n Norway, minimalist design reigns. Clean lines and unfussy surfacing abounds, from the weather-beaten farmhouses and modern commercial buildings that dot the landscape, to the Scandinavian furniture and clothing carefully curated inside them. It's all form-follows-function, it's all gorgeous, and it's no accident that none of it distracts from the country's omnipresent scenic vistas.
The same is true inside the Velar's beautifully appointed cabin, where a brand-new infotainment interface, Touch Pro Duo, takes up residence in the center stack. The Intel-quad-core based system features twin 10-inch touchscreen TFT displays, one in the traditional mid-dash location, and the other canted just ahead of the drive selector, with a pair of ringed knobs poking through.
The setup looks impressively simple — almost worryingly so. Land Rover has greatly reduced the amount of switchgear in the cabin, a practice that has become something of a car-designer obsession these days. The result of such approaches always seems to look pleasing, but too often comes with a heavy toll on ergonomics and usability. Fortunately, I'd have a couple of days behind the wheel to suss out whether that's the case with the Velar.
Land Rover's model range continues to spread like kudzu, with this new midsize Velar slotting in between the Evoque and the Sport in its Range Rover family. Based on the same aluminum-intensive platform as the F-Pace crossover from sister brand Jaguar, the Velar nonetheless has a completely different look and feel to it.
Given the Jag's inherent road bias, it might be tempting to view the Velar's off-road credibility with suspicion, especially in view of my tester's rubber-band-like 22-inch 265/45-series tires. But whether climbing up a jagged-rock two-track amid skier gondolas on the side of Strandafjellet (a breathtaking ski mountain in Western Norway) or picking my way through an obstacle course, the Velar revealed it has capabilities to shade all but the most hardcore trail rigs. And at least with air-suspension-equipped models, the Velar also rides a fair bit better than its Leaping Cat sibling.
The aforementioned air suspension, optional locking rear differential and Land Rover's excellent Terrain Response 2 system augment the Velar's capabilities mightily, enabling up to 9.9 inches of ground clearance and a fording depth of 25.6 inches. (The latter is well shy of the top-dog Range Rover's 35.4-inch waders, but it's plenty to live out your Oregon Trail fantasies). Worried you might waterlog your new Rover? An onscreen wade sensor shows you how close you are to making a very expensive and very inconvenient mistake.
