8 photos
The idea of a super-fast, high-performance Land Rover is inherently an odd one. After all, Land Rovers have long been defined by their capabilities off the beaten path, not how quickly they can traverse paved roads. The first Land Rover, the Series 1, could go practically anywhere a wheeled vehicle could travel, and it did it with a mere 50 horsepower. How times change: the 2020 Land Rover Range Rover Velar SVAutobiography Dynamic Edition packs 11 times that. That’s enough to go from a stop to the Series 1’s top speed of 58 miles per hour in roughly four seconds.
In fact, the Series 1 and the SVAD, as I took to calling the Velar SVAutobiography Dynamic, seem about as far apart as two vehicles with the same badge could ever be. The O.G. L.R. is a minimalist machine designed for military and agricultural work; the SVAD is a cosseting, quiet conveyance that’s meant to appeal to people who likely have never resorted to manual labor to pay the bills. The Series 1’s design is simple to the point of brutality; the SVAD is stylized to the point of sexuality.
When it launched last year, I spent an hour or so driving it around the canyons of Malibu, which was enough time to get a first taste of what it has to offer. But a quick spin on a manufacturer’s chosen test route is rarely a good way to truly get to know a new vehicle, so I took the SVAD out for a week in the Northeast to see how it handles the harsh real world. I plowed through Manhattan traffic, hopped Brooklyn curbs, rolled away long hours on Pennsylvania highways with the rig — and even managed to tackle a couple dirt roads. Several hundred miles and one camping trip later, here’s what I learned.
