Hello folks,
I hope your day has gone well. My latest post may be useful for anyone considering a Velar, especially the comparison I will draw between our V6 D300 and the latest courtesy car we have been given - a D240 S Velar.
But, before I begin in earnest, please allow me one indulgence. This is our ninth car during 2017. Yes, you have read that correctly - we have spent more time driving JLR courtesy cars than ones we have owned ourselves. You might initially conclude that this represents good value for money but, as we approach the year-end, I can tell you that we are getting somewhat tired of it all now.
This year's cars have been:
1. Volvo XC60 R-design Lux (we owned this one and part-ex'd it for the next car);
2. Jaguar F-Pace 3.0d V6 S bought on 4 March, having waited 12mths, and rejected due to driveshaft noise that JLR couldn't fix;
3. Jaguar F-Pace 3.0d V6 S, courtesy car from dealer demonstrator fleet. Six weeks, including trip to Isle of Skye;
4. Jaguar XJ 3.0d V6, JLR long-term loan car while we waited for our RR Velar to arrive. About four months including French Alps;
5. Range Rover Velar D300 R-dynamic V6 S - we took delivery of this on 23 September having specced it exactly to our requirements;
6. Jaguar XE. Just for the day when we our Velar went into the workshop for the very same issue we have had on the earlier F-Pace, the noisy driveshaft and wheel bearing cyclic noise;
7. Range Rover Velar D300 R-dynamic V6 HSE, demonstrator provided as a courtesy car from Jaguar XE for about a week, and
8. Range Rover Velar D240 S, Sales Manager's car provided as a courtesy car because the dealer needed the previous Velar back to compare with our own car for sound comparison. It was almost of identical specification.
9. Somewhere near the beginning of all this, Mrs A says she had another Jaguar XE but we can't remember quite when as it's all becoming a blur.
Forgive me, but cars become a bit meh, when you just keep swapping them over every five minutes. Okay, back to the review.
Velar D240 S
This is an interesting car. Delivered to our door last night by one of the dealer's retired team of drivers. It's white, sunroof, 21" wheels, air suspension but not much else. I had a trip planned down the A68 to Jedburgh last night. It enabled me to do a straight comparison with the other two D300 Velars.
Positives
The engine! This was a real surprise TBH. It's pretty quiet and has plenty of torque. In fact, most of the time it has all you could reasonably want especially at lower speeds when pulling away. There were three adults in the car but no luggage. I was impressed. This is a 4cyl, 2litre engine. Neat...... almost. In the 50 - 70mph acceleration zone it's decent but not a patch on the V6 diesel. In simple terms, you need to plan that overtaking manoeuvre more carefully as, even in dynamic mode and sport gearbox setting, you are on the wrong side of the road for far longer than the D300. Otherwise, it's a good unit. What noise it does make is actually quite pleasant. The last time I drove a JLR Ingenium diesel 4cyl car it was in an F-Pace with the 180bhp output and I wasn't hugely impressed. The D240 is good.
And the engine delivers a bonus for the driver. It's light up front compared to the trusty but old V6. That means the car feel far more agile and alive. I can really feel the difference between the two Velars with the D300 lump up front and the newer, lighter Ingenium model. It's significant not marginal.
There was a moment yesterday evening when I asked myself whether the price premium to access the D300 V6 was worth it. I had never bothered checking the D240 out because it has only been released more recently and I have previously dismissed 4cyl diesels as uninspiring and noisy.
So I checked when I got home.....
Could do better....
And what I discovered was that this latest Velar costs a whopping £63k. That's a lot of money. Like for like, the V6 D300 would be about £3k more. If you have the £3k and the inclination then the V6 is a better proposition IMHO.
Furthermore, the D240 Velar is just £7k cheaper than our own Velar (the one in the workshop. :roll: ). Now £7k is not an insignificant sum of money but, when one is already spending over £60k, the question that pops into my head is whether the extra spend makes a significant difference to the ownership experience. Buying a car at this price point is a discretionary purchase and certainly not in the sphere of necessity.
For us the £7k extra has been money well spent (there is a proviso but I will come to that later if I may). You see, the D240 S with few extras is a decent car. Visually, it makes an impact as it's white and the optional 21" wheels make a difference. At least until it's dirty after one trip in November on country roads. But it lacks the sense of occasion one would normally associate with a +£60k car. The standard sound system is decent, the touch duo looks lovely and the sunroof is good. But there's too much hard plastic on the door roll-tops, the dash and one needs to keep reminding oneself that this is a £63k car and not a £55k SUV.
Visually, it looks good - especially if you like the Stormtrooper Star Wars look. I can see this model being the car of choice for The Empire if they ever provide company cars to the Imperial Army. Darth Vader would approve, even if his would be in black!
It also handles well, very well. Better than the V6 on air suspension. Impressive. That lighter nose makes a big difference to agility.
And, of course, it has that same fresh, new-out-of-the-box Velar design ethos that every model in the Range shares and for which you pay your money.
But, extra special it is not. Not for the money. I have no doubt our Sales Manager has chosen well for residuals but it didn't grab my heart.
Each of us are different. Different budget, different priorities, different whims and a diverse opinion of visual beauty and audio fidelity. The killer for me was realising that, to build a like-for-like Velar where the only difference is the V6 vs D240 diesels, the price gap is just £3k. £67.5k vs £70.5k (Mrs A frowned when I revealed my research and my son just shook his head because both think I am mad to have done the research on the configurator).
Of course, my D300 is in the workshop. The D240 isn't. One might suggest that that has a big bearing upon which car is the wisest choice! I am hoping we might see Holly (that's the name of our Velar) sometime soon. Amelia at JLR CRC has been handling my case very well and the dealer have been great so far. But, in all truth, we are getting a bit tired of the whole thing and the possibility of just calling time and walking away from JLR is beginning to loom larger as the weeks go on.
I hope this review has been interesting. If not, apologies if you've made it this far!
Best wishes,
Arianne
I hope your day has gone well. My latest post may be useful for anyone considering a Velar, especially the comparison I will draw between our V6 D300 and the latest courtesy car we have been given - a D240 S Velar.
But, before I begin in earnest, please allow me one indulgence. This is our ninth car during 2017. Yes, you have read that correctly - we have spent more time driving JLR courtesy cars than ones we have owned ourselves. You might initially conclude that this represents good value for money but, as we approach the year-end, I can tell you that we are getting somewhat tired of it all now.
This year's cars have been:
1. Volvo XC60 R-design Lux (we owned this one and part-ex'd it for the next car);
2. Jaguar F-Pace 3.0d V6 S bought on 4 March, having waited 12mths, and rejected due to driveshaft noise that JLR couldn't fix;
3. Jaguar F-Pace 3.0d V6 S, courtesy car from dealer demonstrator fleet. Six weeks, including trip to Isle of Skye;
4. Jaguar XJ 3.0d V6, JLR long-term loan car while we waited for our RR Velar to arrive. About four months including French Alps;
5. Range Rover Velar D300 R-dynamic V6 S - we took delivery of this on 23 September having specced it exactly to our requirements;
6. Jaguar XE. Just for the day when we our Velar went into the workshop for the very same issue we have had on the earlier F-Pace, the noisy driveshaft and wheel bearing cyclic noise;
7. Range Rover Velar D300 R-dynamic V6 HSE, demonstrator provided as a courtesy car from Jaguar XE for about a week, and
8. Range Rover Velar D240 S, Sales Manager's car provided as a courtesy car because the dealer needed the previous Velar back to compare with our own car for sound comparison. It was almost of identical specification.
9. Somewhere near the beginning of all this, Mrs A says she had another Jaguar XE but we can't remember quite when as it's all becoming a blur.
Forgive me, but cars become a bit meh, when you just keep swapping them over every five minutes. Okay, back to the review.
Velar D240 S
This is an interesting car. Delivered to our door last night by one of the dealer's retired team of drivers. It's white, sunroof, 21" wheels, air suspension but not much else. I had a trip planned down the A68 to Jedburgh last night. It enabled me to do a straight comparison with the other two D300 Velars.
Positives
The engine! This was a real surprise TBH. It's pretty quiet and has plenty of torque. In fact, most of the time it has all you could reasonably want especially at lower speeds when pulling away. There were three adults in the car but no luggage. I was impressed. This is a 4cyl, 2litre engine. Neat...... almost. In the 50 - 70mph acceleration zone it's decent but not a patch on the V6 diesel. In simple terms, you need to plan that overtaking manoeuvre more carefully as, even in dynamic mode and sport gearbox setting, you are on the wrong side of the road for far longer than the D300. Otherwise, it's a good unit. What noise it does make is actually quite pleasant. The last time I drove a JLR Ingenium diesel 4cyl car it was in an F-Pace with the 180bhp output and I wasn't hugely impressed. The D240 is good.
And the engine delivers a bonus for the driver. It's light up front compared to the trusty but old V6. That means the car feel far more agile and alive. I can really feel the difference between the two Velars with the D300 lump up front and the newer, lighter Ingenium model. It's significant not marginal.
There was a moment yesterday evening when I asked myself whether the price premium to access the D300 V6 was worth it. I had never bothered checking the D240 out because it has only been released more recently and I have previously dismissed 4cyl diesels as uninspiring and noisy.
So I checked when I got home.....
Could do better....
And what I discovered was that this latest Velar costs a whopping £63k. That's a lot of money. Like for like, the V6 D300 would be about £3k more. If you have the £3k and the inclination then the V6 is a better proposition IMHO.
Furthermore, the D240 Velar is just £7k cheaper than our own Velar (the one in the workshop. :roll: ). Now £7k is not an insignificant sum of money but, when one is already spending over £60k, the question that pops into my head is whether the extra spend makes a significant difference to the ownership experience. Buying a car at this price point is a discretionary purchase and certainly not in the sphere of necessity.
For us the £7k extra has been money well spent (there is a proviso but I will come to that later if I may). You see, the D240 S with few extras is a decent car. Visually, it makes an impact as it's white and the optional 21" wheels make a difference. At least until it's dirty after one trip in November on country roads. But it lacks the sense of occasion one would normally associate with a +£60k car. The standard sound system is decent, the touch duo looks lovely and the sunroof is good. But there's too much hard plastic on the door roll-tops, the dash and one needs to keep reminding oneself that this is a £63k car and not a £55k SUV.
Visually, it looks good - especially if you like the Stormtrooper Star Wars look. I can see this model being the car of choice for The Empire if they ever provide company cars to the Imperial Army. Darth Vader would approve, even if his would be in black!
It also handles well, very well. Better than the V6 on air suspension. Impressive. That lighter nose makes a big difference to agility.
And, of course, it has that same fresh, new-out-of-the-box Velar design ethos that every model in the Range shares and for which you pay your money.
But, extra special it is not. Not for the money. I have no doubt our Sales Manager has chosen well for residuals but it didn't grab my heart.
Each of us are different. Different budget, different priorities, different whims and a diverse opinion of visual beauty and audio fidelity. The killer for me was realising that, to build a like-for-like Velar where the only difference is the V6 vs D240 diesels, the price gap is just £3k. £67.5k vs £70.5k (Mrs A frowned when I revealed my research and my son just shook his head because both think I am mad to have done the research on the configurator).
Of course, my D300 is in the workshop. The D240 isn't. One might suggest that that has a big bearing upon which car is the wisest choice! I am hoping we might see Holly (that's the name of our Velar) sometime soon. Amelia at JLR CRC has been handling my case very well and the dealer have been great so far. But, in all truth, we are getting a bit tired of the whole thing and the possibility of just calling time and walking away from JLR is beginning to loom larger as the weeks go on.
I hope this review has been interesting. If not, apologies if you've made it this far!
Best wishes,
Arianne
