Range Rover Velar
Bonkers V8 SVAutobiography hits UK roads
FOUR-and-a-half seconds. That’s both the 0-62mph time of this Range Rover Velar SVAutobiography, and roughly how long it takes to read its name out loud.
Prices for the flagship Velar start from £86,685. Certainly not cheap, but a figure that slots it neatly between the £71k Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio and Porsche’s latest £101,000 Cayenne Turbo.
We were fans of the Velar when we tried it on the smooth roads of Catalonia, in Spain, but how does it feel on a damp day in the UK? Well, it looks just as menacing under grey skies. JLR’s SVO division has kitted out the Velar with larger air dams, revised sills and unique badging. There’s four fake exhaust tips mounted within the bumper; according to an SVO engineer, it’s so buyers won’t burn their legs when getting stuff out of the generously sized 558-litre boot.
Inside, the Velar has always felt special, and SVA upgrades like the quilted leather upholstery, knurled dials and unique digital graphics only lift things further; few SUV cabins offer such a sense of occasion. And on the whole, the Velar is a comfortable cruiser. The one slight caveat comes from our car’s optional 22-inch wheels. Not only do they cause the ride quality to suffer around town, but those huge tyres generate appreciable road noise at high speed.
Despite this, the SVAutobiography is still more forgiving than any other SUV that can match its staggering speed. Even in the most focused Dynamic mode, there’s plenty of body movement during cornering, but the air suspension does a good job of keeping that mass under control. The 4x4 system shuffles power between the axles, meaning traction is almost impossible to break. It’s true the steering doesn’t have much feel, but it’s responsive and precise.
The 5.0-litre supercharged V8 has been used by all sorts of bonkers Jaguars and Land Rovers, and without fail it’s one tickle of the throttle pedal away from making you giggle like a child. The noise is spectacular, and almost as startling as the lowly mid-teens fuel economy it returns if you’re really pressing on. Drive more sensibly and the 23.9mpg figure seems achievable in the real world.