mReview: 2024 Range Rover Velar - Aloe Velar For Your Majesty


The updated Range Rover Velar is a British deluxe SUV best served as a dessert Rangie rather than a Rangie main course. 

The RR Velar is a delectable sport-utility vehicle, which has been updated to make it rove the range even more nicely than the 2017 original, so to speak. 

The automaker calls the Velar design reductive, with minimalist details such as flush window glazing, peekaboo door handles and slender full-LED headlights (which were Land Rover’s slimmest at their production debut), all of which also contribute to the car’s low-drag aerodynamics.  

The automaker should have just called the Velar design seductive, which it still is after seven years in the business. 

Welcome aboard the stellar Velar, Commonwealth commander.

In that period of time, the Range Rover king of the Land Rover lineup became a hugely avant-garde “Buckingham Palace” and the Evoque evolved to become more evocative than before, while the Range Rover Sport developed into a track-and-field star which can play a game of Premier League football. 

I get a real kick out of admiring the refreshed Velar from different angles - from the front, left, right, rear, top, and even from the bottom where my feet meet the ground. 

The exterior strikes such a lovely British balance between regal and barely legal, like a twentysomething Queen Elizabeth II. Fittingly, the grey paintwork reminds me of a windswept HMS warship. 

Sailing through traffic in the Velar is a royal experience. Behind the wheel, I feel like a PES A Commonwealth commander, lording it over the lower-ranking officers in their rival SUVs, which may be bigger and more menacing (such as the German behemoths) but somehow less majestic than the stately Velar. 

The view from the seat is commanding, but partially obstructed by a lot of bonnet and (non-Guinness) stout A-pillars, which look like they could block not only corners but also disasters, from natural to nuclear. The B-pillars are mighty thick, too.

Well-sized side mirrors, helpful blind-spot and rear-traffic monitors, and even more helpful 3D surround cameras ensure that all-around visibility won’t be a problem, though.

Looking inside the Velar is like browsing in a Marks & Spencer store. There are high-quality threads, Union Jack colours, and Coldplay in the background, but also cut-price Brit biscuits if you know where to look.

The “clothes” of the Velar cockpit are dressed to impress - Deep Garnet/Ebony perforated Windsor leather seats with perfectly colour-matched dashboard, door panels and steering wheel, plus a classy touch of Shadow Grey Ash veneer. 

There are other trim options which depend on the Velar variant (standard S or, in this case, higher-spec Dynamic HSE), but everything appears cohesive, with nothing too bold or loud. 

This car is comfortable in the concrete jungle and capable in actual jungle.

Impressive, too, are the cockpit’s metal paddles, metal/rubber pedals and silvery door openers. Even the glovebox makes a good impression with its fully trimmed interior. If only the door bins were similarly upholstered. 

Other hit-and-miss aspects include the controls on the steering-wheel spokes, the switches on the doors, and the stalks. The hazard button is strangely tiny, and the illumination of the USB ports and charging pad is incomplete. 

The transmission lever is both stubby and lonely. Maybe it needs a dedicated holder somewhere for the solid key fob. 

What the Velar doesn’t need is additional digitisation. The Pivi Pro infotainment, centralised in an 11.4-inch curved-glass touchscreen, is just right – comprehensive and connected, yet easy to manage and a pleasure to personalise. The digital instrument cluster is clear and logical, with infographics which highlight important information immediately, with some fanfare to make the info pop but never detracting the driver’s attention from it. 

The Meridian sound system is so excellent that even slow Spotify songs blast my ears to tuneful, painful pieces. More loudspeakers than I can ever remember and a powerful amplifier turn the Velar into a mobile concert venue - Royal Albert Hall, of course. 

The turbo engine sounds less interesting, especially when pressured to perform. But it is a strong 2-litre four-cylinder, with plenty of pulling strength between 2,000 rpm and 5,000 rpm, although there is no extra energy when approaching the 6,500 rpm redline. 

It is an old-school powerplant among new-age electric motors. Its idling is noticeable to folks outside, but well-insulated from the occupants inside. The auto stop/start causes vibration with every reignition, but there is a console shortcut to disable the function. Engaging D from P is accompanied by a thump every now and then, but this is part of the off-roader character, perhaps. 

Burns petrol and runs vigorously under the big Velar bonnet.

The Velar is a capable off-roader, equipped with every technical trick in the Land/Range Rover book of making molehills out of mountains and turning every jungle trek into a walk in the park. 

The Terrain Response system is ready to tackle any driving situation between Sentosa Island and Falkland Islands. The ground clearance and approach/departure angles are ready to conquer every off-road scenario. Best of all, doing any of the above activities in the Velar is like wearing Burberry’s finest and the dirtiest Wellington boots to a rugged countryside.  

The Velar’s air suspension makes the car even better at taking the rough with the smooth. The ride height, approach/departure angles and safe wading depth are significantly greater with air suspension than coil suspension. Escaping a zombie apocalypse by hitting the hills of Malaysia would be so much easier. 

The Velar could outrun trouble, too, on paved roads. The 265/40 R22 Pirelli Scorpion Zero all-season tyres (as fitted) carry a good turn of speed into and out of corners, although the car’s size, weight, and body movements don’t encourage faster cornering. There is a Dynamic drive mode ( = heavier steering + stiffer ride + more eager transmission) to boost the sportiness of this sport-utility, but the Velar is happier as a gentle cruiser. 

The ride quality is plush enough, but not exactly a magic carpet over broken bitumen. A wheelset smaller than whopping 22-inch should make a difference. 

Cruising in the Velar is otherwise a delight from start to finish. The backseat is practical and comfortable, with loads of legroom (albeit interrupted by the front seat rails), effective rear air-conditioning, individual reading lights, and pockets aplenty. The boot is squarish and spacious, with metal protectors on the loading lip plus a full set of cargo hooks. 

An unexpectedly fascinating feature on board the Velar is its built-in navigation guidance. It speaks to me like a female BBC radio newsreader, who uses Queen’s English terms such as “join the motorway”. 

The Range Rover Velar is so bloody brilliant that it even improves my England!

Read More: mReview: 2022 Range Rover - All Terrain Business Class

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