In-depth reviews

Range Rover Velar owner reviews

“The Range Rover Velar is one of the coolest SUVs money can buy, with eye-catching looks and cutting-edge in-car technology”

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by Carbuyer team

8 Feb 2021

Carbuyer Rating

4.1 out of 5

Owners Rating

3.5 out of 5

Buy used for less at Buyacar

55%of people would recommend this car to a friend.

Owner Rating

4reviews
5reviews
1reviews
1reviews

Common Problems

Other (3 cases)
Engine (1 cases)
Electrics (1 cases)

Version

D240 Dynamic

Year of registration

2018

Average annual mileage

0 – 4,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

Used

Typical MPG

Review

Car looks as good as the advertisement on paper, but has one very unusual fault, in bad weather ie, ice and snow, if the doors open (the handles pop out) to allow entry into the car, they don't for some reason pop back in as your driving or lock with the key fob. Also the centre console has a sharp edge that on long journeys tends to dig into the side of your leg, which means having to sit at an angle to relieve the pain whilst driving. The A pillars are very thick so can cause problems when pulling out of tight junctions. There are loads of gadgets for techno nerds, but I wasn't too impressed when trying to use screens whilst driving, for instance to change the radio station or temperature as my view was taken from road too long for me personally – you have to physically look down to change or do anything on the screens especially the lower screen. It looks nice but isn't as practical as the Discovery or Sport, of which I've had both. This was a bad buy and will be selling as soon as possible.

Reliability

2 out of 5

Had the car only a few months and been locked out 4 times due to weather conditions, response from showroom was to pour warm water over handles, this is ok at home or work but not too practical whilst out and about.

Performance

This car is the R Dynamic 240, due to my location there aren't many stretches too really test the performance speed wise, but as for handling both in rural and town I find the car very easy to handle and manoeuvre

Running Cost

3 out of 5

Can't complain with running cost as yet, again cars only had the car a few months, one downside is having to buy adblue, due to location of filling point, it's easier to buy small bottles instead of large tub due to angle and weight of adblue container as well as the size of the it.

I would recommend this car to a friend

Version

D275 S Rdynamic

Year of registration

2019

Average annual mileage

5,000 – 9,999

Bought Car

Used

Typical MPG

Review

I've driven my Velar over 18,000 km in Sweden and I haven't had any problems of any kind. Fantastic car!

Reliability

5 out of 5

No problems after 18000 km The car runs like swiss clockwork

Performance

5 out of 5

Fantastic.

Running Cost

5 out of 5

No complaints for a car this size

I would recommend this car to a friend

Version

D180 HSE

Year of registration

2018

Average annual mileage

5,000 – 9,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

New

Review

Amazing car, drives amazing and gets so many head turns. So much tech. I love it.

Version

First Edition 300

Year of registration

2017

Average annual mileage

10,000 – 14,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

Used

Review

The styling of the Velar is outstanding which is what drew me to it. The seats are comfortable once adjusted, but I find even the adjusted seats too low for me to see comfortably over the front of the car. The steering wheel is also to high and with the seat to its highest setting and the steering wheel to its lowest, my legs only just fit under. I have to say I'm 5ft 5ins and slim - average for a lady. The exterior door handles froze in the winter so I couldn't get into the car, this seems a serious design fault. One of the back doors does not open sometimes and the handle on the outside doesn't pop out either, so the passenger has to slide across to get out. The sun screen that slides across the sunroof stopped working and had to be replaced along with the runners that it moved on. The pop out touch screen on the console has stopped popping out which makes it hard to work as its at the wrong angle to see. I realise that all of the above seem minor but I have spend hours trying to get them sorted and for a car that cost over £80,000 all of the above is really poor, coupled with the appalling service at our local dealership, I wish I'd never bought it.

I would recommend this car to a friend

Version

180d r dynamic

Year of registration

2018

Average annual mileage

5,000 – 9,999

Owned

1 - 2 years

Bought Car

Used

Typical MPG

Review

Love the design and practicality of the car. I never had a SUV before this, it turns heads all the time. As for reliability I've had no issues to date, I love it.

Version

D180

Year of registration

2018

Average annual mileage

10,000 – 14,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

Used

Typical MPG

Review

Car looks fabulous but that is about where the plus points end. Sharp edge on centre console digs in to leg whilst driving, there's two second lag when changing radio stations and music streaming from phone doesn't work ever. The engine sounds like it's pulling a tank up a hill when accelerating, steering is heavy, fuel tank is tiny (300 miles max on full tank). My Audi Q5 is a far better car for less money, if only it looked as good as the Velar.

Reliability

3 out of 5

Stereo system doesn't function properly, all else has worked so far.

Performance

2 out of 5

Feels slow and laboured even though it's actually reasonably quick. Sounds awful inside and outside.

Running Cost

About average for car of this size.

Version

Petrol 380 BHP

Year of registration

2018

Average annual mileage

0 – 4,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

Used

Typical MPG

Review

On delivery of my new Velar there was a large scratch on door, rust on door the retaining screws, massive vibration on braking, the tailgate was jammed and wouldn’t open, and the infotainment system crashed on the first of numerous occasions, and this still happens with monotonous regularity. The dealer's an answer to this is that “it’s just like an iPhone and you must except that they will crash”, which is unacceptable. In the first two months the car had to go back three time. Of a total of 900 miles it has covered, 350 of those were going back to the dealer for repairs, from which the car would come back in a worse state than when it left. The last time the wash wipe had not been reconnected, and most recently it came back with a dent in the drivers door. I have had to resort to legal action as the dealer is both incapable to repairing the car and now is unwilling to engage in communication to resolve the matter.

Version

P300 R-Dynamic 2.0L Petrol Supercharged

Year of registration

2019

Average annual mileage

0 – 4,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

Used

Typical MPG

Review

I like the style of the Range Rover Velar, and I'm impressed by the functionality, the touch screens and the various apps, but it's just not the right car for me. I found the test-drive in a 3-litre diesel quite smooth to drive and thought the petrol engine would be quieter and more refined. I was wrong, it sounds like a tractor. I live only a few miles from the dealership where I bought the car, and as soon as I got home, I opened the bonnet to check they had supplied the right engine. It sounds awful at low speeds and when accelerating from lights or junctions. So much so that I avoid driving whenever possible. I've spoken with the dealer several times about alternatives, but I'd simply lose too much money replacing this with something else. It's not their fault, they supplied the car that I ordered, and there's nothing wrong with it. Lesson learned - test drive the exact model you intend to buy! I only purchased the Velar as Aston Martin delayed their DBX SUV launch and I thought this would be a good car as a stop-gap. It isn't, and I shouldn't have bought it. It's a nice car, but you should not spend £75K on a car you're never going to love. I specified this car with as many options as I could, hoping I could make it better and more enjoyable to drive, but it didn't work. After 4-months I've driven less than 2,000 miles, preferring instead to use public transport whenever possible.

Reliability

5 out of 5

One of the rear door handles doesn't fold in properly but that's hardly worth complaining about and I'm sure it will get sorted during the first service.

Performance

2 out of 5

A big car like this needs a real engine - don't buy a 2.0L Petrol unless they offer additional soundproofing.

Running Cost

3 out of 5

Fuel consumption is much higher than expected. Having moved from a V12 6.0L Aston Martin to this I thought I'd get better mileage but it's about the same.

I would recommend this car to a friend

Version

D300 HSE

Year of registration

2018

Average annual mileage

15,000 – 19,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

New

Typical MPG

Review

My first ever SUV - not a concept that has ever appealed to me until the Velar appeared, the design of which totally seduced me. In terms of ownership, so far it's been fine. It was six months old when I bought it - I could have paid less for a same mileage earlier car, but didn't fancy a first-off-the-line Range Rover for obvious reasons. I had intended to buy a D240, which drove OK but once the salesman coaxed me into a D300 I was sold - it's a million times better. The exterior looks fantastic in red/black roof and wheels but I wish they'd specced a lighter interior as the black is a bit drab, especially after my E300 coupe which was a dud car but was very blingy inside! The V6 diesel creates a muffled clatter at low speeds, and a serious grunt if really pushed, but has tonnes of torque and is hugely refined 95% of the time. I've managed 40mpg on a gentle run - on my rat-race motorway commute it averages 30mpg. The air suspension is very well tuned, but the 21-inch wheels still crash a bit over rutted tarmac and potholes. I find the steering wheel too large, and whilst the screens look great, in practice they are a pain. RR will pay a price for being one of the first to go fully touch-tech like this - others are following and improving. It was a reaction to the criticism of tech in earlier JLR product which lagged way behind the market, but I suspect buttons will make a comeback in time when everyone's had their fling with screens and realised that re-inventing the wheel isn't necessary. Faults have been few and minor. Only had two seriously cold mornings, and the door handles popped out fine, with a satisfying shattering of the covering ice. Slight rattle from rear seat. Real difficulty playing music from iPhone - just played tracks at random no matter what. Bluetooth flaky. Rear camera would drop out when reversing into a space requiring much screen fiddling to get back. Went in for first service with predictably useless local LR dealer who fixed none of them, and didn't even clean the car. Spent the day yesterday with a local independent (authorised JLR service dealer) who did an upgrade (including adding ApplePlay, which has solved all iPhone problems) and sorted everything else. Overall, I love the car. I can forgive the niggles (and the over-engineered tech) as it looks fantastic, is hugely comfortable, eats miles effortlessly, goes like stink and is very practical. Above all, it makes the German competition look like Tonka toys on steroids.

Reliability

So far, so good. Had much worse problems with my previous Merc E300, which was brand new. Early days though.

Performance

5 out of 5

The 3.0-litre diesel gives all you ever need. I would avoid the 2.0-litre versions, which do not suit the nature of the car.

Running Cost

Pretty good, given the size and power of the car.

I would recommend this car to a friend

Version

P300

Year of registration

2018

Average annual mileage

10,000 – 14,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

Used

Typical MPG

Review

Excellent Car, Good handling reliability so far so good. Perfect family car comfortably fits 4 passengers. Typical MPG 40. More hi-tech features than its Porsche rival. Its eye catching design is hard to miss out.Its sleek and stylish throughout the vehicle