2018 Range Rover Velar: What’s All the Hype About?

Our colleague Gabriel Gélinas recently had the chance to attend the world debut of the 2018 Range Rover Velar at a private function in London. And to be honest, we were surprised by how much interest the article generated on our site.

But there’s no denying that the automaker’s efforts are starting to pay off. Not only are there more products, but reliability and—importantly—affordability are better too.

• Also: 2018 Range Rover Velar: World Debut in London
• Also: 2018 Range Rover Velar: Fourth Member of the Family

The Velar is Range Rover’s fourth model. It’s positioned just over the Evoque for size and price. The Range Rover Sport and Range Rover classic still crown the line of Land Rover luxury SUVs. The Velar starts at $62,000, but expect to fork out $95,000 for the First Edition, an exclusive model built in celebration of the vehicle’s arrival and only available this year. It comes with nearly all the available equipment and there are three exclusive colours for the vehicle body.

The Jaguar F-PACE’s kissing cousin

Land Rover was one of the first manufacturers to make widespread use of aluminum for their vehicle bodies, a strategy that was applied to the Velar. In fact, it has the same structure as the Jaguar F-PACE. Its style elements are drawn from other models—especially at the rear—but it features a unique floating roof and rounded edges. They wanted to give it a coupe-like look, but the effect is not as extreme as on the BMW X4 or Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe.

Two drivetrains are available, including a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel that generates 180 horsepower and a noteworthy 317 lb.-ft. of torque. For extra juice, there’s the supercharged 3.0-litre V6 with 380 horsepower. Good news: All-wheel drive isn’t optional, but included on all versions.

The most spectacular aspect of the Velar is its cabin. The dashboard is sleek, simple and ultra-modern thanks to two fully integrated screens to control all onboard systems. The interior exudes luxury beyond anything offered by the competition.

If you’ve never considered buying a Range Rover, maybe you should stop in a showroom and just have a peek.

2018 Velar prices