ROAD TEST RANGE ROVER EVOQUE 4WD DYNAMIC TD4: WELCOME TO NEXT year's ultimate fashion accessory. You can keep your Jimmy Choos and your Prada purses. The Range Rover Evoque is aimed at adding some chutzpah to the upper classes – and giving those not quite there a leg up to the horsey set.
For the untitled commoner, Range Rover tends to signal someone with more than a smallholding to his or her name and an early-learned ability with a shotgun. Game to them is something you shoot and eat, not play.
The new Evoque, however, is more in tune with fashionistas than the well-heeled farming set. It’s the Kate Midleton of the SUV world, aiming to bring the unmuddied into the fold.
So just how evocative is the new Evoque? If head-turning appeal is a measurement of success, then this new baby Range Rover will be a permanent feature outside the finer eateries of Ireland every afternoon. If we weren’t in a recession, the car park at Avoca would certainly be over-run with these.
Aimed unashamedly at the ladies who lunch, the Evoque has signed up a stable of fashionistas as brand ambassadors. First up was Victoria Beckham, who apparently lent her critical fashion talents to the interior, though given that the car looks remarkably like the Jaguar interior format, perhaps she merely pointed at an XF and said “that please”. Still, I’m sure she said it with such new-moneyed aplomb that it dazzled the mere mortals who make their life’s work engineering such things. Since it received Victoria’s imprimatur, the paparazzi followers have been eager to get behind the wheel.
Whatever about the progeny of the interior styling, the exterior is as striking as the original concept unveiled several years ago. Few expected the stylised prototype to ever see the road. Yet here it is in all its glory, as dramatic and shapely as the clay models designers moulded and shaved into shape. To give such bold design the green light all the way to production takes a certain bravery in the boardroom, and so all credit to those at the helm of Land Rover and Jaguar these days for having the courage of their convictions.
The front nose is striking, the rear dramatically solid and chunky. A few visual tricks are at play to make the car’s rear appear to slope down much more than it actually does. One trick is the pinching of the base of the glasshouse as you move towards the rear and the high tapering of the crease lines on the metal. It’s deceptive, for when you look closely you see the roofline doesn’t taper down until well after the rear seat headroom has been accommodated, and we had no problems transporting two adults in the back with decent legroom and room for a child in the middle, if needed. It’s perfectly capable of catering for the school run and then grabbing some shopping from the nearest artisan market stall.
While the landed gentry will still opt for the big and bold daddy of the range, the Barbour-wearing wannabes in the suburban palaces can’t really stand over such a big vehicle for the town run, particularly as it carries a hefty €2,100 tax bill every year. The Evoque answers all these concerns.
The 2.2-litre diesel has good cruising power and pulls away confidently, though perhaps without the same surge you get from its rivals. There is a higher-powered 190bhp version with the same emissions that we would be tempted to opt for but, in fairness, there’s not much in it against the opposition. The steering is precise enough, though it suffers a little from over-electronic numbness at times.
The six-speed manual transmission, however, is a real treat. With short-throw changes it would fit the bill in smaller sports coupés and its ratios are well matched to the engine up front. There’s an automatic version that others have raved about, but it pushes emissions up to 174g/km and thereby annual motor tax up to €630. The manual is so smooth as to forgo the autobox and save some money. Or spend another €1,485 on opting for the more powerful 190bhp version.
On the road, its ability is as refined as you’d expect from a Range Rover. The turning circle suffers when compared to your average car, while there is a degree of leaning in corners that comes from a car of this height. Overall, the handling is perhaps not as sharp as the Audi A5 and BMW X3 but it’s only by a matter of degrees and there’s not enough in it for most drives to make us turn away from the Evoque.
Ultimately, none of its rivals make the same bold statement as the Evoque and that’s where it really outshines the opposition. The rest are merely miniatures of flagship SUVs. This might be the “baby” Range Rover but, unlike its rivals, it has a personality all its own.
Inside, courtesy of Mrs Beckham, no doubt, there are some nice touches, not least a dashboard graphic that flashes up your emissions at the set speed during cruise control. Pop up to sixth and at 120km/h we were emitting over 200g/km. That’s significantly more than the average 149g/km upon which the car is taxed.
The interior is bespoke and features the Meridian touchscreen system. Most of its features can also be controlled through the buttons on the steering wheel. It’s a smart, intuitive system, but it had a few niggling issues. Once in a while, it got stuck in the wrong menu when operating my iPod, while the rocker switches on the steering wheel can as easily adjust the volume as change the station if you are not very careful.
These issues don’t detract from the premium quality of the equipment but they feed into some preconceived notions about electronic gadgets and British cars. After all, the English have never been regarded as the brightest sparks when it comes to automotive electronics.
The other issue I had with the car was certainly not its fault. On a visit to Derry I picked up a puncture. A kindly soul let me use his pressure pump that gave me enough air to get to a local tyre centre where, after a five-hour wait for a replacement to come from Belfast, I finally got back on the road. With no spare tyre and just a bottle of the emergency gunk they offer to get you down the road, a puncture is the Achilles heel of even the most rugged modern car. And with the Evoque only on the road in the last few weeks, its tyres are only now making their way to centres.
Those gripes aside, I did really fall for this beefy Range Rover. Starting at just over €40,000, it’s competitively priced. Take into account that the upcoming two-wheel drive version will start below that, and you really see how this car could steal an awful lot of sales from the likes of the Audi and BMW market.
Every few years a car comes across that breaks the mould and the Evoque does just that. It has the star quality that means it will outshine its rivals, regardless of the others’ reputations or marginally superior on-road characteristics.
It’s the answer to all the prayers of Land Rover dealers who, up to now, were undoubtedly wondering if they’d ever reach triple-figure sales again. But they are in for a bit of a culture shock: where once their showrooms echoed to the squelch of wellies, they’re going to resonate to the click of high heels.
FACTFILE
Engine2,179cc four-cylinder 16-valve in-line turbodiesel putting out 148bhp and 400Nm of torque with a six-speed manual transmission and full-time four-wheel-drive with rear axle differential
0-100km/h10.8 secs
Maximum speed185km/h
L/100km (mpg)urban – 6.7 (42.2); extra urban – 5.2 (54.3); combined – 5.7 (49.6)
Emissions (tax)149g/km (€302)
Price€50,295 (prices start at €42,540)
THE RIVALS
Lexus RX Hybrid (FWD)
Bhp247
Torque317Nm
0-100km/h7.8 secs
Bootspace446 litres
L/100km (mpg)6.1 (46.3)
Emissions (tax)140g/km (€156)
Price€58,420
Volvo XC60 2.0D D5 AWD SE
Bhp215
Torque420Nm
0-100km/h8.5 secs
Bootspace655-1,455 litres
L/100km (mpg)5.6 (50.4)
Emissions (tax)149 g/km (€301)
Price€51,915
BMW X3 2.0d Xdrive SE
Bhp183
Torque380Nm
0-100km/h8.5 secs
Bootspace550-1,600 litres
L/100km (mpg)5.6 (50.4)
Emissions (tax)149g/km (€302)
Price€46,360
Audi Q5 2.0 TDI (143bhp) Quattro Sport
Bhp143
Torque320Nm
0-100km/h11.4 secs
Bootspace540-1,560 litres
L/100km (mpg)6.2 (45.6)
Emissions (tax)162 g/km (€447)
Price€49,750