The Velar: Range Rover’s sublime head-turner

The new Range Rover Velar seems to serve no purpose, says Jeremy Clarkson in The Sunday Times. “I mean, saying that you want something between an Evoque and whatever the next biggest Land Rover is these days is like saying your shoe size is 12¼.” As a result, “I was going to be petulant and simply ignore the Velar, but then I saw one. I was strolling down the Embankment in London, ignoring the velvet Ferraris and lime green Lamborghinis, when it came crawling past, and it stopped me dead in my tracks.”

It’s so pretty you could park it in the Design Museum and bask in the subtle nuances of its surfaces, says Jason Barlow in GQ magazine. And if anything, the Velar’s cabin is “even better executed than its sublime exterior”. The Velar’s various dashboard displays remain “secret until lit”, hidden behind three panels of toughened glass in a horizontal beam that introduces a zen-like calm to the cabin. Then it all comes alive with a “theatrical, techy flourish” and the main multimedia touch-screen is “ergonomically intuitive and graphically harmonious”.

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Aesthetics aside, don’t come to the Velar for Porsche Macan-like agility, says Top Gear. Like a proper Range Rover, it’s “dignified and in command of most situations, with well-oiled, accurate steering”. If you’re in a real hurry, the sport mode tautens the damping, lowers the body and shifts more power to the rear. And for that odd trip off the Embankment, the Velar’s ability on a steep climb, or traversing a perilous 45-degree incline, is “genuinely gob-smacking” for a car that’s so magnificently composed on the road, says Barlow.

Admittedly, anyone who pays upwards of £62,000 for the Velar is completely mad, says Clarkson. And yet, “you want one no matter what the price, because after you lock it, you’ll never tire of turning round for one last look before you go through the front door”.

Price (2.0 petrol): £62,390. Fuel consumption: 34mpg. 0-62mph: 5.9 seconds. Top speed: 145mph. Boot space (rear seats up): 632 litres

Article originally published in MoneyWeek