Where the Velar has an upper hand over its leaping Jaguar cousin is with its ability to go further off the road. It does miss out on the aural drama that one would expect with a petrol powered Land Rover, but pleasantly surprises with good fuel economy, and also lower emissions. It manages to drive well in the city as well as on the highway and the performance masks the two-tonne weight of this crossover quite well. The eight-speed transmission that it comes mated to, complements with equally smooth shifts.Įven in the lower state of tune, the Velar isn't sluggish by any means. The motor is butter smooth in its operation throughout the rev-range and feels far livelier than what its specs suggest. ![]() Our car was running the 250PS tune (giving it the P250 moniker) and managed to sprint from zero to 100kmph in 8.1s during our tests. Land Rover offers this engine in two states of tune - 250PS and 300PS. The Velar is powered by JLR's new 2.0l Ingenium petrol engine which makes its Indian market with this vehicle. The cabin is plush and its cozy proportions make it feel more of an enlarged Evoque and not a scaled down Range Rover. There are enough storage spaces around the car for water bottles and knick-knacks, while the boot space will comfortably accommodate a weekend's worth of luggage for a family of five. The rear seats have a low H-point to accommodate a decent head and knee room, but unlike typical Range Rovers that give you a roomy view of the surroundings, the Velar, with its pinched roof and high belt-line, make the glasshouse quite narrow for a purist's liking. The field of view for the driver is large, but the Velar feels more crossover-ish to drive than the typically elevated seating that is offered on the larger Range Rovers. ![]() ![]() The front seats are fairly large and nicely bolstered and have eight-way electrical adjustments. A similar system will soon be seen in the new Range Rover Sport too. This arrangement is fast becoming common across luxury cars, but Land Rover's user interface is the best I have used so far. The upper one controls commonly used infotainment functions like audio, telephony and satellite navigation, while the lower screen takes care of the less frequent controls like air-conditioning and driving mode selection. Taking center stage is the Touch Pro Duo system, made up of two vertically stacked high-definition screens. Range Rovers are known to wow their clientele with bespoke craftsmanship and fine upholstery, but this new Rangie is more about gadgets and elements aimed at the more tech-savvy audience. The cabin of the Velar feels far more sophisticated than its exterior form. The Jaguar connection is visible again in the flush door-handles, which elevate the aesthetic appeal of this cosmopolitan SUV. ![]() The headlights and taillights are much sharper than anything you have seen in this stable and make the Velar look more athletic than its siblings. The F-Pace connection gives it tighter lines than its stablemates and the pinched roofline looks quite unique to the lineage. At least in terms of its design, it is in line with the Range Rover lineage and slots right in between the Evoque and the Sport. The Velar also happens to be one of the few European SUVs I spotted in Fujairah when I was in the Middle East recently, and in typical Range Rover fashion, its sophisticated form looked right at home even with sand dunes and rocky mountains in the backdrop.īut is it a true-blooded Range Rover? We will come to that later. If I were to buy one that is exactly how I would like it. What a sight! It looked sinister and how. I was starting to feel that its platform cousin, the Jaguar F-Pace, feels more desirable.īut then I saw a Range Rover Velar late in the night, slowly appearing out of a dark alley, wearing a red color on the body and gloss black on the roof and the wheels. The vehicle we drove and what you see here, does not give the best impression of the Velar - the grey is quite dull and lacks some of the cosmetic sheen that you can otherwise specify on the options list. A good two weeks have passed between the time I drove the Range Rover Velar and penned this review.
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