[karan561]

Likes;

- Exterior Design
- Ride Quality
- New 2L Ingenium Petrol Engine​ feels adequately agile for the Velar.
- Touch Pro Duo, Meridian Music System

Dislikes;

- Pricing is surely not good, specially the v6 diesel is priced too close to the RR Sport.
- Features like HUD missing & should have been offered, specially as the model tested was not a base variant.
- Alloy Wheel Design is a major downer.
- No 3L Supercharged Petrol(P380) in the offering, Why ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxPqYSKIEaw&t=1s

The video starts off with a​ intro/tribute to ALVIS & ROVER, how the VELAR name was coined;



Then we have a discussion on the new Ingenium Petrol, Driving performance, Handling, Interiors etc;



Other Observations & Highlights;

- Exterior design is truly the major USP for the Velar, be it the flush door handles or the simplistic Reductionism based design philosophy which truly hits the sweet spot & personally feel this might be the most beautiful looking SUV out there.
- Whats great about the design of the Velar that this isnt a bigger version of the EVOQUE nor it is the smaller edition of the RR Sport (the way Germans are operating now), but the Velar is a complete all new design philosophy adopted by Range Rover.
- I was ready to criticise the 2L Ingenium petrol (P250 - 250 hp & 365 nm) of the Velar, thinking that how could they give a small 4 cyl petrol motor in a car this big. BUT i was wrong as theres plenty of punch available throughout the revv range to keep you maintained healthy speeds, particularly the mid range. Its adequate to have safe fun too, nothing crazy.
- Surely under load (3+ passengers & luggage) it may feel strained and that's only when one would miss the larger engines.
- This same engine is available in 300hp tune producing 400 nm i.e. P300 & i personally think Range Rover India missed the opportunity by not offering that tune in the VELAR.
- Noteworthy point is that the Ingenium petrol sounds better v/s the older Ford sourced 2L Ecoboost.
- The gearbox is ZF sourced, its good most of the times but the downshifts are not as quick when compared to a ZF paired to a BMW engine.
- The test variant (SE) did not have air suspension as that is only standard in the 6cyl diesel models. But still the ride quality was very good & is definitely one of the strong points for the Velar as it does have a feeling of being LOFTY which is typical & expected by most Range Rovers.
- Again playing safe by not giving much large rims (19") pays dividends here, as the tyres have a healthy profile (55). Do note globally the Velar can be specced with 22" rims as well.
- But the rim design for India is too boring & doesn't gel with the entire modernity of the Velar.
- The Velar's dashboard does not have a single button, but what it has are 2 rotary knobs with dual screens & Range Rover call it the " TOUCH PRO DUO " system.
- Handling is dynamic for a Range Rover but not as good as its Corporate Cousin i.e. Jaguar F-Pace.
- The paddle shifters feel too plastic to operate, definitely deserved better materials or metal would have been best.
- The Key looks pre historic, the previous generation Jaguar XF also has the same keyfob design. Shockingly disappointing & not cool at all.
- For most of the buyers who will eventually end up at the back seat, YES there is sufficient legroom for you all & irrespective of the stooping roofline you will have decent headroom too.
- Note the rear seats are reclinable.
- Too address the elephant in the room, the pricing. YES being a CBU the Velar starts from INR 78L ex showroom for the 2L variants which is well over 15L premium over the locally built F Pace. Where as the 3L V6 Diesel is over INR 1 cr and shadows around the RR Sport pricing. Its surely not a well priced car. But whats in favour of the VELAR is that it slots well between the Evoque & RR Sport (Size & prize wise). And this turbo petrol makes a strong case for itself specially as the fate of diesels in India is uncertain. If one is confused between the 2L Ingenium Diesel v/s the 2L Ingenium Petrol then certainly the petrol should be picked.

[Akshitsi]

This car is sure a looker and turns many heads. Wish it was priced a little lower and we'd see more of such vehicles on the roads.

Great review and very well explained.
Cheers

[karan561]

Originally Posted by Akshitsi

This car is sure a looker and turns many heads.

Wish it was priced a little lower and we'd see more of such vehicles on the roads.

I think once the CKD comes in, that much needed price correction should happen. But still will have a premium of about 5-10% more than Jaguar's F- Pace.

Great review and very well explained.
Cheers

Thanks

[Akshitsi]

Originally Posted by karan561

I think once the CKD comes in, that much needed price correction should happen. But still will have a premium of about 5-10% more than Jaguar's F- Pace.

I doubt if that price correction will happen. We see so many cars being assembled here, including BMWs, Mercs, Audis but they have barely received a price cut and the price has only increased. Though yes, they have to keep the price at a premium to actually maintain a premium image and sell.

[Hayek]

Great video review once again. The import based pricing on the Velar is ridiculous. The Velar has been positioned smartly in global markets fitting in halfway between the X3 and X5 on size. At its international pricing at a slight premium to the X3, it is a great buy. But with the 3 l diesel priced at 33% above the X5 3l diesel (actually almost 50% higher given discounts on the X5), the pricing of the Velar is surreal. Makes sense for the Uber rich as an addition to a large fleet but most folks would be better off with an X5 or X3.

[Aditya]

Good video review Karan. I totally agree with you. The Velar is among the best looking SUVs out there. When I saw its pictures for the first time, I went, "Aah, just another rich kids' runabout." Then, at an event, where some really expensive vehicles were present, a couple of Velars entered and just blew everything into the weeds with their sheer presence. If I had the money, I would take the Velar over the F-Pace in a heartbeat.

Land Rover do need to sort out the issues you have mentioned though. A car as modern as this, needs better looking wheels and a nicer keyfob. What the hell, the EcoSport facelift that I drove late last year has adopted BMW's keyfob styling and it looks fab!

Coming to the pricing, I don't think it matters to Land Rover unless they are looking at selling the car in large numbers. I think they are looking more at exclusivity. But then we should ask, why not sell it with a more powerful engine?

[karan561]

Originally Posted by Akshitsi

I doubt if that price correction will happen. We see so many cars being assembled here, including BMWs, Mercs, Audis but they have barely received a price cut and the price has only increased. Though yes, they have to keep the price at a premium to actually maintain a premium image and sell.

A CBU to CKD price correction happened for the Evoque, surely it should happen for the Velar too but lets just see how much is passed on to us.

Originally Posted by Hayek

Great video review once again. The import based pricing on the Velar is ridiculous. The Velar has been positioned smartly in global markets fitting in halfway between the X3 and X5 on size. At its international pricing at a slight premium to the X3, it is a great buy. But with the 3 l diesel priced at 33% above the X5 3l diesel (actually almost 50% higher given discounts on the X5), the pricing of the Velar is surreal. Makes sense for the Uber rich as an addition to a large fleet but most folks would be better off with an X5 or X3.

Definitely, specially in the US where the Velar starts from aprox $49k (INR 33L) but surprisingly in UK it starts from £45k (INR 41L). It is necessary to mention these prices for reference just to indicate that the VELAR is strictly a mid-size luxury SUV & what kinda state of pricing we are dealing with here, well INR 33L is like XC 40 money here and for similar money there people would buy a VELAR

Originally Posted by Aditya

Good video review Karan. I totally agree with you. The Velar is among the best looking SUVs out there.

Thanks for the appreciation Aditya.

Land Rover do need to sort out the issues you have mentioned though. A car as modern as this, needs better looking wheels and a nicer keyfob. What the hell, the EcoSport facelift that I drove late last year has adopted BMW's keyfob styling and it looks fab!

True That !

Coming to the pricing, I don't think it matters to Land Rover unless they are looking at selling the car in large numbers. I think they are looking more at exclusivity.

Very soon EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS should start

But then we should ask, why not sell it with a more powerful engine

That Petrol Supercharged 3L v6 @ the price of the Ingenium 2L petrol would have been SWEET to be honest !