Land Rover, along with its tonier Range Rover brother, has discovered style.

The original 1948 Land Rover, you may recall, looked like the box it came in. The original 1970 Range Rover looked like . . . uh . . . the box it came in.

Flash forward to the 21st century and, holy Toledo, give the tailor a raise. Land Rover offers the comely Discovery Sport while Range Rover fields such stylin' rides as the Evoque and Range Rover Sport.

To that latter alluring list you can add the all-new, 2018 Range Rover Velar.

In fact, Velar is so confident of a good impression that it reaches out to shake hands -- in the form of flush door handles that, upon the unlock button being pushed by the key holder, horizontally slide out to provide a grip. Nice to meet you, too.

Sharing its aluminum-intensive architecture with the F-Pace, which is offered by corporate cousin Jaguar, Velar slots into the Range Rover lineup just below Sport and just above Evoque.

Although every Velar -- available in base, S, R-Dynamic SE and R-Dynamic HSE trims -- boasts permanent four-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic, this guy offers three engine choices, all artificially aspirated. They include a 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 good for 380 hp; a 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 with 247 ponies (available only in base trim); and a 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 diesel, whose diminutive 180 horses prefer the discussion turn to torque, which is an impressive 317 lb.-ft. at a low 1,500 rpm.

We drove the diesel in R-Dynamic HSE trim and found it to be a sharp handling compact luxury ute that feels peppy around town in the stoplight grand prix, but which plays its hand pretty early, leisurely greeting 60 mph in the mid-8's. The upside is efficiency. The EPA says you'll get 26 mpg in town with this diesel, and we nearly did. In 150 miles, we got 25 mpg.

If you're really serious about off-roading, you may want to talk to the nice salesperson on the other side of the room selling Land Rovers. Range Rover Velar, though certainly game, is really more about urbane style and all-weather traction.

That said, Velar does offer a variety of drive modes that include Mud/Ruts, Sand and Grass/Gravel/Snow. For on-pavement adventure there's Eco, Comfort and, most intriguing, Dynamic. That last one makes a notable difference in throttle response and transmission conduct.

Inside, room is fine up front in supportive seats while rear head room is marvelous, even under the standard panoramic sun roof, and aft leg room is adequate. That rear seat, by the way, has a 40/20/40-split seat back that provides plenty of versatility.

The decor in our HSE R-Dynamic was more hip than elegant, with nary a stick of wood, but plenty of two-tone leather and satin metal and piano-black accents.

Alas, the infotainment interface is more complicated than radar. There are two screens but nary a button. It's all controlled with touch-screen pads and a couple of multi-function knobs. In the absence of tactile-target buttons, any physical contact with either touch screen requires removing one's eyes from the road.

Plan some owner's manual time.

Save that small gripe, Velar is a versatile, athletic and beautiful SUV, and a must-see for Euro-ute fans.