BEVERLY HILLS, Mich. — The 2024 Range Rover Velar gets some light updates, including a new grille, updated lights, and a larger touchscreen. It’s a bit prettier, but the Velar’s mission is built on design and style, and it has both in spades. After a week in this sleek Range Rover, I’ve boiled down my musings into five thoughts.
Stylish in profile
Vehicles in the middle of the line-up can sometimes lack identity, but Range Rover has given the Velar a pared-down look and definitive styling. “Reduced design,” as the company describes it. The waistline is high, making the side panels look high and the greenhouse sits low, a bit like a Cold War submarine. It works. The rear is tapered, almost like a boat tail, and the grille and LED headlights are understated in a stylishly British way. It’s the alter ego of the twisty and surprisingly still excellent Jaguar F-Pacewith which it shares a platform.
I tested a Dynamic SE model in an atmospheric shade of Varesine Blue with optional 21-inch gray wheels that can look bronze in certain lights. The SUV also had a contrasting black roof and black exterior accents for the grille, fender vents and badging. All of these things make the Rover more handsome. As much as I like it, the SUV could easily pass for a Ford Explorer, so the Velar can also look understated from some angles.
The interior has a cocoon feeling
Inside, the hooded look makes occupants feel secure, but the driver still has a good view of the road ahead. Give credit to the high side sills, which make you feel lower in the car than you actually are. I like it. It makes the Velar, a mid-size SUV, feel more athletic than it actually is. The only downside is that your elbows sit a little higher when cruising, and the mirrors create blind spots when cornering. You can certainly raise the seats. That’s how I sit in most test vehicles, so to me the Velar feels like a cocoon. The cargo area swallowed everything I threw in there with ease, and I was grateful for the rubber mats in the back for fishing rods and tackle, which were dirty after a damp afternoon outing.
A couple of downsides: The dark interior was cool but boring. It made the veneers and leather look less premium than they actually were, and I’m not a huge fan of the Pivi Pro 7 infotainment.
Speaking of Pivi Pro…
At 11.4 inches, the curved touchscreen is large and colorful, but not super intuitive. The latest generation of the system, Pivi Pro 7, is powerful, and Range Rover says 80% of tasks can be accomplished with two taps or less on the screen. I found tapping didn’t always work, with some climate functions fiddly to use, requiring me to smack the screen with my fingers. Despite this, I could also change drive modes, use navigation and set driving functions such as stop/start, all from this centrally located control center. It’s a decent system, better than previous versions, but in this regard it’s mid-range.
The engine has mojo
The Ingenium 3.0-litre mild-hybrid turbocharged inline-six powertrain has character. It’s a step up from the 2.0-litre four-cylinder and it’s worth the money. Throttle tip-in is excellent, it makes a pleasant if subtle noise and, most importantly, it makes the Velar move. The eight-speed automatic is a solid partner and delivers slick gear changes. With a turbo hybrid there’s potential for jerkiness, but I didn’t notice it in this Velar. It’s quick to pull away from traffic lights and the 0-to-60mph time of 5.2 seconds is more than believable. Personally, I don’t need an SUV dripping in carbon fibre with insane amounts of horsepower. Instead, a strong-willed inline-six under the bonnet of a thoughtfully styled machine is a proportionate answer to the flashy wares from Mercedes, BMW, Genesis and others.
The Rizz Factor
Ultimately, you buy a Velar for its charisma, or rizz, as the kids say. The Velar exudes a modern take on Land Rover’s old-school British charm, but it delivers that idea with a sleeker, more distinctive design than anything else in the Range Rover lineup. It looks sporty, yet exudes off-road toughness. I imagine you’d compare the Velar to a Range Rover or Range Rover Sport, depending on how big an SUV you need. The Velar is that substantial. The Evoque, by contrast, feels like a left-behind, barely worthy of the Range Rover name. Don’t get me started on the Land Rover brand structure, with the Range Rover, Defender and Discovery divisions all sitting under the badge-less Land Rover name. Colloquially, this is probably what some Land Rover owners call their vehicles, but it gives away a lot of the brand’s overall heritage in the process. I digress. The Velar more than holds its own in the Range Rover stable.