VIDEO: RANGE ROVER VELAR REVIEW ' FIRST LOOK!
In this video, we have a first look at the new Range Rover Velar – and it may be the best yet!
According to Land Rover, this mid-sized Rangey isn't just a car – it's a digital butler. The brand-new Velar SUV is packed full of technology that will "create an in-built technology butler" thanks to "an all-new cutting edge infotainment system."
Land Rover's Peter Virk says the system "learns from you and anticipates your needs, serving what you want, when you want it – but never intrudes... like any good butler."
Land Rover reckons the Velar sits nicely between the Evoque and the Range Rover Sport and, considering the Sport is quite a chunk of metal to squeeze through the city streets, chopping 50mm off the length and width makes for a much more city-friendly SUV.
There are five engines that powering the Velar for you to choose from. Top of the pops for the oil-burners is the 3.0-litre V6 with 296bhp and a 0-60 time of 6.1 seconds, hitting a top speed of 150mph while achieving around 44mpg. If you're a petrol fan you'll want the supercharged 3.0-litre V6 with a chunky 375bhp on tap, which bangs out the 0-60 sprint in 5.3 seconds and will top out at 155mph, burn through that fossil fuel at a rate of about 30mpg!
Both V6-powered models get air suspension as standard but, fear not entry-level buyers, adaptive dampers are standard across the range.
Spec levels for theVelar run from standard to the usual S, SE and HSE specs, as well as offering a sportier look with the R-Dynamic kit.
According to Land Rover, the Velar is built from sustainable materials in its all-new design. However, the Velar does use quite a lot of aluminium so, in reality, Land Rover is probably referring to inside the cabin – a special textile that takes the place of leather on the seats.
If you tick the options boxes carefully, the Velar can be kitted out with a full suite of Landy's off-road voodoo. That's right, it doesn't come standard with things like a diff lock at the back or their amazing terrain response control, but let's be serious, are you really going to be scaling Everest in this?
On the plus side, regardless of how many options you choose, you'll get the autonomous emergency braking, traffic warnings and a gizmo that detects if you're about to fall asleep behind the wheel.
In terms of design and style, we'll leave you to make up your own mind about what Gerry McGovern has chosen. We think it's pretty rad, check out the video below!