evo India – July 2019

PRATIM. THAT’S SANSKRIT

for unparalleled and you could

not have missed that word,

splashed in the Devnagiri script,

on billboards announcing local assembly of

the Velar. It’s one of the rare instances of

an element of Indian-ness being added to

the communication of a luxury car and as

for the word — it is so apt. Nothing looks like

the Velar. The design, in particular its styling,

really is unparalleled. What a head turner,

even in white, the most unflattering colour

for the Velar. The door handles sit flush with

the body and pop out when required, the slim

all-LED headlights look so sexy, the copper

accenting on the R-Dynamic S trim (around

the air dam of the sporty-spec bumper and

bonnet louvres) are a neat touch but is lost

in this colour, the pillars are blacked-out for

the floating roof effect and — the best part!

— the wheels are now 20-inchers that fill out

the arches unlike our first examples that we

tested last year.

The Velar we tested last year had the

three-litre V6 diesel but that engine has

been dropped altogether from the lineup

and you now have the option of the Ingenium

turbo-four engines, drinking either petrol or

diesel. The one here is the P250 petrol and

with 247bhp of power it does not feel out of its

depth, delivering a claimed 0-100kmph sprint

in 7.1 seconds together with a top speed of

217kmph. However what the numbers don’t

tell you is that despite 365Nm of torque you

really need to work the engine to get the Velar

moving and I really do miss the effortlessness

of the V6 diesel. And when you do work the

engine, the fuel efficiency numbers drop

worryingly to 6kmpl. The eight-speed box

while smooth and unobtrusive does fumble at

times, especially at low speeds.

As for the way it drives, the Velar shares

its underpinnings with the Jaguar F-Pace

but here it trades some handling prowess

for comfort in keeping with the badge on the

nose while adding serious off road ability to

the mix. It remains a very nice SUV to drive,

with the sense of theatre enhanced by the

beautiful cabin with the dual touchscreens

that wake up when you start the car, all-digital

Driven

A

• Concept car styling, beautiful cabin, lots of equipment - Still expensive, not the most spacious back seat evo rating (^) ;;;;2
  Engine
  1997cc, inline-4, turbo-petrol
  Power
  247bhp @ 5500rpm
  Torque
  365Nm @ 1500rpm
  0-100kmph
  7.1sec (claimed)
  Top speed
  217kmph
  Transmission
  8-speed auto
  Price
  `72.47 lakh (ex-showroom)
  Specification
  Test location: Pune
  Photography: Rohit G Mane
  Range Rover Velar
  Local assembly leads to a price drop of nearly 16 per cent, more
  equipment, and a focus only on the smaller engines
  instrumentation and the massive panoramic
  sunroof. Much like the exterior, the interior
  too looks and feels like a concept car! And
  that remains the most compelling reason to
  recommend the Velar over the (bigger) SUVs
  you can get at this price. L
  Sirish Chandran (@SirishChandran)
  http://www.evoIndia.com 61