Range Rover Velar
New Range Rover’s dynamic potential revealed as we take a ride at Goodwood FOS
First ride up the hill in new SUV
You might not imagine a new Range Rover would attract a crowd in the Goodwood Cathedral Paddock, sitting there next to brand new sports cars, supersaloons and stripped-back track specials. But, boy, you’d be wrong. Lots of festival showgoers use Goodwood to shop for their next car these days, and the Festival demographic could have been made for a new Range Rover to thrive in. Just think about how many tweed jackets, straw hats and colourful slacks you saw at FOS this year. This is Velar central.
I had to fight my way into the passenger seat of the car (Corris Grey, body-coloured roof, 22in wheels, R Dynamic trim) before we set off on the usual hurry-up-and-wait buildup to the Goodwood hillclimb. Opposite was Andy Mould, vehicle integrity manager at Jaguar Land Rover (meaning he works for Mike Cross’s development team, rather than on matters structural).
Mould answered my obvious question — “so what, technically, makes a Velar different from an F-pace?” — very politely. Guess what? It’s plenty. Sure, the platform, the engines and much of the suspension is common. But the Velar uses air springs and an electronic locking rear differential for its upperrange models. Compared to the equivalent Jaguar it’s got a higher body profile and hip point, a softer ride, special powertrain tuning, a different exhaust, more cabin insulation… I got the impression Mould could have gone on and on.
But he didn’t need to. By the time we’d made it as far as the bottom of Lord March’s driveway I could tell, even from the passenger seat, that the Velar has a unique dynamic identity (better ride, quieter cabin, better view out). And when, on the start line, Mould planted his peg and the car squatted gently on its haunches, the Range Rover DNA absolutely flooded in. Moving around in all the right ways as we arced around the bend onto Park Straight, the Velar was missing little in the way of handling balance. Mould was clearly enjoying himself — and I dare say everyone watching could see as much.
Could the Velar even be a better driver’s pick than the Jaguar F-pace? At this stage, I’d say it’s odds-on.