Test drive: Range Rover Velar P250 R-Dynamic (with Video)
Do you find the Range Rover Evoque a little too small? Do you also find the Range Rover Sport a tad too big and much at the same time?
Well, fret not as the plush British luxo-SUV for you might just be this rather stylish number called the Range Rover Velar.
Slotted in between the Evoque and Range Rover Sport, the Velar plugs a gap in Range Rover’s line-up that until recently didn’t need plugging so to speak. Having sampled it briefly over a weekend recently, we’ve discovered that there’s more to the Velar than just style and luxury.
On the surface, there’s no hiding just how gorgeous the Velar is, and much of its beauty lies in its details. The P250 R-Dynamic tester featured here in particular boasts a tasty shade of grey for starters, which is matched with equally tasty black-painted roof for contrast, as well as a set of optional satin-finished 21-inch wheels.
Adding to its stance are things like its full-LED lighting front and aft, but the party trick with the clean and neat exterior has to be its retractable door handles and side steps, which only pop out when the Velar is both stationary and unlocked. If you like this sort of clean and flushed presentation, then the story gets better inside.
In typical Range Rover fashion, the Velar’s cabin is very posh in both looks and feel, the latter especially thanks to the rich presence of fine leather, fabrics, soft-touch trim panels, not forgetting the tasteful array of brightworks present too. Think of it as a slightly downsized Range Rover Sport here if you will.
Adding to the affair besides adequate space are the neat and high-tech features present. Instead of buttons, there are two screens in the centre stack to control everything from the infotainment and navigation right up to the climate control, not forgetting an equally neat fully digital instrument display, and they’re all fully customisable.
For the slightly tech-unsavvy, it’s going to take a while to master and fathom everything. But once you do, life behind the wheel of the Velar is very sweet indeed, and we haven’t even gotten around to how it drives. Well, the news gets much better too once we got the Velar going.
Despite the Velar’s size and bulk, Range Rover has employed its current 2.0-litre turbocharged Ingenium petrol mill to power it. Thankfully, our qualms about this deficit in engine displacement to the Velar’s size quickly disappeared once we noted the mill’s healthy delivery of nearly 250PS (246hp) and 365Nm of twist.
In typical Range Rover fashion again, both outputs go on to power all four wheels, with the Velar employing a ZF-sourced 8-speed automatic for the task.
On road, the delivery is smooth and very refined to say the least, with 0-100kph dispatched in a respectable 6.7 seconds before topping out at a claimed 217kph.
Enhancing the drive dynamics further are the presence of both selectable drive modes and Range Rover’s trick Terrain Response System, the latter of which sees this pretty and posh number able to tackle the rough stuff. Again, in typical Range Rover fashion, the Velar doesn’t feel out of place on and off the pavement.
With the way it looks and present itself, we’ll agree with most that perhaps the rough stuff is best done in the Velar’s Land Rover siblings instead. The bonus here is just how comfortable the Velar rides thanks to the presence of something called Adaptive Dynamics primed on board.
Of course, with anything this good, there’s always a catch. It’s the astronomical asking price.
Essentially, this is Range Rover’s very own trick dynamic dampers suite. It constantly monitors and analyses current road conditions, driving style, speed, steering and body movement up to 500 times a second.
This allows the system to select a wide range of dampening rates and continuously optimise itself to suit conditions.
Its presence sees the Velar granting not just the option for a comfortable ride for passengers, but also the choice of a stiffer, sportier ride for those who savour the occasional spirited driving jaunt too. In other words, there’s some actual driving versatility in the Velar’s mix.
Whilst we’re at it, we cannot ignore just how well endowed the Velar is, and we’re not just talking about having a powered tailgate and automatic multi-zone climate control either.
There’s added convenience thanks to the presence of a myriad of cameras and sensors all-around. This in turn enables things like lane-keep assist, autonomous side and reverse parking, adaptive cruise control, as well as autonomous emergency braking amongst many other things.
Mind you, we haven’t even covered much of the other novel and premium creature comforts present. Then there’s also the peace of mind through safety to consider as well, with the Velar packing no less than six airbags plus the standard array of alphabets you’d normally expect – ABS, ESP, ISOFIX, and more.
With all the optional bells and whistles equipped as our tester had, it’s plain to see that the Velar lives up to expectations one would typically hold with any Range Rover.
Of course, with anything this good, there’s always a catch. It’s the astronomical asking price.
With all the bells and whistles plus tasty options seen in our tester, you’ll need to fork out RM594,789, and that’s excluding insurance and registration costs mind you.
There’s however a five-year or 150,000km warranty coverage plus five-year or 65,000km free scheduled maintenance programme included for some peace of mind
We agree, there are several plucky German alternatives that beg to differ at this price. They’re about the same size as the Velar, even packing more power and performance on top of being arguably luxurious too.
But none of which is close to outmatching this suave English aristocrat when it comes to class. It’s simply a cut above.
By the way...
We recently collaborated with the folks from FirstClasse where we jointly reviewed the Velar together. You can have a read through of our luxury lifestyle counterpart's take of the Velar by clicking here: FirstClasse.com.my - TestDriving - Range Rover Velar.
If you fancy watching instead of reading, then check out the joint video review that the folks at FirstClasse produced below.
Though VERY expensive, it’s undeniably classy, well equipped, and great to drive.
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SPECS
| Powertrain | 1,997cc in-line 4-cyl turbo petrol, AWD, 246hp, 365Nm |
| Price | RM594,789 |
| Economy | 7.6 litres/100km |
| Performance | 0-100kph in 6.7 seconds, 217kph |
| Weight | 1,804kg |
