Which Velar is best for island roads?

My son lives on Guernsey and is in the process of ordering a new Range Rover Velar. He’s undecided about which engine to go for: the P300 petrol or the D275 diesel. I’ve told him that he should consider the petrol, because he mainly makes short journeys, and I’m concerned that this type of driving could cause the diesel particulate filter (DPF) in the D275 model to clog up. His only chance to give it a long run comes with the one or two journeys he makes to the mainland each year. He knows a couple of people with diesel Land Rover models on Guernsey and they’ve had no problems, but I’m still concerned about the DPF and would be grateful for your advice.

Derrick Blackwell

WHAT CAR? SAYS…

We understand your concerns about running a diesel-engined car on a small island; DPFS need to get up to temperature in order to burn off the soot they accumulate, and this is typically best done over a fairly long journey.

It’s reassuring to hear that other diesel Land Rover drivers on the island haven’t experienced issues, and data from the most recent What Car? Reliability Survey shows that exhaust and emissions issues weren’t major causes of concern either on the Velar or on other Land Rover vehicles that share the same 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine.

If your son is sold on diesel, the 2.0-litre D180 is our pick of the Velar range. Not only is it gutsy enough for most people’s needs, but it’s also cheaper to buy than the D275, with big discounts available on it through the What Car? New Car Buying service, and it will be far less expensive to run.

However, given the nature of the journeys that your son makes most frequently, we’d suggest that the P300 would be a better fit for Guernsey’s roads than any of the diesel models, and its petrol engine removes any doubts about clogged DPFS.

VELAR VARIETY

The range of engines on offer in the Velar is wide, from a thrifty 178bhp 2.0-litre diesel right through to a monstrous 542bhp supercharged petrol V8.