Range Rover Velar 2018 Review

The SUV look has become the new normal in the global automotive traffic jam.

Be it the USA, Europe, China or down under, 'two box' wagons rule our roads … and trails. Sure, there are short ones, tall ones, fat ones and, erm, less fat ones. But for all their detail differences they are shaped out of two boxes — engine compartment and cabin.

Which means differentiation becomes all the harder. Which brings us to the new Range Rover Velar.

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So what’s a Velar?

The Range Rover Velar is the fourth model in the line-up of Land Rover's luxury brand. A five-door five-seater, Range Rover Velar sits between the smaller Evoque and larger and more off-road capable Range Rover Sport. It is based on the same aluminium-intensive architecture as the Jaguar F-PACE and in the case of the Velar SE P380 R-Dynamic being tested here, features the same 280kW/450Nm 3.0-litre supercharged V6 engine.

The Range Rover Velar’s ability to gain clear air in the crowded SUV space starts with a beautiful exterior that makes rivals such as the Audi Q5 and Mercedes-Benz GLC look dowdy.

The Velar's boat-tail rear-end, the shallow glasshouse and the smooth panels are accentuated by flush-fitting doorhandles. It is Range Rover style morphed, massaged and exaggerated to the point where it sits right at the cross-roads of SUV and passenger wagon design.

Head inside and the Range Rover Velar really cuts loose. The exterior minimalism is continued; there’s very little clutter, almost everything is luxuriously purposeful.

The centerpiece of all this is the new Touch Pro Duo infotainment system. Two 10-inch high definition colour touch screens sit one above the other on the dashboard and centre stack.

The upper screen controls navigation, media and phone functions. The lower screen manages climate control and Terrain Response, the system that tailors the Range Rover Velar’s behaviour in various off-road scenarios.

Like a mobile phone, you can swipe and pinch to zoom, or you can use two reconfigurable rotary dials to control functions such as cabin air temperature. There are also capacitive switches below the screens and mounted on the steering wheel. The small electrical charge transferred from your finger when the surface is touched operate them.

Many of the functions are replicated in the instrument panel, which can be digitally modified like Audi’s Virtual Cockpit to have, for example, an all-encompassing screen for the standard navigation.

What Range Rover is trying to do is cut out the middleman and allow more direct and simple contact between driver and controls. It takes a while to figure out but it does work. You have to forget the Germanic obsession with buttons and dials, which is not an easy thing to do considering the dominance Audi, Benz and BMW have in the luxury segment.

Importantly, the hard points are surrounded with beautiful materials including perforated leather, suede cloth, aluminium and satin chrome. Even small things like the tessellated dashboard skin strike the right note. Then there’s the gear dial that rises out of the centre console.

Not so impressive

OK, so you know the exterior and interior design get the thumbs up. But the Range Rover Velar lacks a couple of things too. Rear seat space could be more generous and when you head back to the boot there’s only a space saver spare tyre. That’s lamentable from an off-road brand.

You can get a full-size spare as an option. Heck you can get just about anything as an option — except apple carplay and android auto, which just aren’t available.

Our SE test car is just one grade from the top of the Velar model line-up yet options include a $4370 sliding panoramic roof, $1840 21-inch alloy wheels (20s are standard), $1780 metallic paint and $890 power adjustment for the steering column. Oh come on!

This opportunistic — and surely confusing for customers - strategy is universal across the Jaguar Land Rover group and is in contrast to the way the Germans — led by Mercedes-Benz — have honed their value packages in recent years in Australia.

Okay, the Germans are still not up there with Vinnies when it comes to generosity, but JLR’s attitude is out of kilter and short sighted.

Still, our Range Rover Velar does get Matrix LED headlights, a power gesture tailgate, dual-zone climate control, Meridian sound system, wifi for up to eight devices and superbly comfortable 10-way adjustable front seats. Safety gear includes six airbags, low-speed autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, tyre pressure monitoring and 360-degree parking assist including rear sensors.

For an extra $6000, bringing the price to $119,642 before options and on-road costs, the R-Dynamic design package includes different bumpers, treadplates, foglights and some trimmings.

The driving

The Velar looks like a moderately-sized and wieldy package from the outside but feels big and bulky once you’re driving it. But then it does weight more than 1880kg and measure up at more than 4800mm long.

No doubt, it does everything at least competently. When set to comfort mode its air springs combat all but the worst road imperfections despite 21-inch Conti Crosscontact rubber. The under-body noise deadening is good enough to erase gravel splash.

At 11.6m the turning circle is decent and there is a host of electronic aids to help stop you running into things in a crowded space.

But wind the chassis up to Dynamic and things become coiled a bit too tight for enthusiast driving. You can feel the height of the Velar rocking and rolling, you can feel the all-wheel drive system shuttling drive to minimise understeer and you can’t feel much from the electric-assist steering.

The drivetrain? Well the eight-speed auto is fantastic, as ZF torque converter autos tend to be. The engine? It goes ok and sounds alright but it sucks fuel like a demon when pushed … it was averaging 14.5L/100km during our test. These days that’s pretty horrendous.

If the diesel alternative is unpalatable, then you better hope a hybrid comes along soon.

Off-roading? Considering the lack of a full-size spare tyre and low range gearing and that the clever Terrain Response 2 and all Terrain Progress Control systems are optional, bashing about in the bush doesn’t seem to be Range Rover Velar’s primary reason for existence.

So, during this test we didn’t do anything more challenging that country lanes. Previous motoring.com.au tests have pushed harder and yielded results that indicate Range Rover’s off-roading genes still exist in the Velar.

Good stuff

The Velar hits some fantastic highs. The logic of the controls and the interior presentation are simply brilliant and will woo plenty of customers … along with the sublime exterior. But the value equation sours the experience somewhat.

In between the two extremes is the driving, which is well honed without being engaging.

Which leaves the Velar in a curious position. It is in turn innovative to the point of brilliance, disappointing and even forgettable.

It could have been great, instead it’s merely good.

How much does the 2018 Range Rover Velar SE P380 R-Dynamic cost?