| Pros | Cons | ||
| ✓ Sharp, minimalist look inside and out | ☓ Strange driving traits, road manners | ||
| ✓ Buttery smooth ride | ☓ Underwhelming base engine | ||
| ✓ Still has some Land Rover off-road DNA | ☓ Way more expensive than some luxury competitors |
Coming off a recent refresh, the 2025 Range Rover Velar is still as sharp-looking as ever, even if it isn’t as dramatic as Land Rover’s other iconic SUVs.
Think about Land Rover’s whole SUV lineup, and a couple models likely crop up in your mind immediately. Definitely the big Range Rover, maybe the Range Rover Sport and, more recently, the Defender. If you’re looking for a smaller or more affordable option there’s always the Evoque, but how often have you considered the Velar since it first hit the scene back in 2017?
Well, Land Rover took a run at updating the Velar for the 2024 model year, giving it a much-needed infotainment update with a big screen and a host of other tweaks to minimize the number of switches, knobs and buttons cluttering up the interior. If you aren’t a fan of that approach, then it’s best to look at one of the other options in the segment, since the lack of physical buttons will frustrate you immediately. The Range Rover Velar relies on JLR’s new Pivi Pro infotainment interface to make up the difference with the controls, and we’ll get into greater detail on its pros and cons below.
If you are considering the 2025 Range Rover Velar, it’s important to take a couple considerations with you into the process. First up, while it’s technically a compact SUV landing between the entry-level Evoque and the bigger Range Rover Sport, the styling and general feel puts me more in mind of a high-riding wagon (which can be a pretty cool proposition for some). The other is that you have two engine options — a 2.0-liter ‘P250’ model and a 3.0-liter, six-cylinder ‘P400’ model — and you should absolutely go for the more powerful option. We’ll get into more detail on that below as well, but I do want to mention that off the top: The 247-horsepower P250 just doesn’t cut it for the size class and luxurious driving experience we’re shooting for here.
The Range Rover Velar packs some quirky performance traits, if you’re used to a more conventional SUV driving experience.
While we’re on the subject, let’s stick with driving dynamics for a bit. The P250 model, as it happens, packs the same 2.0-liter turocharged ‘Ingenium’ engine as JLR’s other SUVs (including the Evoque), though you get an 8-speed automatic transmission no matter which engine you pick. The P400 model brings the automaker’s 3.0-liter mild-hybrid powertrain to the party, putting out 396 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque. It’s a far more potent option considering the Velar’s two-and-a-bit-ton curb weight (between 4,130 and 4,430 pounds, depending on the engine), and can manage 0-60 in just over 5 seconds, compared to around 7 seconds with the P250’s four-pot.
No matter which way you slice it, and even if you get the mid-range Dynamic SE with 20-inch satin wheels, red-painted brake calipers and sportier ‘Graphite Atlas’ styling, the 2025 Range Rover Velar is by no means a sports car. In fact, while I get having an SUV with lighter steering feel to drive around town, you typically want a smooth and linear response to balance things out so minor inputs don’t make the car feel twitchy and nervous on the road. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the Velar does, as the steering feels lifeless and overboosted to the point where I have to make constant corrections, even when I wasn’t trying to push it too hard.
The braking is a similar story — instead of a solid and linear feel, it’s mushy to the extent that you’re constantly having to adjust how much pressure you’re putting in to actually bring the Velar to a dignified halt. At best, its on-road demeanor is uninspired, and at worst it just feels downright strange, especially when you drive it back to back against some of the other players in the field like the BMW X3 or the pin-sharp Porsche Macan.
On the up side, this is still a Land Rover, so you get Terrain Response with selectable modes. The $2,275 Dynamic Handling Pack also adds in electronic air suspension to adjust the ride height and All Terrain Progress Control, a sort of slow-speed cruise control to handle tricky situations. The $1,300 Technology Package adds in a 3D surround camera that ought to help on some obstacles, as well as Wade Sensing to help traverse water crossings.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend off-roading in the stock Michelin Latitude Tour HP all-seasons the Velar ships with, but it does have the technology onboard to handle it, if you’re comfortable taking your $62,925-plus luxury machine off the beaten track.
If you’re looking to do a bit of towing, the 2025 Range Rover Velar can tow just over 5,000 pounds. Ground clearance comes in at 8.4 inches on coil suspension (about average for the class), though you can raise that up to 9.9 inches in the Off-Road 2 setting with the aforementioned air suspension, as shown above.
The interior is all about form and style.
Step inside the 2025 Range Rover Velar, and again you won’t see a raft of physical controls covering every square inch of the instrument panel. Now, you do still get stalks to control the headlights and wipers, as well as buttons on the steering wheel and a switch to move the steering column around. In the center, Land Rover’s former rotary dial approach to the gear selector has taken a back seat to a more conventional lever. It’s still an electronic shift-by-wire setup, but it does feel more satisfying to use. It also dominates the center stack along with the 11.4-inch touchscreen display. Between the two, you get a compartment where the second screen used to be that contains the wireless smartphone charging pad.
Instead of Land Rover’s old setup, this floating screen is how you interface with the new ‘Pivi Pro’ operating system. On the whole, it’s much snappier than the old InControl system, and splits the home screen into different cards allowing you access to major features like climate controls, your drive modes, navigation and phone commands. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support come baked in, while the app screen (accessible by a button in the lower-left corner) moves you out to the rest of the available screens, like the ‘4×4 info’ and ‘Dynamic-i’ screens to give you more detailed information.
That’s not to say the Pivi Pro system is the most intuitive setup in the world, as it does take a little getting used to. Most of your high-level controls (like temperature adjustment) are always accessible down the left and right sidebars. To get more finite controls like heated or ventilated seats, though, you’ll need to stick on the home menu, which takes backing out from other full-screen applications like navigation or Apple CarPlay. Land Rover also insists on a “minimalist” layout for the steering wheel buttons by using a series of hieroglyphics, so trying to get at some features on the driver’s display while on the move can be tricky until you learn what each button/wheel/switch actually does.
While the 2025 Range Rover Velar is obviously larger than the Evoque, it is still a five-seater crossover that splits the difference between decent passenger space and cargo volume. Rear legroom is decent at 37.2 inches, though headroom (38.9 inches) is a bit on the tight side thanks to the sloping roof line and the panoramic moonroof.
Surprisingly, even with the stylish roof line, the 2025 Range Rover Velar still handles a fair amount of luggage. Cargo volume with the rear 40/20/40 bench in place is 30.9 cubic feet, expanding out to 62.7 cubic feet when it’s folded. That’s not quite as commodious as a BMW X3, but springing for the Velar is more of a fashion statement where you’ll have to compromise a bit on practicality.
So, is the 2025 Range Rover Velar worth it?
There’s no mistaking that Land Rover’s style makes the Velar one of the most visually appealing options in the class. Thing is, depending on your personal tastes, there are plenty of other great-looking options to choose from that are either more engaging to drive, just as luxurious or far better value. The Velar’s $64,925 MSRP is just the starting point, and the Dynamic SE model we tested came in at $76,115…without the better 3.0-liter engine. If you spec up a P400 model, you can easily tip the scale toward and past the $80,000 mark.
In a class absolutely packed with compact luxury SUVs, the Genesis GV70, Volvo XC60, Audi Q5 and Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class come in at a far lower price point. So does the Lexus RX — while the primary rival in the same sort of price band is the Porsche Macan.
So why buy the 2025 Range Rover Velar? Mainly, if you’re banking on that style factor and want a comfortable family cruiser that looks just as good rolling into the valet at your favorite downtown restaurant as it does heading up to a skiing weekend or even up to a backcountry cabin…but you can’t necessarily buy the big Range Rover. Buy a Velar with the silky smooth straight-six, and you’ll end up with a luxury SUV that’s about as classy as you can get in the $60K to $80K price band.
We’ll have a more comprehensive off-road review with the 2025 Range Rover Velar Dynamic SE P250 that you can check out below:
