...having just handed back the 3,000 mile old Velar D240 SE Dynamic loaner.

did you back to 20's for comfort or offroad? all smug in my new plug!

2021 Westminster Black D300
2013 Vogue SE - gone
Some Porsche Cayenne guff pretending to be a 4x4!!
2006 Vogue
2004 Vogue
2001 Vogue

Partly comfort, but also to remove its tendency to tramline and absorb the shocks of potholes, surface irregularities and rocks that can work their way loose from Cornish banks - enabling much better cross country speeds, by not having to worry about any of the above when crossing country via the back roads and lanes.

The car’s a lot nicer to drive as a result.

I still have a soft spot for the Velar - I'd quite like one next, but my wife is insisting on another fatty - we'll see

It’s very, very different to the Fatty.

On the positive side, the D240 Ingenium engine suited the car very well, was surprisingly quick, smooth and quiet, with only the occasional snap down change and an unexpected surge of power, at the wrong time to give the game away. It was an involving driving position too, with nice steering, even if it was far too car like and very low to the ground. Even at just 5’10”, the seat was as far back as it would go and I had to raise the seat a fair amount to get a good view out; a seat height that meant the roof was too low to make getting in and out easy. I can’t imagine how anyone ever 6” could get comfortable. I’d struggle to live with the high waistline and pill box windows too.

The LED headlamps were good, even if the reversing camera image was a very pixelated at night.

The ride was very firm (on coil springs, with 50 profile tyres) but, after about 100 miles, it became less dominating. To its credit, it did steer and handle much more tightly, which shouldn’t be a surprise given the car like nature of the vehicle.

Really didn’t like the deployable door handles, especially having to press a button and wait, standing there in the cold, driving rain. A huge raspberry for the bottom screen too, which is hopeless on the move and distracting at night. You even have to use the screen to access Terrain Response and the Dynamic mode, via a sub menu. Only then does it tell you that it won’t let you change anything while the car’s moving. So, say you hit rutted mud. You’re going to need plenty of momentum and Mud & Ruts. But, you need to stop (and potentially get stuck) in order to select it. Meanwhile, hill decent control (something you might need in a hurry and on the move), is a virtual button, right at the bottom of the screen, with no tactile feedback. What were they thinking?!

It did return an indicated average of around 37.5, rather that about 28, which was nice.

Maybe my wife is right after all

All the points you highlighted would likely irritate me beyond reason if I actually had to live with one (except the fuel economy)

If it were an alternative to, say, an Audi estate, or a quick Golf, it would be an interesting option. But it’s “Range Rover” in name only.

One other oddity - unlike any Land Rover I’ve ever seen, you step over a sill and then down into the car. So, just like the F-Pace, it can’t be swept out in seconds.

That bit wouldn't bother me - mine was last swept/vac'd sometime in the autumn and I may get around to it after easter when it's due it's next wash

I have driven a Velar for two days as a courtesy car, well it certainly is a very good car but is it a Range Rover? NO.

Discussion from the marketing board:
"Well, we are launching a new SUV, shall we brand it as a Range Rover to increase our margins? What a great idea!"

I was attending a wedding recently, one guy came to me saying, "I noticed you are driving a Range Rover", they're really great vehicles aren't they? I've got one too. It appeared later that evening he was driving an Evoque.
Now I was given one of those as a courtesy car too while mine was in for a serice and it certainly isn't a Range Rover to my eyes, but apparently it is seen as a Range Rover by JLR's target market audience and it proved a success.

Am I the only one who thinks they are devaluing the Range Rover name?

no you're not, only the range rover L322/L405 is a 'range rover'...and my personnel opinion is that even the sport doesnt come close... ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
.

There's only one Range Rover and that's a FF, the rest are wannabe's. All LR cars from 1984
2021.5 Vogue SE D300 Carpathian Grey
2018 Vogue SE British Racing Green GONE

No, I can't agree that it's devaluing the brand, it's opening it up to a wider audience. It's like saying that a BMW 3 series devalues the 7 series, when it clearly doesn't. I think it's important that companies like JLR make profits from models that we might think don't fit, so that they can continue making models that do fit. Is a Cayenne a real Porsche? They don't half sell though! Drives:
2010 FFRR TdV8 Vogue - Stornoway Grey
2010 FFRR TdV8 Vogue SE - Zermatt Silver
1998 BMW E36 M3 GTII

 2021 L405 Vogue SE 4.4 V8 DIESEL ~ #17