I will always remember the day when the original Velar debuted. The SUV was revealed IST 6 AM in UK and the car that shook the press in a studio specifically made for this launch is what could make out from the images and videos. The SUV made its debut to thunderous applause. The design and stance of the SUV and positioning took the market by storm and now the Velar becomes a legitimate baby Range Rover in every regard. The design was taken forward to the next generation Range Rover that we see on sale already since 2022 which has again taken the market by storm and made all its rivals stand up and take notice. The Velar was a moment in history for the brand. How is it with this mid-life facelift after six years? What has changed and what are the new options for the Indian market, we find out!
On the outside, the 2023 Range Rover Velar is substantial in width, height, and length of just under 5 meters. The tall shoulder line and the integration with the windows gives it an entirely distinct look in the entire SUV universe out there. Nothing comes close to the design marvel that the Velar is. Revealed a few years, it is still a design masterpiece. Before or after the Evoque? Where does it stand? You let us know!
The design elements of the car make it stand out. The flush items on the car such as the headlight, door handles and grille make it look futuristic. All this and yet it looks majestic and royal. The build quality is fantastic and extremely solid even today and as we know, these SUVs’s score the highest marks in crash tests. The gun metal 20-inch wheels on our test car made it stand out. The bronze color elements all around make it look good with black and grey body colour. Clearly, Land Rover has crafted the design perfectly well and this facelift adds a bit more kick to the package.
On the inside, the build and quality are good and so is the expansive feature list. The SUV gets everything you can imagine. Things such as automatic lights, steering controls, cruise control, 360 camera, 360 parking sensor and a panoramic sunroof. Ventilated seats, digital instrumentation, HUD, wireless Apple car play and Android auto are now part of the Pivi Pro. A incredible and heavily revised Meridian sound system is on offer! An impressive infotainment system which works really well than the last infotainment system that JLR had. The graphics and fonts are good, but responses can be a tad better. The screen is large and it is devoid of the bezels on the sides as well.
We appreciate the lack of switches and buttons on the Centre console. Just the gear lever and it feels great to see minimalism in luxury cars. Space is good in every regard. Be it head, leg, shoulder or knee room. The boot space is humungous by segment standards. The third row of seats is good for mid-sized adults as well. Road and wind noise inside the cabin is downright low due to the active noise cancellation technology on offer. The IRVM has a video option in it if you block the rear boot glass with luggage, the view outside is even better with the video option. This makes it a car with two rear view camera, one for parking and one for IRVM that is mounted in one of the dual shark fin antenna. The safety kit continues to be high with electronic stability control, traction control, ten airbags, Hill Hold Assist, ABS and EBD come and a lot more is on offer.
The 2.0l mild hybrid diesel engine on our test car is smooth, free-revving, and low on NVH than before. Be it in any part of the rev range, there is enough torque. The gearbox operates well with smooth and time up and downshifts. Low and mid-range are excellent and the top-end is good enough as well and it cruises at legal speeds easily. The drive modes make sure that you can have a calm car or a sporty car with eco and sports modes. This makes the SUV good enough for city and highway duties. The fuel economy is now much more impressive, 14 km/l in the city and 20 km/l on the highway!
The low to medium ride quality is exceptional. The way Velar tackles bad roads with poise, calm and grace, it feels 100% British engineered! Adjustable suspension means you can do anything with this SUV as its water-wading capacity and ground clearance goes almost two feet high with a press of a button. Steering is light, precise and has very good feedback on offer which makes the car fun and confidence-inspiring to push harder. The larger 20-inch wheels and low profile fantastic PZero tyres make sure it corners like it’s on rails too!
Handling is sporty and the overall stability is very good too. The brakes are good with a good pedal bite on offer. Thanks to rear-wheel steering, the car manoeuvres without much effort and U-turns are not bad if you plan them well. Overall, quite more fun to drive than before, easier than before and clearly as sporty and capable as before thanks to its 4×4 system. Something we could not sample this time as it had low profile road-biased 20-inch wheels on offer with tyres being 100% on-road focused.
The Range Rover Velar is something that is truly the most desirable SUV in its class. The SUV does it all from remarkable on-road behaviour, performance and handling too taking the off-road like no other rival. The design is an iconic moment that has been recorded in history as the most beautiful SUV ever made, despite the boxy stance. The Velar is priced just right for our market and has all powertrain options you look forward too. The Velar is a defining product in the portfolio of JLR and severe its master (Range Rover) very well indeed.
