Range Rover Velar vs BMW X3

What's the difference?

I think the Velar R-Dynamic HSE D300 is the most beautiful Range Rover ever made and one of the most stylish SUVs money can buy. It’s also fast, not too expensive and a proper Range Rover. It’s not big though, and if you’re looking for a seven seater you’ll have to step up to the big daddy Range Rover.

Do the right thing here, don’t skimp on the engine and go for the D300 diesel with its giant torque and the Velar will give you a driving experience as good as it looks.

I don’t think its essential to step up to the HSE grade at all and it’s a no-cost option to go for smaller wheels shod with higher profile tyres – just saying. 

The X3 xDrive30e is a sporty SUV with fantastic ride quality and slick driving characteristics, although its specs seem a bit behind on the electrified front despite it being the most expensive PHEV of its peers.

This leaves it with an odd split personality of being particularly limited to tight city driving to make the most of its EV features, while its engaging nature beckons more to the open road than some of its rivals. A jack of two worlds perhaps, but a master of neither.

Can you believe there’s actually somebody out there who doesn’t think the Velar is stunning? It’s true, I’ve met him. And for fear of retribution I’ll keep his identity a secret, but let’s just say he’s more of a Suzuki Jimny man. And while I can appreciate the aesthetic ruggedness of the microscopic Jimny, the Velar could not be more different.

The Velar’s design is also vastly different from the traditional giant-brick Range Rover styling with its swept-back profile and smooth, almost line-less surfaces. Look at how those head and tail-lights sit almost completely flush with the panels around them – phwoaar, this is pure car porn.

When the Velar is locked the door handles sit flush against the door panels, like a Tesla’s, and deploy when the car is unlocked - another theatrical hint that the Velar’s designers wanted this SUV to look slipperier than a bar of wet soap.

The images I’ve taken don’t really do the Velar justice. The side shots are with the air suspension at its highest and the front- and rear-three-quarter ones are taken with the Velar on in its lowest setting giving it a tough stance.

The Velar I tested had an HSE badge on the back which means it’s the top grade in the range. If you look closely there’s another plaque, a tiny one, which says R-Dynamic which is a sports pack that adds the air intakes at the front, the vents in the bonnet and gives them 'Burnished Copper' colouring, which looks like a rose gold. Inside the R-Dynamic pack brings bright metal pedal covers and treadplates.

The Velar R-Dynamic HSE’s cabin is beautiful and modern. In Land Rover style the cockpit looks robust with large dials and a clear layout, but the double-decker displays and multi-function switchgear are technologically sophisticated.

The 'Light Oyster' (let’s call it white) 'Windsor' leather seats top off a prestige interior and if you look closely at the perforations a Union Jack will jump out at you. Not literally, that would be very dangerous while driving, but the pattern in the shape of the United Kingdom’s flag will become apparent.

The sliding panoramic roof, the tinted glass and the 'Santorini Black' paint were all options and you can read about how much they cost along with the list price of this Velar below.

The X3 is iconic BMW, having come to be the face of the brand for many buyers, the mid-size SUV exemplifies the Bavarian marque’s ‘kidney grille’, sharp and tall lines, and strongly defined body.

It’s part dainty luxury car and part buff Germanic tourer in equal measure. Suffice it to say fans of the brand will love it, but it’s not going to make converts of anyone else.

Newer design elements which adorn the X3’s body include the striking tail-light design, and little plastic fills below which combine with its contrast bumper and dual-exhaust ports to make for a sporty looking SUV.

The wheels look enormous and add enough chrome to the picture to keep it looking sleek, while subtle badgework has always been a hallmark of a good BMW.

BMWs have always had a relatively minimalist take on the interior design, and overall this is a space in which progress has been made at a glacial pace throughout the brand’s history, wild 7 Series limos being the exception to the rule.

This means the X3 gets the iconic centre-panel, ever so slightly oriented to the driver which houses the two centre air vents and climate control buttons, and a small panel below which houses the volume knob and shortcuts for the radio.

The digital revolution has very much come to the interior of this SUV though, as the top of the dash is adorned with a single enormous panel, and a second one set in the instrument binnacle in a classic fashion. It will all be quite familiar, even if you’ve skipped a BMW generation or two.

The wheel is a key touchpoint, clad in a lovely soft padded leather but with a chunky three-spoke design and massive notches at 10 and two for you to rest your hands on.

I don’t like this wheel in the brand’s more dainty sports cars like the Z4 where it feels too big, but it definitely feels at home in the X3.

Quality materials with plenty of soft-touch plastics and leather trims extend their way into the door, while the software is appealing in its design and fast to respond; clearly backed by strong hardware.

A final thing worth noting is the X3 has one of the more dated interiors in the BMW range. While it has been augmented with digital upgrades over the years, it doesn’t feel as contemporary as the incoming range of cars with the next-gen design elements. Take a look at the iX’s spectacular interior for what you’re missing out on.

The Velar looks large, but the dimensions show it to be 4803mm end-to-end, 1903mm across and 1665mm tall. That’s not enormous, and the snug cabin is a cozy reminder that this is a mid-sized SUV.

Space up front is good for the driver and co-pilot, and while things become a bit tighter in the back, even at 191cm tall I still have about 15mm of legroom behind my driving position. Headroom in the second row is excellent, even with the optional sunroof the test Velar sported.

The Velar is a five-seater SUV, but that uncomfortable middle space at the back wouldn’t be my first choice of places to sit.

Boot space is 558 litres, which is 100 litres bigger than the Evoque’s cargo capacity and about 100 litres smaller than the Range Rover Sport’s.

Air suspension is standard on Velars with the D300 engine and not only does this provide a comfortable ride it also allows you to lower the rear of the SUV so that you don’t have to hoist up your bags so high into the boot.

Storage throughout the cabin could be better, but you do have four cupholders (two in the front and two in the second row), four door pockets (small ones), a centre console bin (also little, but containing two USB ports and 12-volt outlet) and an odd square-shaped hole near the shifter. You’ll find another 12-volt power point in the second row and one in cargo area.

At this price point we’d like to see more in the way of power outlets such as USB ports in the rear and wireless charging for phones as standard equipment.

The X3 is reasonably large on the inside, with a commanding road view and healthy space for an adult in both front seats. The tall roofline leaves plenty of room for someone my 182cm height, while leather-clad soft-touch finishes are present for your elbows and knees.

There’s a large bottle holder and thin bin in each of the front doors, and a wide centre console with a further two bottle holders with adjustable ridges and a large storage bay suitable for a phone below the climate cluster.

This area also houses a USB port and a little shaped notch for you to place the key, and the whole area can be covered over with a retracting lid.

Like all BMWs there are well hidden shortcut buttons for many of the functions which integrate into the design, and there’s a multimedia screen function for most functions, too, controlled through the centre dial system, or via touch.

It’s nice to have both, unlike some Mazdas which use a similar control system, but force you to rely on the dial.

The second row looks a bit flat from a distance, but you do sink into the leather-clad seats nicely, and unlike some rivals in this category, the second row is fixed and not on rails.

Room for a 182cm tall adult is decent, with a little more than adequate knee room and excellent headroom.

The leather trims continue, and true to the sense of being a premium brand the intruding piece of wheelarch is also clad in padded leather. No touching plastic in here.

A single bottle holder appears in each of the rear doors, with a further two in the drop-down armrest, and there’s a netted pocket on the back of each of the front seats.

Rear passengers get their own climate zone with an independent control panel as well as a 12V outlet and two USB-C ports.

Luggage capacity in the boot is rated at 450-litres (VDA), significantly down on the combustion versions of this car. Note in the pictures the stepped boot floor, which is adorned with a chrome trim piece for some reason, as though the car is always reminding you of the lost room.

Still, the squared-off space managed to fit our three-piece CarsGuide luggage set with relative ease and room to spare. There is a thin and narrow slot under the boot floor which serves as a location to place your charging cables.

This plug-in version of the X3 sits near the top of the X3 range, eclipsed only by the M40i performance variant and the fully-electric iX3. This means a starting price of $104,900, which initially doesn’t bode too well for the BMW given its rivals can be had at a lower price.

The similarly-specified Mercedes-Benz GLC 300e starts from $95,700, the Volvo XC60 Recharge starts from $97,990, and the impressively-specified newcomer on the block, the Lexus NX450h+ is the best value of the lot at just $89,900.

You’ll note all of those plug-in models are of the higher specification in their respective ranges, with each manufacturer clearly trying to draw buyers into this tough-to-understand tech by compensating the curious with gear which would otherwise be optional on a pure combustion car.

There are technical elements which play into the value of each when it comes to the PHEV drivetrain which we’ll look at later in this review (it’s particularly important when it comes to how you use and park your car) but we can at least say the X3 xDrive30e comes with a healthy amount of equipment.

Most of this matches the xDrive 30d below it, including large 20-inch alloy wheels, a set of M sport trims, brakes, and adaptive suspension, 'Vernasca’ leather interior trim, adaptive LED headlights and LED tail-lights, ambient interior lighting, a 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity and built-in navigation, a second 12.3-inch screen for the ‘Live Cockpit’ digital instrument cluster, tri-zone climate control, a head-up display, electrical adjust for the driver and front passenger seats, a 12-speaker sound system, and the functionality for over-the-air updates.

The specific inclusions for the xDrive30e include free optional paint colours, a panoramic sunroof, lumbar support in the driver’s seat, front seat heating, wall socket to Type 2 and Type 2 to Type 2 public charging cables, and specific i-branded interior elements.

Normally the sunroof and premium paint are part of a $5400 option pack, while the heated seats, steering wheel, and lumbar support seats are normally a $1200 option, meaning the PHEV variant only leaves you $3400 and a set of ‘Laserlight’ LED headlights worse-off than if you were to apply the same options to the xDrive30d.

Not bad considering it also packs a 12kWh Lithium battery under the boot floor, and a secondary electric motor integrated into its transmission. More on this later.

Land Rover offers a lot of choice when it comes to engines, grades and features… probably too much choice.

The Velar I tested was an HSE grade, but with the D300 engine (the most powerful diesel), a V6 turbo making 221kW/700Nm. You don’t have to step up to the HSE to have this engine, you can have it on the entry level Velar, too.

The D300 is super quiet for a diesel but it’s still clattery, and if you can see this bothering you then there are two petrol engines which make even more power. The thing is no petrol engine in the Velar range comes close to making the same mountainous torque as the D300.

The Velar is an all-wheel drive and it wouldn’t be a proper Range Rover if it didn’t have some sort of off-road capability – which it does. There are several off-road modes from which to choose from mud ruts to sand and snow.

The head-up display will also show axle articulation and the incline angle. Our Velar was fitted with an off-road pack which you can read about below.

The Velar has a braked trailer towing capacity of 2400kg.

An eight-speed automatic shifts beautifully, decisively, smoothly, but a little slowly.

The PHEV version of the X3 pairs the brand’s usual 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with a relatively powerful electric motor integrated into its eight-speed torque converter automatic transmission.

On its own, the engine produces 135kW/300Nm, while the electric motor is capable of punching out 80kW/265Nm. When working together, the EV components can provide a further electrified boost, for a total of 215kW/420Nm, allowing for a 0-100km/h sprint time of 6.1 seconds. This makes the 30e only slower than the M40i and 30d variants in the rest of the X3 range.

The xDrive30e is capable of travelling up to 135km/h under electric power alone, with a surprisingly small 12kWh battery delivering around 41km of pure EV range.

As the electric motor is mounted in the transmission it is capable of driving all four wheels via the brand’s 'xDrive' system with torque vectoring.

Somewhat amusingly, the German documentation for the X3 includes a section for “off road characteristics” (I suppose it is an SUV after all…) and for those interested the xDrive30e can ford at up to 500mm depth, has an approach angle of 25.6 degrees, a departure angle of 22.8 degrees, a breakover angle of 20.0 degrees and a ground clearance of 204mm. Enjoy the trails.

Land Rover says the Velar’s fuel consumption over a combination of open and urban roads is 6.6L/100km. I couldn’t match that, but measured 9.4L/100km at the pump. Still pretty good – if this was a petrol V6, that figure would be higher.

Here’s the tricky bit. The X3 xDrive30e has an official combined fuel consumption of just 3.2L/100km, but this will depend heavily on how you drive it.

You see, the BMW hybrid system is very keen to drive under electric power alone, even in the so-called ‘hybrid’ driving mode. This will mean you will extinguish the battery’s 41km driving range (or 35km according to our test vehicle on a full charge) quite quickly, whether you like it or not.

Plus, the charging capability is a bit slow. At 3.7kW, the PHEV X3 charges its 12kWh battery up in 2.6 hours on a faster public outlet or garage wall box, or around five hours on a wall socket.

To put it in perspective, the Lexus NX 450h+ showed me nearly double the amount of electric driving range on a single charge (65km as-tested) and was capable of charging up at a rate of 7.2kW, meaning a two hour flat charge for twice the range on a public outlet.

The summary boils down to: If you charge up at home, this won’t be as much of a problem, if you need to rely on public charging, it could make a difference to the PHEV you pick.

You can prolong the life of the battery using the ‘battery level’ mode which lets you set a target for battery life and have the car switch to primarily combustion at that point.

This can come in handy if you have a lot of open-road driving, and want to conserve the battery for driving around town where it is most efficient.

On my week with the car I saw an impressive consumption figure of 2.2L/100km according to the trip computer, under the official number, while my energy consumption came in at 20.7kWh/100km against a claim of 16.4kWh/100km. I did make sure to charge the car up at every opportunity, however.

Like all BMWs the X3 xDrive30e requires mid-shelf 95RON unleaded fuel, and has a 50L fuel tank despite the addition of its high-voltage battery.

Plant your foot from a standstill and you’ll see the bonnet heave up and 100km/h rush up to meet you in 6.7 seconds. That was something I never go tired of during my week with the Velar R-Dynamic HSE. I also didn’t become bored with the light and accurate steering nor the great visibility.

But the ride, while comfortable on that air suspension when cruising along smooth motorways, had a sharp edge to it over speed bumps and potholes, which I think was the fault of the 21-inch rims and 45 profile Continental Cross Contact tyres.

The turbo-diesel engine is prone to a bit of lag at times and while that’s not a deal breaker, it sometimes spoiled the moment during a bit of sporty driving when the Velar shifted into a higher gear and I had to wait a moment for the mumbo to return.

That peak torque band is narrow, too (1500-1750rpm) and I found myself taking control of the shifting myself with the paddles to keep within it.

That said the Velar R-Dynamic HSE D300 feels superb and easy to pilot.

If you’re leaving the bitumen the Velar is a lot more capable that its looks may suggest. Our test vehicle was fitted with the optional 'Off-Road Pack' which brings 'Terrain Response 2' and 'All Terrain progress control'. A wading depth of 650mm is not too shabby either.

One of the things I came to love most about this version of the X3 is how seamless the hybrid system is, and how unusually quiet and comfortable this car proved to be.

Sure, it’s a luxury mid-size SUV, but I came away particularly impressed with how the adaptive suspension tune pairs so nicely with the electrified acceleration to make for a sleek driving experience.

Despite its dimensions, the xDrive30e feels light and springy over bumps, filtering out the worst of the road while keeping a good level of control at the wheels.

The stock steering tune in the car’s standard ‘hybrid’ driving mode is nice and light, too, making this mid-sizer feel smaller than it really is to pilot, and you don’t feel the extra weight of the battery pack at all.

The combustion engine is so quiet it is at times difficult to tell when it enters the mix, aside from the fuel consumption meter on the dash suddenly coming to life.

It too is a smooth unit, providing partially electrically-assisted acceleration in most modes which makes it hard to tell when the transmission changes cogs. It’s as though you get the best of both worlds this way.

The car is a bit too keen to rely on its electric driving, and, as mentioned earlier, this will mean it drains its battery relatively quickly unless you take extreme measures like the battery saver mode.

The result is a car which is far better suited to shorter city-based journeys than long tours through the country. At least the turbocharged engine and BMW driving dynamics are left intact should your battery run dry.

The regen braking is mild (able to recoup a max of 20kW at any given moment), although the indicators on the dash are neat for letting you know the limit of your electric acceleration and how far you’ve travelled without using the combustion engine.

On my week with the car I managed over half the distance with the engine completely off. Think of the fuel savings.

Elsewhere the X3 offers great visibility thanks to a boxy shape with big windows, and solid electric acceleration, with decent handling, too. I’d say it feels sportier than the Lexus NX or Merc GLC equivalents, with the ride a bit more forgiving than that of the Volvo XC60 Recharge.

As an EV then the xDrive30e is notably limited, but as an SUV which threads the needle of being both engaging and comfortable, it’s possibly the best of the current premium mid-size SUV PHEV pack.

The X3 range has a healthy list of standard active safety equipment, with items like freeway-speed auto emergency braking, rear auto emergency braking, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and adaptive cruise control.

It also has a speed limit assist function and a rather cool parking suite which gives you a 3D surround picture of the car capable of adjusting to particular angles when objects get close.

The X3 has the standard array of dual front, dual side, and dual head curtain airbags, as well as seatbelt pre-tensioners. There are dual ISOFIX points on the outboard rear seats, or three top-tether mounts across the rear row.

The base X3 offerings have a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating to the 2017 standard, although this plug-in hybrid variant was not available at the time.

The Velar is covered by Land Rover’s three-year/100,000km warranty with servicing for the 3.0-litre V6 diesel variants recommended annually, or every 26,000km.

Twenty-four hour roadside assistance is also available for the length of the warranty. A five-year/130,000km service plan, capped at $2200, is available for the Velar.

BMW languishes with just three-years of warranty coverage. The brand along with its Mini subsidiary has become a notable laggard in the space now, its last remaining Audi rival has moved on to match the five-year and unlimited kilometre promise of its VW parent.

Servicing on BMW models is ‘condition dependent’ meaning the car’s computer will keep track of when servicing needs to happen based on how the car is driven and other factors.

A five-year ‘basic’ service pack is available inside the first 12 months of purchase and covers visits inside this period or 80,000km whichever occurs first. It costs $2010, or $402 a year.