The Range Rover Velar wears a name that goes right back to the very beginning of Land Rover’s storied luxury off-road dynasty. The new Range Rover model has a sleek look that builds on Land Rover’s current design language and a new infotainment system that migrates nearly all of the vehicle’s controls to two high-definition touchscreens mounted in the dash.
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Range Rover Velar will make its sales debut in the United Kingdom in mid-July before going on sale in 170 global markets.
The Velar, coming from the Latin for “veil”, has been taken from the designation of the original Range Rover prototypes of 1969, which Land Rover treated as top secret while in development. Taking a cue from Tesla, the Velar features flush-mounted deployable door handles.
An all-wheel-drive powertrain with an active locking rear differential will be standard on all Velars. “It enhances a model lineup that originally defined the luxury SUV segment and continues to do so”, said Jeremy Hicks, managing director of Jaguar Land Rover UK. The large 22-inch allow wheels give it an intimidating yet elegant stance. Air suspension is available as standard on all six-cylinder models for peerless refinement. The First Edition comes exclusively with the V6 engine and includes a host of upgrades, such as a two-tone leather interior and 1,600-watt sound system. Not only does the instrument panel feature a 12.3-inch digital display that can be configured in multiple designs, but there is are two 10-inch colour screens in the centre of the dash that work in unison to control all multimedia, navigation, vehicle settings and ventilation controls. The only exception to the rule is the volume knob, which is also used to turn the screen on and off. “The Range Rover Velar changes everything”, said Land Rover design boss Gerry McGovern. While the Evoque can actually hand more off-road terrain than something like a BMW X3 or Audi Q5, it’s cramped interior and lack of cargo space made it more fashionable than practical. Fold down the second row of seats, and that expands to 1731 litres. And it’s got a permanent all-wheel drive system created to send torque to whatever axle needs it the most.
The Velar name has some history at Land Rover. It can cope with up to 650mm of water, and wade-sensing technology displays the water level on the screen inside.
If you spring for either of the V6-powered models, you’ll also get air suspension as standard. Low traction launch, hill descent control and gradient release control come as standard. The auto has a towing capacity of up to 2,500kg.
Other available driving/safety technologies include: Adaptive Cruise Control with Queue Assist; Intelligent Emergency Braking; Reverse Traffic Detection and Blind Spot Assist. All engines are mated to an eight-speed automatic.
Both four- and six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines will be produced, although we’ll need to wait and see which ones make it to Australia. There is also a 3.0 litre petrol supercharged V6 with 375 bhp/450 Nm which will be equipped with a sportier exhaust note that has been specifically tuned for the Velar.
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After appearing at next week’s Geneva Show, the Velar goes on sale in the United Kingdom in the summer. Instead, we can tell you that, with a drag coefficient of 0.32, it’s the slipperiest Land Rover product ever.
