2024 Range Rover Velar has only the display inside, not a single knob, which is a great distraction and the clear illustration of company's greed that kills the joy of driving.
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A new grille combines with the characteristic floating roof, unbroken waistline and flush deployable door handles. The Range Rover Velar also offers the quietest vehicle in its class for road noise thanks to refinement technologies including the pioneering Active Road Noise Cancellation system. The plug-in electric hybrid Velar is more capable and flexible than ever, with a greater pure-electric driving range of up to 64km (40 miles)10 thanks to a redesigned battery pack, while the choice of highly advanced petrol and diesel engines feature mild hybrid technology.
New super-slim Pixel LED headlights provide optimised visibility, says the company, and at the rear, the powerful overhang provides balance and highlights the Range Rover Velar’s imposing length. Its pronounced kick adds to its muscular stance while the new lower rear bumper enhances its proportions, featuring hidden tailpipes for a clean and elegant appearance. New LED taillights echo this sophistication with an eye-catching 3D appearance and super-red illumination. They are complemented by a full-length high-level stop-lamp.
Range Rover Velar continues to offer a leather-free cabin option, with new seat designs and materials. The leather-free option combines wool from Danish textile experts Kvadrat with Ultrafabrics polyurethane textile inserts, featuring a new Diamond Herringbone perforation pattern. Inspired by bespoke tailoring, Kvadrat wool blends are 58 per cent lighter than leather and provide a modern appearance and enhanced tactility. Four new leather colourways are introduced: Cloud, Caraway, Raven Blue and Deep Garnet.
But in the inside everything revolves around the 11.4-inch curved glass infotainment system. You won’t find any buttons, knobs or dials, there's not even climate controls. All of the vehicle’s controls are now found within the screen, which runs a new version of Land Rover’s Pivi Pro software, it supports wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto, over-the-air software updates and Amazon Alexa voice command intelligence. From the functionality point of view, this is a pure disaster, because it's know for long time that touch screen is a way worse solution than traditional knobs and instruments, but company's greed to make things cheaper shines in this model too. ■
A very strong low pressure system currently just offshore of San Francisco Bay will continue to bring high winds, heavy rain, and heavy mountain snow for California and adjacent areas of the Southwest through tonight and Wednesday as the latest in a series of atmospheric rivers impacts the West.
