New Range Rover Velar vs. Audi SQ7 and BMW X6

The new Range Rover Velar has a lot of ground to cover, as evinced by the near-£40k spread across its price range. But most of that spread will be at the top end, like this V6 diesel version with HSE trim. At not far off £70k, it’s no giveaway, and is about £7k more than BMW’s X6 and only about £5k less than the seven-seater Audi SQ7 – but those are list prices. It’s in exalted company, but where should your money go?

The biggest and heaviest vehicle here is also the most expensive - Audi, but with a twin-turbo V8 diesel it can hit 60mph in a faintly outrageous 4.5sec, feeling way quicker than the Velar and the BMW. The SQ7’s gearbox is super slick but the eight-speed in the BMW isn’t far behind. The Range Rover, as seems to be a family trend, is slower off the mark with more hesitation, although it’s strong when it gathers its skirts.

The sports car performance from the Audi continues into the handling, where the four-wheel drive and well-tuned suspension allow the sort of handling a big seven-seater has no right to indulge in. Again, the BMW isn’t that far behind, with a sporty approach to country lanes, while the Velar doesn’t like instant changes of direction very much, but it will at least hold in there even if it’s not feeling that happy.

The BMW loses ground though on ride quality, where it feels more solid and least composed over rough surfaces. The Audi is exemplary but so too is the Range Rover, both of them wafting you along in luxurious comfort, with a very settled feel to the ride.

Naturally all three carry you in large, handsome and well thought-out cabins. All three offer the high driving positions you’d expect, but the Velar offers the most comfortable driving position. Rear visibility is better if not brilliant in the Audi, but all three get reversing cameras and sensors front and back as standard.

If you had four very tall people onboard, the Velar might feel very slightly cramped, but this is all relative. They’re all spacious, although the Audi is the only one here with a rear bench seat that can be slid to and fro. The ability to electronically lift two more seats from the boot floor could be a clincher for some families, with those seats highly suitable for smaller people.

Behind them the Audi boot is the biggest here, although neither of the others is exactly small. However the shape of the Velar boot works against it if you’re trying to load up. In our test to see how many carry-on cases we could load, both the BMW and the Audi could take nine, but the Velar only seven.

The facelift for the X6 has made the cabin more up to date and more upmarket, and it’s a good place to be up against the Audi and the Range Rover it falls behind. Both the other two have wonderful cabins, each with a slightly different approach, although the Extended Leather Pack, a £1165 option, really does lift the Velar’s cabin even higher. Are the switches and fit and finish better than the Audi’s? You’d be hard-pressed to say so, but both are superb in their own way.

The Audi’s 8.3in infotainment system is easily as smart as the rest of the cabin, but the 10.3in BMW system is even slicker and bigger. The Range Rover trumps that with two-10in screens stacked in the dashboard face, both covering differing aspects.

We mentioned the list price differences of these three, but that’s before you get haggling. The BMW X6 at that point can be had for the better part of £10k less than the Range Rover Velar and a whopping £13k less than the Audi SQ7. Those are large sums. As a business vehicle the Audi is the most expensive, not helped by the highest CO2 emissions.

But the Audi should lose value slower than the others, and makes a good case for itself with PCP finance. The BMW should be the most economical but they’re all in roughly the same ballpark, and the bigger expense is likely to be the BMW’s quicker depreciation.

The BMW is well equipped, but the Audi and, particularly, the Range Rover Velar, outstrip it – really it’s hard to see what else you could sensible add to the Velar that isn’t included as standard.

We’d place the BMW X6 at the bottom of this particularly exalted pile. It’s good but it feels its age even with a revamp, and the fact that it will lose money the fastest works against it. The new Velar would win if you are seduced – as many will be – by the great looks and the fabulous atmosphere in that amazing cabin.