From £44,8308

JLR’s most powerful four-pot isn’t the engine the Velar truly wants but perhaps the one that makes most sense

What is it?

You may have heard it’s possible to spend rather a lot of money on a Range Rover Velar – the model that slots into the marque's range between the Evoque and the Sport.

If you haven’t, here’s a reminder: the top-spec P380 costs more than £70,000, which is enough to put a well-equipped Range Rover Sport SDV6 – more refined, more capable but, we’ll admit, not as chic – on your drive with change for 30,000 miles’ worth of diesel.

It’s enough to have you panning down the price list wondering which would be the least compelling engine you can get away with. And, frankly, there’s nothing to stop you from saving £25,000 and choosing the entry-level D180. Nothing, that is, except the fact that the overall appeal of the motorshow-concept-made-real Velar is unusually susceptible to what lurks beneath its long aluminium bonnet.

Its aura of luxurious, long-legged athleticism – conjured by a formidably attractive design both inside and within – demands performance of a certain level and nature, and it should ideally be served with as little fanfare as possible. It’s why we’d steer clear of lesser diesel variants if possible and couldn’t bring ourselves to love even the moderately powerful D240 engine on its full road test.

In short, the Velar has so far needed six cylinders to make a genuinely convincing case for itself and stand out in the competitive luxury SUV category. But that could change with the introduction of the four-cylinder petrol-engined P300 tested here.

Range rover velar panning

What's it like?

Perhaps the most important figure here is £54,620 – which, by the standards of the Velar, qualifies the P300 as being reasonably priced.

Keep that outlay in mind, because while the 375bhp 3.0-litre V6 of the P380 is in every subjective way a more rewarding device, it’s this boosty 2.0-litre Ingenium unit that hits a sweet spot for the Velar in terms of cost, performance and refinement.

On the road, it’s difficult to escape the impression that this engine's 296bhp is delivered with too much of a burbling presence to be considered truly cultivated, but it does give the Velar the effortless, largely unflustered thrust it needs.

Pace is just off that of a class-leading front-driven hot hatch, with 0-62mph dispatched in 6.0sec, although in truth this Velar never feels as quick as the numbers suggest. The mid-range is particularly solid, mind, and peak torque of 295lb ft arrives at just 1500rpm and lasts until 4500rpm. The lack of fireworks beyond 5000rpm is of less concern here than it would be in a purer sports car.

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One frustration is that the eight-speed ZF torque-converter can take longer than you’d like to select and engage the most appropriate cog when you need kickdown, but it is beautifully smooth in normal driving. In fact, our only meaningful criticism would be that step-off can be lumpy, with the first portion of throttle travel eliciting little in the way of motion before a rush of power arrives. That's minor – but these things matter with these cars.

Engine aside, we’d advise optioning the air suspension. It’s almost entirely immune to the hollow ‘sproing’ such systems are notorious for and combines good grip and body control for the detached, slightly lofty ride quality that’s expected of a Range Rover. 

Range rover velar dashboard 0

Should I buy one?

This twin-scroll turbo engine already serves several other Jaguar Land Rover products – not least the Jaguar F-Type, where it’s usefully light yet sounds a bit dreary and is palpably short on firepower – and it suits an SUV application surprisingly well.  

Crucially, by lessening the penalties in pace and refinement that would normally be incurred by opting for four cylinders instead of six, it injects an element of logic into a purchasing decision that ultimately will be anything but.

You might still consider instead the similarly powerful diesel D300 Velar, which delivers a combined 44.1mpg to the P300’s 36.2mpg and does so despite that additional pair of cylinders. Alas, the future of diesel is uncertain at the moment.

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If there’s a curveball, it’s that this P300 engine can also be found in the Jaguar F-Pace, which can’t match the isolated ride of its corporate cousin but whose chassis offers poise and precision that’s a cut above – and for £10,000 less. 

Range Rover Velar P300 HSE

Where Surrey; On sale Now; Price £65,060; Engine 4 cyls, 1997cc, turbocharged, petrol; Power 296bhp at 5000rpm; Torque 295lb ft at 1500-4500rpm; Gearbox 8-spd auto; Kerb weight 1813kg; Top speed 135mph; 0-62mph 6.0sec; Fuel economy 36.2mpg; CO2 rating 173g/km; Rivals Jaguar F-Pace, Audi Q5, Porsche Macan

Range rover velar rear 0

Richard Lane

Richard Lane, Autocar
Title: Deputy road test editor

Richard joined Autocar in 2017 and like all road testers is typically found either behind a keyboard or steering wheel (or, these days, a yoke).

As deputy road test editor he delivers in-depth road tests and performance benchmarking, plus feature-length comparison stories between rival cars. He can also be found presenting on Autocar's YouTube channel.

Mostly interested in how cars feel on the road – the sensations and emotions they can evoke – Richard drives around 150 newly launched makes and models every year. His job is then to put the reader firmly in the driver's seat. 

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Comments
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britfan 18 February 2018

Quiet Sunday?

Surely the salespeople at Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Volvo are too busy to come on here and slag off JLR...?

Cheltenhamshire 17 February 2018

Much as I hate it ....

.... as it is a true new money chav mobile, but the best machine JLR makes is the 3.0 TDV6 RR Sport.  7 seats, powerful with decent economy, nice interior with Velar bits and looks decent.  

Velar is not worth the money.  The Evoque is a joke, the RR is great but just a bit too big for 4 seats, 5 at most and the Disco is now ugly and barely any cheaper than the RR Sport.

 

From the runt to the boss, not sure that Mr Premium Premiuminess would be happy with that.

 

typos1 17 February 2018

What an overpriced load of

What an overpriced load of old rubbish - take the usual RR/LR generic design, remove the doors handles, give it unnecessarally large heater controls with an unecessary touchscreen that takes up 3x more space on the console than is actually needed and bingo, we have a stupidly priced car for the mind-numbingly stupid and sheep-like Apple generation - people who have to have it just cos its the latest thing and will happily pay through the nose just for that reason. And its not even a proper off roader, from a company who made their name making proper off roaders ! Madness. Still, its nice to see a car without leather for once.

Marc 17 February 2018

typos1 wrote:

typos1 wrote:

What an overpriced load of old rubbish - take the usual RR/LR generic design, remove the doors handles, give it unnecessarally large heater controls with an unecessary touchscreen that takes up 3x more space on the console than is actually needed and bingo, we have a stupidly priced car for the mind-numbingly stupid and sheep-like Apple generation - people who have to have it just cos its the latest thing and will happily pay through the nose just for that reason. And its not even a proper off roader, from a company who made their name making proper off roaders ! Madness. Still, its nice to see a car without leather for once.

We don't have an iPhone, or a single Apple product. Not sure which generation the Apple comment applies to but at 45 does it apply to me? We could've had a few different brands for our £650pm budget but found this to be best one, decent petrol offerings are thin on the ground with this type of vehicle.

typos1 19 February 2018

Yes but as youre clearly in

Yes but as youre clearly in the market for a non off road vehicle you could have bought a proper car (rather than a fake SUV) that would be more versatile, more practical, handle better, ride better, get better economy, put out lower emissions and be cheaper !

Marc 19 February 2018

typos1 wrote:

typos1 wrote:

Yes but as youre clearly in the market for a non off road vehicle you could have bought a proper car (rather than a fake SUV) that would be more versatile, more practical, handle better, ride better, get better economy, put out lower emissions and be cheaper !

Read my other posts muppet.

If this isn't a proper car, what is it?

What is an SUV?

Had plenty of other types of cars, this is no less versatile or practical

This handles quite well, had we wanted a car that handles, we'd have bought a Porsche.

This rides as well as any other car we've had, if not better.

We're not interested in economy other than reasonable range.

Emissions are bullshit, unless you're a monkey, then you're sucking um in.

This also my wife's car. I drive a KIA Optima Estate PHEV. Does that car meet your fxcked up views muppet boy?