The Volvo XC60 is based on the platform of a regular car, but you might be surprised to hear that Range Rover Velar is as well.
The Velar shares its chassis-technologies for the most part with the Jaguar XE and XF.
Today we've got both cars with petrol engines, producing around 250 horsepower each.
The Volvo has a transversely mounted engine, whilst the Range Rover has a longitudinally mounted engine.
The Velar has clearly been designed with comfort in mind, and it shows in everything.
For starters, the engine. It's a 4-cylinder producing 250 horsepower, and it has a very alert throttle response.
It can deliver its power across a wide rev range as well, so it doesn't have to change gears very often. That's comfortable.
Changing gear itself goes incredibly quick, you almost don't notice it.
If you want to take the reigns yourself, you can change gear using the flappy paddles.
You can't tap the gear lever, because it has a turning knob for its gear choices.
The chassis fits the drivetrain seemlessly, and just like that drivetrain, comfort was the highest priority.
The springs, dampers, everything just feel comfortable. Even when you put it in Dynamic-mode, it's still no athlete.
That's just not in this car, but that's not a bad thing. It feels stable and solid on the road,
and it'll get you where you want to be, even to places other cars can't reach.
It's still a Range Rover after all.
Those Range Rover-characteristics are found in all kinds of driving aid-systems as well.
You've got driving modes like Sport and Comfort, but you also get a range of offroad-modes.
Something it's almost obliged to have. On the inside,
this car doesn't betray its heritage neither. The interior is nice and spacious and the used materials feel good...
and they look good. They really make a premium impression. If we then look at the way the dashboard has been designed,
it's Land Rover/Range Rover-new style all the way. The middle console is dominated by two big screens.
One is even aimed at the driver. Completely according to the new vision of Land Rover and Range Rover.
Even Jaguar has that nowadays. In the back, there's more than enough space. Even when you're 2 metres tall.
And then there's the luggage space, which is a tad bigger than the luggage space in the Volvo.
When we get into the Volvo, we immediately notice everything is meant to be as comfortable as possible.
The engine, which produces 250 horsepower as well, doesn't come short or anything,
but sometimes I get the feeling it has to work a little harder than the engine in the Range Rover. It sounds a little more raw as well.
But those are details, because looking at them as big pictures, both are cars of incredibly high level.
The engine forms a very nice combination with Volvo's automatic gearbox.
There's not a lot to complain about really. You might feel it changing gear a bit more than in the Range Rover,
but those are details behind the decimal point. Volvo has tried to make the chassis as comfortable as possible as well.
Of course, there's a choice between different driving modes. If we select Dynamic, it predominantly changes the chassis instead...
of the drivetrain. The drivetrain remains the same. It sturdies up the air suspension, but it's still comfortable.
You do notice that this car is more nimble than the Range Rover, because this weighs 100 kg less.
You can feel that in the chassis and the steering. It doesn't have a lot of power steering,
but it isn't oversensitive neither. They've found a very nice middle road. A better middle road than in the Range Rover.
Right, the driving aids. It has quite a few, and we can see Volvo has focused on other things than Range Rover,
because the latter mainly focused on the offroad-capabilities. Volvo likes support and safety better.
The car has already taken its first steps in autonomous driving. It's able to neatly stay inbetween the lines and keep distance to the car in front.
Volvo is really making moves in that area. If we take a look at the interior, it looks really good. It has that typical Volvo-minimalism.
Volvo has their own vision of using screens in the interior. For years now, they've stayed loyal to the big vertical screen.
The multimedia-system behind it reacts nice and fast, and the menu structure is relatively simple.
So they're good steps.
So when it's about interior space, the XC60 might be a little more compact than the Range Rover,
but you can clearly notice that the car has been designed for bigger people. I've got lots of space around me and I'm 2 metres tall.
In the front and in the back. Only the luggage space is a hundred litres smaller than in the Range Rover,
but that about sums up most of the important problems in the interior really...
With both cars producing 250 horsepower, both are incredibly pleasant driving machines.
You don't want for much in both, but of course, there are differences.
If we put everything next to each other, the Range Rover is more of a car.
But that comes at a price, because if we look at the price list,
we can see the entry price of the Range Rover with this engine is €76.000, whilst the Volvo is starts at €65.000 with this drivetrain.
That turns around the table, doesn't it?