1 best of : 2018 Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic SE Long-Term Update 6: CarPlay vs. InControl

There’s a little-known codicil in the lore of home renovation: Don’t tear up anything unless you want to create new problems.

Perhaps that’s why I shouldn’t have been so heart-set in my desire to have Apple CarPlay retrofit into the Velar’s infotainment system. But the native Land Rover InControl apps are so bad, I basically had abandoned them (check out the hundreds of furious one-star reviews at the AppStore for some entertaining reading).

One $184.99 Smart Phone Pack software reflash at the dealership later, and CarPlay worked great—seamlessly alternating between satellite radio and phone calls and text messages despite the different operating systems.

Unfortunately, the reflash triggered a software cascade elsewhere in the touch-screen display, somehow making it impossible to manually raise or lower the vehicle via the touchscreen controls.

The unresponsive icons were only for ride height. Climate control, radio, and other vehicle controls all worked fine. Out of options, I even jokingly asked Siri to raise the vehicle, to no effect (obviously). The software crash also had the unnerving effect of the Velar automatically lowering itself (and staying there) when placed into park (which resulted in several teeth-clenching scrapes when letting out passenger-side occupants in high-curbed Los Angeles).

Fortunately, I was not alone in my circumstance. Land Rover North America had already determined another software patch was in order. A quick drop at the dealership for another reflash, and everything was back in order.

(A quick note about the dealership: Whoever did the second reflash had not cleaned their hands/clothes/tools before setting about their work; our Velar returned from the service with its center armrest splashed with stains. Some leather cleaner took care of it, but still.)

But enough about telephony. Aside from that glitch, the Velar has continued to be a sleek, appealing ride. It also appears to have become the official vehicle of coastal Los Angeles, given its consistent appearance in transporting my fellow commuters.

MT copy editor Claire Crowley also borrowed the Velar for a weekend. Her second-time-around impressions? “The Velar is sex on wheels, but the cupholders suck. I guess they hold your cup good and tight when you’re rock-crawling, but they’re way too snug for everyday coffee drinking. I had to pry my Peet’s from its G.I. Joe kung-fu grip every time I wanted a sip.”

If you own a Range Rover Velar, those are #FirstWorldProblems.

2018 Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic SE Long-Term Update 6: CarPlay vs. InControl

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