When I walked out and saw the 2018 Range Rover Velar in my driveway, it seemed much longer than I had imagined it might be. It is the newest luxury midsize sport-utility vehicle on the U.S. market.

For it to exceed my expectations was of no surprise, for Land Rover, builder of Range Rover products, does nothing in a small way.

Sizewise, the Velar is third in line behind the full-size Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. The Velar at 113 inches is only 2 inches shorter in wheelbase than the others; its overall length of 189 inches compares with 197 for Range Rover and 192 for the RR Sport.

The Velar, larger than the Range Rover Evoque (a compact), has curb weight of around 4,225 pounds.  That’s 500 pounds heavier than the Evoque, and of at least that much lighter than the heavier Sport and Range Rover.

Among competitors for the new model are Lexus RX350, BMW X5, Volvo XC90, Cadillac XT5, Lincoln MKX and others.

It carried Jan and me, along with Dick and Bernice Muller to Sterling for the 60^th wedding anniversary party for Duane and Millie Muller at the Logan County Heritage Center. Duane and I are cousins, born three weeks apart at Wray many years ago.

The highway drive along U.S. 34 to Wiggins, then I-76 to Sterling, brought out the best of fuel mileage for the diesel-powered Velar – averaging 30 miles per gallon there and back.

The high-mileage reading from the 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine will decline in stop-and-go maneuvers, and a power-lag pause occurs at lower speeds before the turbo kicks in. The diesel delivers 317 lb.-ft. of torque and 180 horsepower. Two gas-engine options for the Velar are a turbocharged 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder of 247-hp and a supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 of 380-hp. All three are tied to an 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.

The Velar I drove is the R-Dynamic HSE edition, finished in byron blue exterior and light interior. Velar was the identity used on Range Rover prototypes before Land Rover launched it into actual production in 1970. The Velar is built in Solihull, United Kingdom.

In Range Rover tradition, the Velar rides smoothly and quietly. It is equipped with a coil-spring suspension. Its gloss-black-finished 20-inch spoked wheels are a standout, with Pirelli Scorpion 255/50R20 tires.

Land Rover’s lane-keeping assist gently nudges the SUV back into its driving lane when it wanders near the lane-divider stripe on the highway; it is also equipped with emergency brake assist. The lane-keeping system wasn’t as noticeably effective as was that of the Audi Q7 several months ago.

The Velar shows a clamshell hood and straight body sides, broken by popout door handles which retract when the car is locked or shifted into gear.

Highlighting the interior are white Windsor leather seating and the Touch Pro Duo 10-inch screens for infotainment, climate and driving modes of comfort or dynamic, with terrain choices, too. Previously, a dial shifter (like the automatic transmission shifter) was provided for terrain settings; this new one is selected on one of the two touchscreens. The upper screen offers controls for navigation, phone and media, while the lower screen controls climate, seat functions and the terrain response settings.

The Velar offers a large rear cargo space of 34.4 cubic feet, with adjustable tiedown rails on each side. Its tailgate can be automatically opened by swinging a foot beneath the rear of the vehicle.

From a base price of $69,100, the Velar sticker price jumped to $75,415 with addition of heated windshield and steering wheel, four-zone climate control, surround-camera, remote release for rear seat, Meridian surround sound and ebony black headliner.

Among standard items are rearview camera, park assist, Bluetooth connectivity and streaming, push-button start, heated rear window, automatic headlights and headlight leveling.

I’ve driven the 2018 Outlander GT and Outlander Sport, a couple of slow-selling crossovers for Mitsubishi, the Japanese car company hard-pressed in recent years to become the forgotten car company.

The Outlander is a midsize, the Outlander Sport is a compact; their individual sales totals, as well as the overall sales by Mitsubishi, are all near the bottom for the industry in the U.S.

Hope exists, though, as Mitsu officials will unveil what they call a rebound entry at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show. Shining bright in the company’s small space at the extravaganza will be a compact crossover; not only is it red but it is called the Eclipse Cross, reviving an old name from a coupe/roadster last sold in 2012.

The new Eclipse Cross will fit between the Outlander and Outlander Sport, sizewise. While all three models share a 105.1-inch wheelbase, the Outlander is 184.8 inches in overall length, the Eclipse Cross will be 173.4 inches and the Outlander Sport is 171.5.

The Eclipse was a sporty, strong-selling coupe and convertible 20 years ago, when Mitsubishi sold almost 200,000 vehicles a year, and even 10 years ago with company sales at 130,000 in the U.S. Mitsubishi expects to nudge past 100,000 sales by the end of next month.

Whether the Eclipse name can stir appeal as a crossover similar to what it did as a sports model remains to be seen.

Of Mitsubishi’s 86,000 sales over the first 10 months of this year, 55,000 of them, or 63 percent, are from the Outlander and Outlander Sport SUV crossovers. They have an even split between them.

In driving the two Outlanders, I realized how noticeably short they are of high-tech features. Traveling to Hacienda Colorado, Westminster, for a wedding reception for granddaughter Hannah Zink and Mike Mckenner, I got directions through my iPhone for lack of navigation in the Outlander.

Neither crossover offered an optional turbocharged engine. Acceleration was on the mild side; the ride was decent in the bigger Outlander, a three-row vehicle.

The new Eclipse Cross, when it hits the showrooms, will sport new styling, offer a direct-injection turbocharged engine, head-up display, touchpad controller and rear heated seats.

Performance for the Outlander GT came from a 3.0-liter V-6 engine and 6-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters and Super All-Wheel Control. The V-6 delivers 224 horsepower and 215 lb.-ft. of torque, and S-AWC can be moved from Normal to Snow to Economical AWC or locked in all-wheel-control.

The Outlander Sport got by with a 2.4-liter, 4-cylinder, continuously variable transmission and all-wheel-control; it averaged 25.2 miles per gallon, with an EPA estimate of 23/28. The bigger Outlander, with an EPA rating of 20/27, averaged 21.9 mpg.

The addition of forward-collision mitigation, lane-departure warning and adaptive cruise pushed the Outlander’s sticker price to $34,150. The same package, plus Rockford Fosgate premium audio and panorama roof, raised price of the Outlander Sport to $29,110.

Both are built in Okazaki, Japan.

The Sport version of the 2017 Edge puts Ford among the top tier of two-row midsize SUV/crossovers.

With a firmed-up suspension tied to 21-inch wheels, EcoBoost under the hood, all-wheel drive and a huge cargo area at the rear, the Edge is attractive as a family hauler.

Among other two-row competitors are Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Murano, Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, GMC Acadia All-Terrain, Volkswagen Touareg.

Only the Jeep Grand Cherokee Hemi V-8 has more power than the Edge Sport. The Ford’s 2.7-liter V-6 EcoBoost V-6 delivers 315 horsepower and 350 lb.-ft. of torque, and at midrange would give even the Hemi a run for its money.

In addition to its turbo power, the 2.7 EcoBoost carries an EPA fuel-mileage estimate of 17 to 24. With about three-fourths of my 450 miles of driving on the highway, the Edge averaged 22.5 miles per gallon overall.

The Edge Sport has a relatively wide track of almost 65 inches and rides on Pirelli Scorpion 265/40R21 tires. Its wheelbase is 112.2 inches, overall length 188 inches and curb weight 4,080 pounds.

It perfectly parked itself very rapidly into a parallel spot with its active park assist system. Ford was one of the first to introduce this feature a few years ago and appears to have improved upon it. With my hands off the steering wheel, the system quickly backed the Edge into position along the curb.

A swing of my foot beneath the rear bumper opened the rear liftgate automatically. Its cargo space is one of the roomiest at 39.2 cubic feet; fold the rear seats and the open area expands to 73 cubic feet.

Among its many safety features are inflatable seatbelts for the rear seats, in which, in a crash, a tubular airbag unzips from the seams of the seatbelts across the occupant’s chest.

The beefed-up Edge Sport becomes somewhat pricey; the model I reviewed carried a sticker price of $47,575. It included voice-activated touchscreen navigation, remote start, heated and cooled front seats and heated rear seats, lane-keeping system, rain-sensing wipers and adaptive cruise/collision warning.

The Edge one morning carried Jan and me from out east in Aurora across the metro area as far as U.S. 287, then north to Berthoud, where we joined Don and Nadine Cassata and Ed Hart in looking over a 1928 Dodge Victory Six sedan.

The Dodge belonged to Nadine’s father, the late Maurice Nelson, and the Cassatas have given some thought to selling it. I heard it run; it sounded good and smooth. It is a flathead-6, the engine design long-used by Dodge until 1960, when it introduced the Slant-6.