Range Rover have been one of the most popular brands in the automotive world. Always striving to be on par with excellence. A sub-brand of Land Rover, Range Rover has been pushing the boundaries of luxury, technology and overall capability for the better half of 5 decades. The Range Rover has been known as the ultimate luxury vehicle to take you anywhere, and rightly so! The Land Rover brand as a whole has been a pioneer in the off-roading segment. The first Range Rover launched in 1970, left the world amazed by its off-road capabilities, even on the harshest terrain. Over since the years the Range Rover has evolved but has keenly continued the tradition of beautifully integrating luxury and driving capability. The world renowned and Land Rover patented Terrain Response system (off-road terrain management system) does duty on all Range Rovers. This system has won many accolades as the best all terrain or 4X4 (AWD) systems ever since its debut on the Land Rover Discovery 3. In 2005, Land Rover extended the Range Rover family with the Range Rover Sport. A mid-sized SUV positioned below the Range Rover, continued the same pedigree of the Range Rover with a sportier flair to it. The range topping Range Rover Sport SVR holds the distinction of being the most capable SUV of 2017. In 2011, to meet the demand for a compact SUV capable in the urban environment targeted towards the youth and the luxury car buyer Land Rover introduced the Range Rover Evoque. The design of this SUV was an awe inspiring one. Though it was a crossover it had the roofline of a coupe and the ruggedness of an SUV. This was one of Range Rover’s most loved products. The powertrain though subsided mainly for tax benefits, was unmistakably Range Rover. It still remains one of the best designed SUVs.
All right enough of
the glorious Range Rover history! Let us put that away for a while and dive
straight into where the thick of the action is. Yesterday, Land Rover unveiled
the curtains on the latest addition to the Range Rover family. At an event in London,
the crowds gathered for witnessing a spectacle of automotive design, technology
and innovation. This event was also streamed live across the world. The moment
the curtains were lifted an epitome of automotive innovation and design was
showcased, the Range Rover Velar was
introduced! On stage Gerry McGovern - Chief Designer, JLR came on to give the
crowd and worldwide viewers a brief about the car. McGovern, described how
emotionally enriching and enchanting a car can be, and how important the
collaboration of the design and engineering departments of a car manufacturer
is to creation of an overall balanced product. The name, Velar is derived from a Latin word which means sail or veiled. The
first 26 prototypes of the Range Rover were named Velar. At a first glance the
Velar is a very striking and
appealing proposition. A completely new design for an SUV. The silhouette coupe
inspired roofline flows beautifully over the car, giving it a very sleek and
modern look. It is by far the sleekest Range Rovers of all time. The intricate
matrix LED headlamps give the car a very futuristic, bold and aggressive look.
The traditional honeycomb grille gives it a distinct Range Rover identity.
There is a lot of attention to detail given to the car and this is evident in
the fog lamp cluster as well as the front light bay. Aerodynamics play a huge
role in the design of the Velar, with
a drag coefficient of 0.32 it is the most aerodynamic Land Rover ever produced.
The detailed copper inserts on the bonnet, and simple yet sophisticated
character lines running across the body of the car all away to the rear. They
beautifully integrate into the LED tail lamps. These tail lamps are to die for!
The short overhangs in the front and a long tail section give the car a flair
of elegance and stature. On the first glance you notice something peculiar…….
where are the door handles gone?! Well the answer to this is quite simply
innovation. The Velar uses flush door
handles, which slide outside when in use and slide inside, camouflaging in to
the body of the car when not in use. The
simplistic and modern nature of the design continues on the inside as well. You
are welcomed by a brilliantly laid out cabin which is reminiscent of other
Range Rovers, but with a burst of innovation and new technology. When you enter
any car you tend to first get greeted by the familiar knobs, dials on the
center console. But, in the Velar you
do not! The center console has been replaced by 2 large touchscreens, one on
the dashboard and another below traditionally where the gear is placed. There
are 2 rotary dials on either side of the touchscreen below. What is more
exciting is that when you enter the vehicle, the touchscreen at the top tilts
in front towards the driver. Awesomeness personified. The new dual touchscreen
system called the ‘Touch Pro Duo’ by Land Rover, aims to minimize switchgear
and maximize a sense of engagement and personalization between the car and the
driver. The touchscreen at the top is the primary infotainment center of the
cars housing controls for the telephone, Bluetooth, music, SATNAV. The
touchscreen at the bottom houses controls for car related systems, such as air
conditioning, Terrain Response system, Seat controls, overall vehicle
diagnostic settings. The steering wheel gets touchscreen buttons too. Both the
touchscreens can be individually configured as the driver wishes to. There is a
large panoramic sunroof which runs across both at the front and rear. The
overall quality of the seats are top notch. This car can fit 5 people very
comfortably. The boot space is a large 673 Liters with the added functionality
of a 60/40 split. The Velar comes
with a complete air suspension setup, rides quality is just brilliant. Another
great innovation of this car is that it allows for the body to be lowered, so
that the passengers can enter and exit the vehicle with ease.
One could argue that the Jaguar F-Pace and the Range Rover Velar
are very similar cars, well apart from sharing the same platform and a few
engine options the cars are radically different. While the F-Pace is a performance oriented SUV, the Range Rover Velar is still a family vehicle with a
charm unlike any other. One thing is for sure there is quite a gap in price as
well as size between the Range Rover Evoque
& the Range Rover Sport. The
gap is not too big any more, the Velar has
come in to fill the void. An all-aluminum construction gives the Velar a light, safe and strong
structure. The Velar will come with 6
engine options, 2 diesels and 4 petrol. All these will be mated to an 8 speed
automatic transmission. There is no confirmation of a range topping SVR/SVO
model. The Range Rover Velar will go
up against more traditional SUV rivals like the Audi Q7, BMW Q5, Mercedes GLS, Volvo XC90 and also the performance powerhouse from Stuttgart – Porsche Macan.
The Range Rover Velar is a
brilliant proposition unlike any other and has all the underpinnings to be a market
mover. The search for excellence is often an impossible one, but it is not
every day that we come across cars that are marvels of engineering, a treasure
trove technology, ignited with innovation and last but not the least a
masterpiece of design. Car manufacturers have always banked on such products
for keeping them on top of the industry and being a canvas of inspiration for
others to follow. Well Range Rover seemed to have found that in the Velar – a product that should keep them
on par with excellence.
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