Style, uncompromising.
The 2018 Range Rover Velar, a newcomer to our market, has managed to nab top-marks with safety watchdogs ANCAP, with the entire range enjoying a full five-stars (the highest rating possible) thanks in part to range-wide availability of crucial safety kit.
The Range Rover Velar is undoubtedly the most modern product for the brand, occupying a new space in the lineup that was previously left unaddressed. The Velar introduces lots of new technology for the brand, including safety innovations, that work harmoniously with the high-tensile construction to provide excellent occupant protection.
“The Velar arrives to our market with strong all-round safety performance resulting in a 5-star ANCAP safety rating. Autonomous emergency braking is provided as a standard feature on the Velar, and operates effectively at high and low speeds, and is capable of detecting and reacting to pedestrians. Maximum points were scored for adult occupants in two lateral crash tests, and child occupant protection – which looks at the protection offered for a 6-year old and 10-year old child — was also good.” — James Goodwin, CEO, Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP)
The Velar is available in our market in Standard, S, SE, and HSE, replete with an option for an R-Dynamic dress-up kit. 2018 will see the offering of a limited-run First Edition variant too, with prices ranging from $70,662 for the Standard model, all the way up to $168,250 for the First Edition.
The ‘Velar’ name was first used during the development of the original Range Rover nearly half a century ago, and was a moniker used to confuse onlookers while the engineers at Solihull were working on the worlds’ first properly-luxurious off-road machine. The Velar of today couldn’t be more different than the Series I Range Rover that it spawned though, with its sleek lines and elegant curves embodying the most contemporary design trends.
Built on a shared platform with the Jaguar F-Pace, the Velar is described as the most car-like car ever made by Land Rover, and will be gunning at German segment leaders like the Porsche Macan and Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe. It shares the same 2874mm wheelbase as the Jag, along with its aluminium-dominant architecture, and sits five within. Key differentiator between the F-Pace and the Velar, both incredibly beautiful in their own ways, is that the Range Rover will come with all-wheel drive as standard, as opposed to the Jag’s RWD or AWD powertrains.
Key features of the Velar range include:
• Super-slim Matrix-Laser LED headlights and flush doorhandles.
• Touch Pro Duo infotainment system, with two high-def 10-inch screens controlling various functions.
• Six powertrains, ranging from petrol & diesel four-pot Ingenium units all the way up to the supercharged 3.0-litre V6, with power going through an eight-speed automatic as standard.
• Adaptive Dynamics damping technology as standard.
• Air-suspension on six-cylinder models.
• All-wheel drive as standard, with Intelligent Driveline Dynamics to ensure progress over rough surfaces.
• Terrain Response 2 joined by All Terrain Progress Control, Low-Traction Launch, Hill Descent, and Gradient Release Control systems to ease off-road progress.
• 2,500kg towing capacity aided by Advanced Tow Assist, controllable via the Touch Pro Duo rotary controller.
• Full-suite of advanced driver assistance (ADAS) systems like autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rear cross-traffic alert, and driver-alertness monitoring.
The Range Rover Velar is essentially Land Rover’s take on the lucrative SUV-coupé segment, and as opposed to the options brought forward by BMW and Mercedes-Benz, the Velar’s profile will likely turn more heads for longer than the relatively-divisive German alternatives. You can read our launch report on the Velar here.
For more information on Range Rover, check out our Showroom.
