Road Trip: Range Rover Velar

[Timmer]

Took a road trip for a long weekend of golf and R&R recently.   We drove my friend's new Range Rover Velar HSE as my MKX Black Label was having window tinting applied.

 

The drive was about 4 hours each way and a combination of interstate and hilly/mountainous two-lane, winding side-road driving.  The Velar had about 4,000 miles on it.  She recently traded her problematic Range Rover Evoque in for the new Velar.

 

No in-depth analysis here... Just a few observations:

 

The Velar was very cool, very powerful and fun to drive.  Especially impressive were the three (3) high-def infotainment system screens. Two in the middle dash between the driver and passenger, and a third as part of the instrument cluster in front of the driver.

 

After driving the Range Rover Velar, I'm even more impressed with how whisper-quiet the interior cabin of my MKX is.  Compared to the MKX, the Velar's interior was downright loud.

 

The ride, handling and road-hugging of my MKX is far superior to the Velar.  Frankly, it wasn't even close to the MKX.  The Velar felt like I was driving a truck, similar to the Ford Explorers I've previously owned.

 

Lastly, I like the understated luxury of my MKX.  The Range Rover felt a little bit show-offy.

 

But then again. I'm from Minnesota where we think putting peas in tuna macaroni salad is show-offy... ?

 

My $0.02

 

Timmer

 

[Gurgeh]

Thanks for sharing, Timmer.

 

Ironically, my final decision was between the Velar and Nautilus. I had a factory order for the Velar, but then when I test drove the Nautilus I changed my mind. The Velar is a beautiful crossover, inside and out, and it can go off-road in ways the Nautilus can only dream about. But like 98% of all Range Rover owners I would never actually use those exceptional off-road capabilities and the Velar's interior beauty comes in part from the removal of almost all physical controls and their movement to the touch screen. I ended up going with the Nautilus because: 1) I like physical controls, 2) the Velar was over $10k more expensive, 3) the engine in the Lincoln is more advanced and, while having a little less hp it has more torque (despite being 2.7 v. 3.0) and, most of all, 4) Jaguar Land Rover consistently ranks as the least reliable of all automakers, with the new electronics being particularly glitchy.