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The days where there were clearly defined categories of cars has a long past, It feels like anytime there's a distinct class of car, another will come along to slot in between it and its bigger sibling just in case there may have been a customer lurking in the gap.
And Land Rover are the latest mark to find a missing link between two existing models, slotting a car in between the Evoque and the Range Rover Sport.
Meet Velar.
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Under the skin the Valar shares a platform with a Jaguar F Pace, which shouldn't really be a surprise to anyone.
Now that Jaguar are doing SUVs, it's becoming increasingly hard to see where one company ends, and the other one begins.
Engine options vary from a four-cylinder, two-liter diesel option, good for 178 great horsepower, all the way up to a three-liter V6, good for a 375 break, which this is.
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Where the Valer really sets itself aside from its siblings though is in design.
Both inside and out and what they've achieved is a look so clean and so futuristic it looks like the future of Land Rover is here.
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Although it looks unmistakably like a Range Rover it stands out from its siblings immediately.
The deceptive simplicity of the clean lines give Velar an incredibly clean look.
But every time you look back at it, a new detail leaps out at you.
It somehow looks less awkward than the Vogue and less fussy than the Range Rover Sport, without looking bland.
Velar has done away with everything that doesn't absolutely need and what's left is one of the best looking cars Range Rover had ever made.
That quality of exterior styling continues on the inside.
Everything here is absolute premium, but the thing that by far steals the show is the infotainment system.
This is the new touch pro dual system.
Two ten inch screens absolutely dominate the cabin.
Have done away with pretty much every physical switch they could've, and what's next is a really clean, bright, high definition, display that gives you all the information you need.
Initially it's quite distracting when you begin to use it, but quite quickly it becomes intuitive and it really gives this a futuristic feel.
The look of this car inside and out is fundamentally the most important reason why you should pick it in my opinion.
It's hard to say whether or not this jewel touch screen set up will stand the test of time, but today, you'd be hard pushed to find a more attractive infotainment system in any car.
Now the Velar couldn't really call it a true Land Rover product if it couldn't handle some moderate off-roading terrain.
And although we're not throwing it any massive curve balls on that front today.
It is nice to keep in mind that no matter what you throw at a Land Rover product, it should be able to handle it.
Today we're not doing anything more challenging than some loose gravel and some slightly rocky roads.
But like every Land Rover product, and especially Range Rovers, it tackles it with ease and comfort as much as you would expect.
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All Land Rover products have to be capable off road and be able to handle rough terrain but really, essentially we all know there going to To be used out on the roads more than anywhere else.
And the Range Rovers especially, we need to have that luxurious, premium feel.
They need to drive almost like a GT car, be comfortable for as much time as you need to spend in it.
And the Vellar does exactly that.
The interior comfort is sublime, the seats, the touchable services.
Everything feels really, really premium.
But in terms of the drive itself, it's everything that we've come to expect from Range Rover.
It may not have the absolute performance of one of the super charged V8 engines, but this V6 has got some poke to it.
The gearbox, even in its most aggressive modes is a little bit laggy, so if you really want to get the most out of it you have to take control of the gears yourselves And these gear shifters on the back of the steering wheel look and feel quite nice.
So shifting yourself is definitely an option.
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With all the different driving modes available, the vast majority of the time you're going to keep it in auto and just hit drive.
And for that, it is comfortable, yet sharp enough to make you feel connected to the road.
Sport mode, and now I have control of the gear box.
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I shift when I want to shift, and the shifts are now crisp, on time, and exactly where I want them.
The V6 engine notes is a little bit muted, the cabin is so well insulated, you're not really getting that much of the noise coming through.
But It's enough to make you hint at the fact that there's some performance under the hood, and the steering's sharp enough that I can place it pretty accurately round these tight corners.
The parameters you can dial in on the driving modes aren't making massive changes, but it's just enough to change the experience to make it that little bit more exciting, that little bit more engaging.
Or if you want to completely sedate luxurious and comfortable, you can take that little bit of control back and have some real fun or let the car do the work for you.
And then in an environment like this where they use spectacular it definitely is an option to put it back into drives, Select Auto and let the car do the work.
[SOUND] I really love the heads up display unit, which is much brighter than it has been on previous cars and now allows it to have animated prospects.
If I'm shifting myself, I don't have to take my eyes off the road to know when I'm about to hit the redline, because there's a rev counter right there above the speed.
And it's right next to the speed limit, which in Norway is very useful because they are extremely strict here, which means I'm gonna be on the break now, off or so.
Bella is being born into a market place where every manufacture under the sun is trying their hand at an SUV, and seems Audrey to think Of Land Rover competing with the likes of Porsche and Bentley.
30 years ago that would have seemed unheard of but now that's just the way the industry works.
[SOUND] What you have to remember is that although everyone now does SUVs and everyone's trying to make luxury and performance fit in an SUV package That they're all trying to do something that the Range Rover cracked over 40 years ago.
Luxurious, comfortable and capable, this is the house that Range Rover built.
You know when you get in any new Land Rover product that it's going to be competent off road and comfortable for driving on road.
And you know with anything with the Range Rover name Name that.
There's going to be a level of luxury and performance that are really going to satisfy you as a driver.
Where the Velar really stands out though is that all of that has been wrapped up in a package that doesn't just look good, but takes a bold stride forward and creates something genuinely new out on the road.
And that is as much for a passersby watching the car drive down the road as it is for you, the driver sat in this Incredibly luxurious futuristic.
But really usable cabin.
I really, really like this car.
It makes the Range Rover Sport look really try hard even though it has better performance and a more aggressive driving style.
Which normally I would prefer.
It makes the [UNKNOWN] feel kind of silly really.
That design looks so fuzzy in comparison to this.
Velar created a gap in the market for itself.
No one was really crying out for it.
But like any good product from companies like Apple, you don't know you need it until you see it.
This car is such a good looking vehicle.
And although that shouldn't really make that much of a difference to how I perceive it.
It really, really does.
They say beauty is only skin deep but when it's this beautiful well that makes a huge difference.
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