Annoying Velar throttle response...

[Hard-Drive]

The other half has a 2018 Velar D240 HSE R-Dynamic auto. We are both starting to get a bit annoyed with the throttle response and I wonder if there's a fault.

In everyday driving it basically drives like some 1980s turbo car engine with colossal turbo lag, particularly when pulling away. You put your foot down, and it starts moving with absolutely no urgency for a second or so, then whoooosh and it fires itself up the road. I ended up looking like a complete tool the other day leaving a gravel driveway as after crawling forward for a second we then rapidly transitioned into an embarrassing four wheel wheelspin whilst I frantically removed the lock required to get out of the 90 degree driveway and onto a narrow country road. I'll often find myself having to think ahead a little bit and come off the throttle a second before I actually want the power to cut, or give it a stab to get it moving and then immediately back off the instant it actually starts to go.

Before anyone suggests I'm just a ham fisted (footed?) driver, the o/h and I also have a BMW 520d auto, a Porsche Boxster 2.7 manual, a old school Land Rover Defender 2.5Tdi manual, and a LHD 1968 VW Bus, so we are very used to changes in driving style, turbo or N/A, manual or auto, petrol or diesel, and even LHD or RHD, but it's just really hard to make any kind of smooth progress in the Velar. It's the car, not us.

Probably also worth saying that during lockdown the battery on the Velar went flat and it would not start. I got it going off a jump start pack, but when I tried to drive it, for about 50 yards it would not go any faster than tickover, regardless of throttle pedal input. After 15-20 seconds it then got going...Land Rover Assist came out and "updated the software", however the lag is still there.

Anyone have any similar experiences? Thanks in advance!

[Hard-Drive]

Update...we had LR assist out again, as it had done it's "no poke at all" trick a few times again, and this time I think they diagnosed it correctly. When it started up, the technician immediately said it did not sound right...too much induction noise, and diagnosed a sticking actuator on the variable camshaft system. Took the old one off, and replaced it with a new one...which incidentally now has three oilways on it, rather than just one on the original.

I'm cautiously optimistic, it certainly seems to drive smoother and more predictably. Having a sticking actuator certainly seems to coincide with the occasional "nothing, nothing, nothing, EVERYTHING" power delivery, plus the fact that it felt responsive and fast on the motorway, and then sluggish at much lower speeds. And if it was sticking at different positions each time, this would coincide with the "lottery" of how it would pull away in certain situations.

I'm gobsmacked that for a car so full of electronics, there is not a sensor to show that a large piece of metal in the engine is moving properly between operating ranges, but no, there is no sensor or EML to check that this works.

Whilst I think the throttle mapping is still a bit odd, and nowhere near as linear as you might expect, it's one hell of a lot better than it was. I know there were many "they all do that sir" replies, but clearly this was not right at all...I like to think of myself as a reasonable driver and doing a four wheel wheelspin on gravel through hopeless throttle control is not usually my style!

I did ask if it was a safety recall...if there is a change in the actual design of the part, then clearly LR know it's a problem, but no, it's not a safety issue apparently. I disagree...the problem was so pronounced a couple of times, I could have very easily been rear ended had I/we pulled into fast flowing traffic and it did it's "thing".

Will report back in a few weeks once confidence has been fully restored!