Range Rover Velar, the name comes from the Latin word for 'hide', but why you would want to hide such a beautiful Range Rover? With its powerful front end, a flowing, continuous waistline, taut and elegantly tapered rear, this certainly doesn't deserve to be hidden.
The Range Rover Velar
More recently, Land Rover have moved their focus from off-road to premium and this is blatantly obvious with the latest Range Rover Velar. The exterior styling is a statement of how the company have evolved to stay market leader. The Velar is a conscious example of this process - smoothing the look, stripping away any ‘busy’ looking unnecessary detail to create a futuristic aesthetic product, creating Land Rover's most aerodynamic car produced to date- the Velar.
The Velar put simply, is a stylish five-door SUV that fills the price gap between the entry-level Evoque and the Range Rover Sport.
With its focus on style, is the Velar an off-roader? You bet. While the Velar may struggle with swamp-driving or boulder-climbing which other Range Rover models can still do, (it doesn’t have the wheel articulation and ultimate ground clearance) it does have Intelligent Driveline Dynamics (IDD), with sensors that measure steering wheel angle, throttle position, yaw rate and lateral acceleration to continually estimate the amount of grip, and distribute torque accordingly, making it an off-roader like any other Land Rover vehicle.
The inside of the Velar’s interior is a triumph of design. The dashboard has two 10-inch colour touchscreens that work in tandem: the upper one is a more conventional sat-nav screen, while the lower one is integrated into the centre console with curved edges like a mobile phone screen.
The rotary dials are multifunctional, their graphics change according to the functions you are using. They’re tactile and easy to use, with the look of a camera lens. Even with its sleeker roofline and a reclined screen, the driving position is all Range Rover – a high seat, brilliant visibility, and a chunky wheel.
There is an optional panoramic glass roof and vegan-friendly wool-based trim material that softens the interior while maintaining a premium feel.
Under the hood, the Velar is built to the same floor-plan as the Jaguar F-Pace. It has a double wishbone front suspension and multi-link rear suspension to deliver a superb ride and great handling.
There are six engines in total, three turbodiesels with 180hp, 240hp and a 300hp 3.0-litre V6; and three petrol engines, a 250hp four-cylinder, a 300hp V6 and a top of the range supercharged V6 that puts out 380hp. Combined with the aluminium-intensive monocoque, which keeps the weight down, and four-wheel-drive grip, the Velar delivers a strong performance.
So, yes it ends up at the pricey end of the SUV market, but it is also much more affordable, while it still retains the look and high end feel of a Range Rover.
The car we had to test was Range Rover Velar HSE D180.
So lets get it on the road and put it through its paces.
We took the Evoque for a run around Manchester to familiarise ourselves with the car before running it through the Female First tests. The car handled like a dream- easy, light steering, effortless to manoeuvre in city traffic- all the early signs were all positive.
School Run.
The kids were excited when they saw their school taxi for the next few days. Stacks of room inside as our two piled in. Two kids, two large school homework projects and six school bags all fitted in with ease. The Velar has a surplus of space.
At the school gates, it was surprising how easy the Velar was to nip in and out between the other traffic of harassed mums and dads all doing the same job.
With the kids safely dispatched at school it was on to the supermarket to do the weekly shop. When we arrived at Sainsbury’s there were no problems parking, for a relatively large car it is so easy to park. There was no need to worry about getting the full shop in this car- in fact all the shopping easily went into the boot space. Verdict- great car for shopping.
Day2
I dropped off the kids and headed to our usual testing route over the Pennines, around East Lancashire and Pendle – lets see how it deals with ‘Witches country’, before a trip along the M62 to Hull.
I must admit I was a little concerned about heading to the narrow single-track roads around Pendle with a large SUV, but never mind- off we went.
The weather was bright and sunny, unusual for that part of the world where it often continually rains and visibility is not the best but in hindsight, concerns were unfounded- it was a marvel on these roads.
After lunch, I headed to the M62 and the rain decided to put in an appearance but the Velar took it all in its stride, the higher stance meant I was able to see better through the traffic spray and the wipers quickly and easily kept vision to a maximum. It was such a comfortable ride, it seemed to take no time to reach our destination. Returning in rush hour traffic and the dark, it's worth noting how good the headlights are.
Off Road
The final test involved a visit to a friend of mine. He lives in an isolated farm at the top of a two-mile long farm track. The Velar was headed ‘off road’. The task held no problems for this vehicle it seemed to smooth the shale track to road standards and the all-wheel drive kept it on the straight and narrow.
Summary
So, with the Range Rover Velar the design team certainly hit the high notes with this car. This is truly a stunning car that brings the range into the budgets of a lot more people yet follows the traditions of one of the best first class prestigious motoring marque’s, all while producing a thoroughly modern contemporary car perfectly at home in the modern world. I cannot wait for the all-electric version.
Great job Jaguar Land Rover. for more information Land Rover Velar