Velar is a rewarding and enjoyable SUV that manages to drive really well, it spoils the driver, and make everyone who rides in it feel special. This maybe the best looking SUV on the market today. Now that’s quite an achievement.
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