And now we are to get a family of Velar-a-like roadcars......... Velar to the C pillar and XF Sportbrake from there back.... looks very similar to a Hyundai Pony ,but longer, from the 1970's. Jerry must be proud that that is the best he can do. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

We saw a Velar in the metal for the first time yesterday and I must admit we were pleasantly surprised, not as bad as expected.

The showroom car was a SE R-Dynamic and look very nice, only thing I hated was the awful diamond pattern cheap plastic on the dash facia and door sides. I am sure my Gran had a table cloth made of that stuff back in the early 1960's.

I think the revised bumpers on the R Dynamic are a must have, there was a standard one outside and it looked a bit bland.

We have a days test drive booked in ten days time in the 300D HSE R-Dynamic - lets see how it goes. 2018 MY19 HSE Dynamic, Santorini, Ebony/Ivory, Sliding pano, Adaptive cruise, Black wheels. Arrived 3rd September 2018
2015 MY16 HSE Dynamic, Santorini, ebony/cirrus, sliding pano, cameras, black wheels - Arrived 1 October 2015

On the Isle of Skye a drophead F Type would be much more appropriate for you................... all that sunshine you get seems to be attracting a lot of tourists these days so a nice way to travel when you are stuck behind a DiscoSport hauling a pikey wagon or a lumbering great motor home ........... 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Tim that is very true and an F Type is still No 1 choice but I also need an 'ordinary' car for the shopping and snow and I can't see myself driving a ghastly golf or similar which is all my pension would stretch too.

Once we start taxing the camper vans numbers will drop.

I don't know how Velar sales are going but I was offered the demonstrator for the entire day and told delivery of a D300 would be just under 3 months. At the same point in the RRS's lifecycle you would be in a queue for a demo drive and delivery was up to 12 months. 2018 MY19 HSE Dynamic, Santorini, Ebony/Ivory, Sliding pano, Adaptive cruise, Black wheels. Arrived 3rd September 2018
2015 MY16 HSE Dynamic, Santorini, ebony/cirrus, sliding pano, cameras, black wheels - Arrived 1 October 2015

0310 wrote:

We saw a Velar in the metal for the first time yesterday and I must admit we were pleasantly surprised, not as bad as expected.

What bad were you expecting?

I agree about the interior of a standard car I hate that diamond looking stuff too. The full leather though is just something else. Someone else on here who joined you all in hating and dissing the Velar ended up buying a First Edition too - he will be along shortly to tell you his experiences I hope (I have asked him too!)

0310 wrote:

Tim that is very true and an F Type is still No 1 choice but I also need an 'ordinary' car for the shopping and snow and I can't see myself driving a ghastly golf or similar which is all my pension would stretch too.

Once we start taxing the camper vans numbers will drop.

I don't know how Velar sales are going but I was offered the demonstrator for the entire day and told delivery of a D300 would be just under 3 months. At the same point in the RRS's lifecycle you would be in a queue for a demo drive and delivery was up to 12 months.

If I ordered a P380 now it would be April delivery down here. Production is 76000 vehicles per year according to my stealer. No competition in this town, both stealers owned by the same company. No chance of a test drive of the V6SC so will have to be an F-Pace to see what the engine is like. But I like cars with balls so leaning towards a V8 SC RRS or maybe wait 12 months and go with an SVR. Gone - 2008 Stornoway Grey RRS 2.7 TDV6
Gone - 2009 Buckingham Blue RRS 2.7 TDV6
Gone - 2010 Alaska White RRS 5.0 V8 Aspirated
Gone - 2017 Chawton White RRS 5.0 V8 Supercharged
Current - 2010 Java Black RRS 5.0 V8 Aspirated
Current- 2024 RRS P400 SE Dynamic

Quote:

"What bad were you expecting?"

To add some balance to my own earlier views, here is my view following a drive in a Velar. This was a brief drive and only in off road conditions so I make no comments about its road manners.

Velar was a D300 SE. It had a lot of options added, according to the very pleasant Spanish chap who chaperoned us.

First impressions inside were excellent. The interior is very nice, the screens clear and quick to respond to finger pressure. The configurable dash was nice (although Audi et al have been doing this for some time now). The instruments were clear as were the screen graphics. Still not convinced about the move to "look and poke" as a way to alter environmental settings etc. See my previous comments on that subject.

The seat was excellent. Comfortable and fully adjustable. Not sure about adjustable seat bolsters but that's not a new thing anyway. I could get comfortable easily and had good leg room. I'm 6'1" and found I could sit in the rear comfortably having set the driver's seat to my preference. Visibility out was excellent although a little less so in the rear with the C-pillar being quite thick. Not a deal breaker though. The massage seat was something of a surprise once it got going. Really quite powerful and something I think I would pay for - I suffer a bit in the back department.

Off road, the vehicle was excellent. The air suspension gives good ground clearance although it's not a supple off road as the RRS. I guess this is a side effect of the road ability focus of the model. The chaperone said that the vehicle will go up some pretty impressive ground but we were limited to just simple tracks. ATPC was a novel experience and obviously intended for those who need to make progress but have no knowledge (or interest in gaining it) of off road driving. I have no doubt it has the ability to save many blushes in muddy fields. It climbed a lightly broken slope very calmly. Nothing difficult, you understand, and no great problem but it was smooth in operation. Comfort in the back seats when off road was reportedly excellent.

Overall, in the context of a brief drive in a controlled, limited set of conditions, I must say I liked it. As a capable four wheel drive family estate car, it has much going for it. Comfortable, easy to access, easy to drive, big boot (long if a little lacking in vertical height). As a workhorse, it's a bit limited by the lack of towing capacity and low range gearbox but that is a "niche complaint" really. Price is also a bit of a shocker when compared to the "full package" siblings in the range.

I'd like to have a road drive to compete the picture but so far I must say I liked what I saw. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

ATPC in Velar probably works similar to my Sport. I'm a big fan of this feature. Does everything in such a controlled way. I used it a lot during my first LRE West Country Trec Day and was hugely impressed. On my second Trec Day I made sure not to use it so I could do things on my own. If I ever find myself in difficult conditions in real life i.e. not an experience/fun day, I would entrust ATPC over selecting the modes and controlling the throttle etc. myself.

I have driven Velar on-road and was impressed. Current: Volvo XC90 T8 Inscription Pro PHEV with some optionals on top
Gone: MY16 RRS2 3.0 SDV6 Autobiography Dynamic, Carpathian Grey & Santorini Black Sliding Pano/Ebony & Ivory 2 Tone
Gone: MY13 RRS 3.0 SDV6 HSE Black Edition, Orkney Grey/Ivory
Gone: MY09 RRS 2.7 TDV6 HSE, Santorini Black/Almond

3.0V6 Petrol is being tested here
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Nice plate on the car too.........  2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

I saw my first one on the road ( well nearly off it!) today being hoisted onto the back of a flat bed AA truck in the middle of Edinburgh. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

So that proves all those people wrong who say "Velar is not a real Range Rover". Current: Volvo XC90 T8 Inscription Pro PHEV with some optionals on top
Gone: MY16 RRS2 3.0 SDV6 Autobiography Dynamic, Carpathian Grey & Santorini Black Sliding Pano/Ebony & Ivory 2 Tone
Gone: MY13 RRS 3.0 SDV6 HSE Black Edition, Orkney Grey/Ivory
Gone: MY09 RRS 2.7 TDV6 HSE, Santorini Black/Almond

......but in UK Velar sales are less than 55% of projected sales. Overseas sales seem to be doing well on targets and possibly keeping it afloat, perhaps they have more money than sense. It still doesn't know where it's meant to fit in range, and at my dealership who had two new since launch, one basic plus extras and one the top model, still none sold and they are using the Velar now as a loan car for when you have a service, as well as other better models of course, Discovery Sport and RRS all this years latest models, perhaps that's why servicing costs so much?.  John

RRS MY12 SDV6 HSE. Sumatra Black/Ebony & Walnut + Dynamic Pack, + Cold Climate Pack + Memory Pack, Digital TV/DVD, Premium Leather, Cornering Lights, Cooler/Fridge Box, & most Options.

RRSman, how you getting on in yours?