Range Rover’s new model, the Velar has been unveiled and is currently on display at the Design Museum in London before being shown off to a wider audience at the Geneva Motor Show.
The fourth Range Rover model slots in between the Range Rover Evoque and the Range Rover Sport. The Range Rover Velar mid-size SUV, has been confirmed for South Africa and is set to compete with the likes of the Jaguar F-Pace, BMW X4 and X6, Mercedes GLC and GLE and the Audi Q5 and coming Q6.
The Velar shares its 2874mm wheelbase and underpinnings with the Jaguar F-Pace SUV, however 70 percent of the parts on the new Velar are brand-new.
Under the hood there will be a choice of six engines, each driving through an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
There’s a base 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium diesel unit in 132kW and 177kW guises. The entry-level petrol engine is a new 2.0-litre Ingenium unit with 184kW . A 221kW version of this engine will follow in early 2018.
The V6 range-toppers are a 220kW diesel is a 280kW, 700Nm supercharged petrol engine.
There will also be an entry-level diesel that will be the most efficient, with CO2 emissions of 142g/km.
Fitted with an all-wheel-drive system and four-corner air suspension, the Velar offers a ground clearance of 251 mm and a wading depth of 650 mm (or 213 mm and 600mm respectively, with coil springs).
New technology that has been added to the platform “gives us the legs to step through obstacles you could not before on other models,” said Kevin Stride, vehicle line director.
The brand-new Velar SUV is packed full of new technology inside the cabin too that will be rolled out to the other Range Rover models, as each gets updated.
Land Rover SA says the all-new Velar will go on sale in South Africa in the fourth quarter of 2017.