Range Rover Velar First Drive Review [Exclusive]

Range Rover Velar Review

Car Tested: Range Rover Velar; Road Test No. 847; Test Location: Norway

Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 90 lakhs – 1.35 crores (est.)

The Range Rover Velar blends desirability and practicality in a beautiful package

Premium luxury SUV enthusiasts will have something to think and talk about in the coming weeks as UK-based Jaguar Land Rover’s iconic Range Rover family prepares to launch its fourth member in the line-up. The Velar as it will be known will be slotted in above the entry level Evoque and under the bigger Range Rover Sport. Now, the fact to ponder on is that why would this carmaker which already sells similar products in the segment under its other sub brands – we mean models like the Discovery and Discovery Sport under Range Rover or corporate siblings like the Jaguar F-Pace want to introduce a model that might clash or cannibalise existing products. At Norway, the idea behind the motive was made clear during the technical presentation which suggested that packaging, performance and marketing is what will set them all apart and hence none of the threats to each other in the lineup.

Motor Quest: Range Rover executives claim the Velar heritage began with the original prototypes of circa 1969 and that’s been the source of inspiration for the new arrival.

Exteriors – From the design stand point, the characteristic Range Rover brand features in the Velar include a floating roof, an unbroken waistline, soft rounded corners, and most of all, the trademark clamshell bonnet. Neat vertical cut lines are evident from the roof to the mudguards and panel gaps have been minimised. Even with its traditional profile, it has the capability to stand out and considering many of the rivals, the Germans especially who have adopted “coupe” styling for their sports SUVS. Actually, Land Rover designers must be commended in keeping with the brand ethos and established DNA despite having a clean sheet design. As promised in the concept Velar that was shown two years ago, the rakish sliding panoramic glass roof is standard across the Velar line. The unique feature in this car is the retractable door handles and newly crafted matrix LED headlamps which the manufacturer claims are the smallest units fitted to a Land Rover product yet.

Interiors – Inside the cabin, the interior design and execution is the product of ‘reductionism’. The occupants sit high and the front view is pretty unobstrusive, thanks to the twist/kink design of the thick A-pillar from inside which allows better view. The Velar is also the first new vehicle that comes with the brand’s Touch Pro Duo infotainment system. Space wise, accommodation is generous for four adults. Cargo space is also good at 673-litres for this category of SUVs and there’s a lot of flexibility as far as space management goes. The 40:20:40 rear split seats come with heating and electric recline options. The optional four-zone climate control and cabin air ionisation system.

The cabin experience of the Velar is just something else with the appealing design

The horizontal beam design of the instrument panel is central to the car’s interior while the driver gets twin-analogue dials with a 5-inch TFT display as standard from SE specification in higher editions a 12.3in interactive driver display that doubles up as a virtual instrument cluster. Material and trim quality is of high standards and interior designers have taken inspiration from modern architecture and combination of material usage. The test vehicles offered had seat upholstery woven from sustainable resources developed with the assistance of European textile manufacturer Kvadrat. The car’s Meridian audio set-up has been custom tailored to offer concert hall ambience through 17 or 23 strategically placed speakers. Actually this feature and the floating console reminded us of the new entrant from a Scandinavian manufacturer!

Driving Experience – Our journey with the Velar began from the tarmac of Avinor airport in Luchthaven Ålesund, Vigra and continued in the picturesque Molde region of Norway. The first day’s driving included approximately 168km of country B-roads that offered not only a great view of the snow clad mountain range, idyllic Fjords, extremely long bored out tunnels [some as long as 11km] and unmarked stretches which proved to be ideal ground for unofficial sprinting, acceleration and handling experiences both on and off road. The test cars provided were from the first production and unlike previous experiences with similar production test cars, these cars were very hard to fault actually. We were offered the top-of-the line First Edition variants that come with supercharged 3.0-litre V6 engines.

The Range Rover Velar is a luxury off-roader, it’s like a portable 5-star hotel

As a SUV, the Velar is a luxurious place to be in and both driver and occupant get settled in their respective comfort zones quickly, thanks to the various seat controls and adjustments and massage functions. Push button start instantly fires the engine to a deep roar from the exhausts before settling into idle. Engaged the gear and moved on the given route following the turn by turn navigation. In the first few kilometres we begin to get the real feel.

Arguably, the car is a delight to drive and despite its dimensions, weight and high ride height it felt light, thoroughly planted and extremely responsive. The torque delivery is amazing and the gear shifting silky smooth in normal mode. In Sports mode as expected you get extra torque and the gears hold a little longer with slightly faster shift times when using the paddle shifters with minimal drop of revs. Of course, the sonorous exhaust note is accompanied by blips when you down or up shift and when that happens, you begin to appreciate the work of over 1,000 engineers involved in this car.

That’s not all. The ride quality is superb, partly due to good roads and mostly due to the superior suspension set up. What pleasantly surprised us was the car’s sharp cornering abilities which mimics a sports car’s point and shoot manouevre while remaining absolutely planted on to asphalt. This is thanks to its brilliant torque vectoring system which ensures that the car feel neutral and offsets any evidence of understeer and chassis management. As a result, on the Velar reflects its calm and compose personality with its splendid manners.

Steering weight from the electric set-up is well calibrated in the Velar and the feedback it offers to the driver will guarantee a smile all along. So are the brakes and short stopping distances and no roll tendencies. Acceleration and torque application from the powertrain ensures that the car is cat quick. In fact, it’s more like its sports SUV very much like its bigger sibling, the Range Rover Sport.

Despite the fact, the Velar has been designed to spend more time on road, the car has been endowed with serious off-road capabilities, and this was evident in the natural off-road sections that we experienced and specialised articulation exercises that were designed and organised by Land Rover Experience specialists specially flown in from Gaydon, UK. In all occasions, the Velar effortlessly proved its impeccable credentials, with help from its approach angle of up to 28.89°, breakover angle of up to 23.5° and a departure angle of up to 29.5° and a maximum wading depth of 650mm. Off-road mode increases the ride height by 46mm compared to normal mode at speeds below 50km/h creating ground clearance of 251mm and the articulation exercises also gave a hint of the structural integrity of the monocoque body.

Verdict – A lot of new cars in the premium luxury segment have been launched in the past few months with reasonably good packaging and performance, but rarely has one come up with an almost flawless delight. On one hand Land Rover has brilliantly executed its candidate in the mid-sized SUV segment with the Velar and on the other hand in the process of the creation, set a new benchmark for itself and competition to match. The vehicle will be brought to India via a CBU route but expect demand to exceed supply, such good is this luxury SUV.

What’s Cool

* The best looking Range Rover model
* Loaded with tech and comfort
* Stays true to its off-road roots

What’s Not So Cool

* CBU price

Alternatives: BMW X6, Mercedes GLE Coupe