![]() ![]() In the softer mode, body control feels lacking over rougher surfaces, although high-speed refinement on Spanish Autopista freeways was excellent – and an 82-litre fuel tank should give decent range, even with the engine’s thirst for petrol. Switchable driving modes include both Comfort and Dynamic, with obvious differences between them. SVO claims a 0-100km/h time of just 4.5-seconds, but subjectively the Velar doesn’t feel as quick as the angrier-sounding alternatives, even though it actually is. The exhaust note is less aggressive than that of the SVR’s products – the Autobiography doesn’t do the fusillade of pops on a lifted throttle. Refinement is good and the engine remains a star, pulling strongly from the basement to the penthouse and making some appropriately muscular noises as it does so. Performance is huge, but there’s markedly less dynamic focus than you’d find in a Macan Turbo, a Stelvio Quadrifoglio – or that cheaper F-Pace SVR. While hugely confident when the going gets rough, on the road the Velar felt slightly less focused. That gave a chance to confirm that, despite its sporting bling, this gussied-up Velar can still cut it in the wild, with some impressive off-road performance when asked to scramble up rocky tracks while wearing its standard 21-inch wheels and all-season Pirelli Scorpion tyres.Īdaptive air suspension, which can vary ride height by up to 46mm, plus a battery of off-road driving aids mean this is a high-performance SUV you really could use to venture at least some way into the wilderness. We drove the SV Autobiography in Spain, with Land Rover basing the event around its Las Comes Experience Centre in the mountains near Barcelona. ![]() The SVA’s sleek roofline gives a seating position lower and more laid-back than the Range Rover norm and space in the back feels tight for adults. At 4806mm in length it almost perfectly splits the Macan and Cayenne, with the interior feeling closer in dimensions to the smaller Porsche. The Velar’s dimensions put it between segments. The full-sized Range Rover SV Autobiography is designed for passengers as much as drivers, especially those who choose to travel in the back of the long wheelbase version. Seats use quilted pattern leather and are larger and more comfortable than the hard, tight-fitting buckets of the F-Pace SVR there are also nice-feeling alloy gear-shift paddles and some subtle carbon-fibre detailing for doors and dashboard.īut for the need to get your head around JLR's woefully unintuitive InControl Touch infotainment system, it's a mega place to spend time.īut not a spacious one. The interior has been given a similarly subtle reworking, with most of the Velar's options kit thrown at it. Visual changes are fairly minimal and there's none of the steroidal aggression of the SVR models instead the SVA gets a front bumper with bigger inlets and an integrated bottom edge spoiler, while the rear gains four huge exhaust finishers and a small badge.īig 21-inch wheels are optional, but Land Rover would far prefer buyers ordered the forged 22-inchers that we tested the car on, and which look remarkably good within those vast arches. Plus, being as it wears Range Rover badges, a respectable supplement screwed onto the pricetag at $175,322 before on-road costs it is $35,000 more than the sportier SVR.īut it's still barely half the price of the Range Rover SV Autobiography, and usefully cheaper than the Range Rover Sport SVR, yet arguably has more visual presence than either.īecause, like the lesser members of its clan, the Velar Autobiography has serious charisma and what are pretty close to street-stopping looks. Developed by JLR's Special Vehicle Operations division, the SV Autobiography Dynamic is closely related to the existing Jaguar F-Pace SVR, with a 405kW version of the long-serving V8 and what’s meant to be a more relaxed demeanour.
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