The Range Rover Velar has gone hybrid | GRR
Spen King and Gordon Bashford would surely have been impressed. Their creation from the late 1960s, the Velar or Range Rover as it would become at its launch in 1970, updated 50 years later with all manner of hi-tech trickery. Could Rover’s pioneering engineering duo have dreamed of a Velar that you plugged in, which could drive 33 miles on electric power, that updated itself with over-the-air software and came with active noise cancellation and automatic cabin air purification?
Probably not – Bashford and King had their hands full convincing the world of the benefits of coil springs and permanent four-wheel-drive for a car equally at home on or off road. But their creation (and odd name) that lives on in the fourth member of the Range Rover family gets all those features and more in a revamped range announced this week.
It would be odd if the latest Velar didn’t get them because exactly the same slew of features has already been rolled out across other Land and Range Rover model ranges. As the firm’s design and technology flagship there’s a case to say the Velar should have been first in the queue, rather than last, to get the updates.
That matters little because it is here now and the result is the most designer-led and tech-laden Velar ever while staying true to Bashford and King’s on/off road vision.
All Velars now feature some form of electrification – mated to either petrol or diesel combustion power – but the Velar with the most is the plug-in hybrid P400e. Like other P400e variants from Solihull, it combines a 2.0-litre four-pot turbo petrol engine with a 105kW electric motor for a combined 404PS (297) and 640Nm of torque. The arrangement benefits both on-road sprinting ability – 0-62mph takes 5.4 seconds – and off-road mud-plugging, thanks to a dose of electric torque from zero revs.
And if you remember to plug it in – overnight at home with a domestic plug or for 30 minutes at a public fast-charge point – you will be able to switch it to EV mode and drive for up to 30 or so miles in zero tailpipe emissions mode, using energy stored in the lithium-ion battery under the boot floor.
The default drive mode combines petrol and electric drive, integrating navigation and GPS date to come up with the best route depending on how much fuel in the tank and juice in the battery. Mild hybrids, which use a 48-volt starter generator, can’t do this.
Velar chief product engineer Colin Kirkpatrick says the P400e is just as refined and smooth as other Velars while it maintains their all-terrain ability, with equivalent ground clearance.
Land Rover predicts its newest plug-in hybrid model will benefit from strong residual value but more certain is that its CO2 emissions of 49g/km will trim the annual motoring tax bill.
The rest of the new Velar range can’t match that but with the latest generation of electrically-assisted Ingenium engines – 400PS (294kW petrol) and 300PS (220kW diesel) sixes, and a 200PS (147kW) diesel four-pot – their figures are impressive, along with the diesel’s emissions standards. There’s something among these engines to please most people whether it’s 650Nm of torque, or a 5.5 second 0-62mph time, 44.9mpg or CO2 of 165g/km. If you want air suspension go for one of the sixes where it comes as standard
All the new Velars get Pivi, Land Rover’s new and much improved digital infotainment interface. Versions from S and up get Pivi Pro with more features. An embedded data connection means owners can programme the system to get the latest maps, apps and vehicle software modules over the air at any time that suits.
Cleaner cabin air and less noise are other new claims to fame. An extra air filtration system takes out exhaust particulates, pollen and odours so much so that the air inside the Range Rover Velar is cleaner than the air outside. And the extra hush is courtesy of an optional noise cancelling system, which takes up to 4dB of road noise out of the cabin using the same opposite-phase tech as noise-cancelling headphones.
Prices for Land Rover’s most fashion-conscious (and now most hi-tech) model start from £46,110, and all are available now except the P400e plug-in model which arrives early in 2021. For those who want to make their mark there’s a Velar Edition with body and trim upgrades, black roof, 20-inch black alloys and exclusive paint finishes – perfect for the fashionista who likes to go exploring…