Velar takes road less travelled
Off-roading is no longer top priority for Land Rover’s new luxury SUV. By David Linklater.
The Range Rover Velar is about design first and onroad driving second. Don’t worry, off-road driving is still in there. It’s just not at the top of the list.
Whether that’s okay will depend very much on your view of what Land Rover vehicles should be. But the fact remains that Land Rover is looking at new opportunities in new segments, and a fashionforward Range Rover that’s sharp in the corners is something it’s decided to pursue.
As indulgent as it might seem, there’s a perfect business case for Velar. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) developed a pseudo-sporting SUV platform for the F-Pace, and it was never going to be for just one car. That’s what underneath the Velar.
Which explains why it’s supposed to be a model that sits in between the Evoque and Range Rover Sport, but is pretty close to the latter in size and price. It’s really just an avant-garde, sportier version of the... Sport. Which seems a bit confusing.
Equally confusing is the model range. There are 3.0-litre turbodiesel and supercharged petrols. But then there are standard and R-Dynamic versions, which have a unique styling package including different bumpers. Then there’s a separate hierarchy of S, SE and HSE versions; it’s the two higherend models that give you the choice of standard or R-Dynamic. Got it? Good.
Our test vehicle is where Land Rover NZ sees the volume: R-Dynamic SE, powered by the turbo-diesel engine.
Velar does look especially futuristic in R-Dynamic specification, but there really isn’t a model in the range that doesn’t have that visual X-factor. No point banging on about what it looks like: you have eyes. But note the slivers-of-LED headlights and flush doorhandles, which extend when you unlock the car.
The interior is just as important. It feels impossibly posh like any other Range Rover, but it’s also designed to give you the feeling you’re on the cutting edge.
There are no physical instruments, so when the car is switched off there’s just an expanse of glossy black touchsurface. You get the impression that’s how it’s designed to be seen: as a static artwork rather than an automotive interior that’s supposed to do things.
When you do ask it to do things, a virtual world lights up. The most striking part is the centre console below the main infotainment screen (which tilts towards you on startup), which is all touch-surface apart from two large rotary dials (there’s also a third, smaller, volume control). The function and inner-display of these dials changes according to which main menu you’ve selected. Clever.
I can hear you now, saying: ‘‘this is all very nice until it goes wrong’’. You might be right. That lower screen did collapse into a colourful little piece of static for half a day while I had the car. Then, after an overnight rest, it fired up again and all was well. Make of that what you will. But it’s certainly not the only time – or rather, the only brand – that I’ve had similar new-age electronic glitches with.
Velar has a SIM-card embedded, so you can also use the Land Rover Remote phone-app to check on its status (whether it’s locked, distance-to-empty), beep-and-flash to find it in a carpark or even start the vehicle remotely and run it for up to 30 minutes to get the climate control working.
The turbo-diesel is blessed with a monster amount of torque, and although it takes a moment to gather up its skirts, the D300 (not catchy, but that’s the badge) lopes along in effortless fashion. The single-range eight-speed automatic is impressively smooth for the most part, marred by the occasional clunk at low speed. You’ll know it when it happens.
Diesel power works well for a big SUV, but if you want an even sportier experience the petrol looks good. It’s down a massive 250Nm on torque and consumes an extra three litres of fuel per 100km, but it’s a full second quicker to 100kmh.
More to the point, it’s 75kg lighter up front so it’s a sharper drive.
Like the F-Pace, the Velar is RWD in normal conditions, but can proactively apply torque to the front in just 100 milliseconds. In terms of handling character it’s almost the ideal mid-point between the hard-edged Jaguar F-Pace and the substantial sway of
larger Range Rovers. In short, it’s compliant as a road car but still very engaging.
Assuming you’re not a traditionalist, the Velar is an awesome thing. It looks like a proper Range Rover in size and stature – just one that’s been designed for the Thunderbirds.
All Velars have Terrain Response, Adaptive Dynamics, air suspension, torque vectoring by braking, autonomous emergency braking and trailer stability assistance. All good.
At least until you start looking at the driver-assistance equipment, because stuff you’d expect to be standard on a $145k luxury vehicle is still on the options list.
Even on the R-Dynamic SE you miss out on the more sophisticated Terrain Response 2 system (with the excellent Auto setting), surround cameras, lane-keeping assistance, automatic parking and the all-important adaptive cruise control with queue-assist and high-speed emergency braking. It’s all optional, either individually or as part of various packs.
You could argue that Land Rover NZ is simply giving you the choice, because you can tick those boxes or just go for the $157,850 R-Dynamic HSE, which has all of the above, an even more sumptuous interior and 21-inch wheels that add to the visual wowfactor even further. So do that.