cars news 10: Range Rover Velar: 7 Things to Know Before You Buy

Our long-term 2018 Range Rover Velar is a sculpture of sleek, exquisite beauty. Even though it has been in our fleet for nearly a year, our Byron Blue Velar still gets admiring looks from the quickly jaded denizens of coastal Los Angeles. In fact, the Velar has become one of the more frequent vehicles I see in my everyday commute up the coast. If you are interested in joining the community of stylish Velar owners, here are some things you should know about this cool crossover.

Is It a Range Rover?

If you want to be snobbish about it, the Range Rover Velar is technically not a Range Rover. We’re getting into platform semantics here, but the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport ride on the D7u architecture. The Velar rides on a variant of the D7u, called D7a, which is an architecture shared with the Jaguar F-Pace—although the Velar gets air suspension and better Terrain Response software, as well as different throttle response, steering, suspension, and shift logic than the Jag. But neither does the Velar share underpinnings with the new compact Evoque, which rides on the premium transverse architecture (PTA), an evolution of what was known as D8—which is shared with the Land Rover Discovery and Jaguar E-Pace. Clear as mud?

What About CarPlay?

Does it come with Apple CarPlay? Well, sort of. If you buy a new one today, it probably does. If you’re looking at a used 2018 model, it likely will not. But you can get a software patch (for us, it cost $185 at the dealer) for the “SmartPhone Pack” that will get you set up. It’s money well spent, as the Land Rover infotainment software—although cool-looking on its dual-screen setup—is nothing special.

It’s That Good

Are you an audiophile? If yes, then the Velar might be the crossover for you. The 17-speaker, 825-watt Meridian stereo system is both thunderous and crisp. I’ve driven thousands of vehicles, and tested thousands of stereos, and this is in the top 10 of all car stereos I’ve experienced.

Order Carefully

Read the fine print when ordering. The options list is inscrutable. You’d think for $76,000, a Velar would come with things like lumbar support and adaptive cruise control. After all, that’s a huge leap from the $50,975 base price. But our 2018 model lacked those features. Although it appears the options list was simplified for 2019, order carefully.

Range Anxiety No More

The gas tank got bigger. For 2019 models, the fuel tank for the V-6 engine increased to 21.6 gallons from its current 16.5. That’s a good thing, because the 2018 model had you eyeballing the gas gauge as soon as you crested 200 miles on the trip meter. Talk about range anxiety.

Enough Space

The second row is as nice as the front. If you are worried about the comfort of wee Mason and Sophia, they’ll be fine. The plush leather seats (which clean up easily even when ordered in Oyster) feel opulent. And the rear seats recline, so if Taylor is a bit of a bratty seat-kicker, those up front should be out of range of his size-5 checkerboard Vans.

High-Quality?

Has quality improved? Land Rovers have long had a horrible reputation in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (evaluating problems within 90 days of ownership) and Vehicle Dependability Study (which looks back three years). But in the case of our long-term Velar, which has endured 24,000 hard miles in 10 months, we’ve had nary a problem—aside from the occasional squeak and a minor electrical gremlin. Granted, this is a survey sample of one; your mileage may vary.

Range Rover Velar: 7 Things to Know Before You Buy