2012 Range Rover Evoque Road Test Review

Ever since the first Range Rover was introduced to the world in 1970 - and indeed since its ancestor the Land Rover debuted in 1948 - the brand has played from a familiar songbook. But with the Evoque, Range Rover is switching up the beat.

While previous Range Rovers have included some nice design details, they have all been large vehicles with design emphasis placed on practicality and off-road capability, and their styling has been of the distinctive "two-box" variety. The Evoque, on the other hand, is a compact, forward-looking exercise in style - the first Range Rover that's focused first and foremost on design and city capability.

"The Evoque should appeal to customers who are not interested in the Land Rover or the bigger Range Rovers," says Andrew Polsinelli, general manager of product planning for Land Rover in North America. "It's for customers who want something smaller, more efficient and easier to park - something sustainable."

He could have added that it's for customers who want something visually stunning, because the Evoque started out as a concept car (the Land Rover LRX Concept) and unlike most concept cars it has been put into production with its futuristic good looks intact. Designer Gerry McGovern has penned a wedge-like shape with a rising beltline and tapering roofline that, together with the bulging front fenders, give the Evoque a forward-biased muscularity reminiscent of a lion perhaps, or a bison.

There are enough echoes of the familiar Range Rover theme song to keep the Evoque in the family - the perforated two-bar grille, the clamshell hood and the crisp, straight body lines - but the overall effect neatly leapfrogs every other SUV and crossover on the market and sets a new bar for what constitutes a modern-looking crossover.

The design magic continues inside, too: Premium quality materials are used throughout, of course, with buttery-soft leather seating, soft-touch surfaces and a host of metallic and woodgrain accents depending on the trim level you select. The seats are all very comfortable, and there's more room in the back than the rakish design would suggest. The outward visibility is also much better than it might appear, although the back windows in the coupe are certainly a bit on the narrow side. An available panoramic glass roof helps create a more spacious ambience in the rear, and judging from the reaction of Range Rover's engineers when I suggested they should put in a sliding convertible top like the Fiat 500's, it sounds as if that particular feature might already be in development.

Interior details include ambient lighting, an eight-inch touch-screen, and a drive selector knob that rises up out the centre console when you start the car, then glides down flush with the console when you shut the engine off. The centre console itself is designed so that it appears to continue under the central dash panel and pop back into view by the centre air vents - a neat, and unexpected, touch.

Audio entertainment is provided by a selection of stunning Meridian audio systems. Meridian builds some of the world's most exclusive and highly regarded home audio equipment, and the systems in the Evoque (a 380-watt, 11-speaker base system and an 825-watt, 17-speaker upgrade) are a treat for the ears, offering exceptional clarity and dynamic range. As one would expect, there's USB and Bluetooth connectivity, with two devices capable of being connected at once.

Under the hood, the Evoque gets a 2.0-litre, 240-horsepower direct-injection turbocharged 4-cylinder engine based on Ford's EcoBoost family of engines, and hooked up to a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle-shifters. Acceleration to 100 km/h takes just over seven seconds, and city/hwy fuel economy is rated at 10.7 / 7.1 L/100km.

During the Evoque's North American launch in Vancouver and Whistler, we got a chance to experience conditions ranging from unencumbered freeway cruising to slow uphill rock-crawling, and the Evoque's powertrain delivered the goods without fault. Around town, the turbocharged engine offers lively acceleration (although not fast enough to avoid the gawking stares from passersby swiveling around for a second look) and on the highway it ticks along below 1,800 rpm to help deliver those impressive fuel economy figures (that said, our actual highway mileage was closer to the rated city mileage, partly because we were ascending from sea level to 652 metres altitude).

As well as decent fuel economy the Evoque delivers excellent ride and handling. The electronic power steering is nicely weighted and turn-in is crisp and accurate. There's plenty of grip from the standard 18-inch tires, and 19-inch or 20-inch wheel upgrades offer even better adhesion. An exceptionally low centre of gravity helps keep the Evoque planted in fast corners, and MagneRide magnetic-fluid shocks adjust 1,000 times per second to adapt to changing conditions, allowing reasonable off-road suspension travel while still providing a supple, controlled ride on the road.

Off the road, the Evoque still has Range Rover's go-anywhere DNA: The press launch drive started out with the test cars parked on a barge, and we had to drive onto land through almost knee-deep water, a feat easily accomplished thanks to the Evoque's impressive 20 cm (8 inch) ground clearance and semi-amphibious 50 cm (19.7 inch) wading capability. Once we reached Whistler, the route included a drive up to the top of Blackcomb Mountain and back down again, and the Evoque's Terrain Response four-wheel drive system - which features a Haldex centre coupling and settings for mud and ruts, grass/gravel/snow, and sand - allowed the little SUV to scramble up the rocky, mountainous fire roads and short sections of steep ski runs with ease. There's also a hill descent control system to make going down equally easy.

The Evoque's all-around good performance is undoubtedly helped by the fact that Range Rover's engineers spent a great deal of effort whittling away unnecessary weight. The body uses a combination of ultra high-strength Boron steel, magnesium and aluminum, and as a result the Evoque is comparatively svelte for a four-wheel drive crossover (it tips the scales at about 1,770 kg or 3,902 lbs) yet exceptionally rigid: Going down Blackcomb Mountain we managed to get our test car delicately balanced on two diagonally-opposite wheels, with not a creak of protest from the body structure and no discernible flexing at all.

Range Rover offers the Evoque as a 5-door hatchback (starting at $46,995) or a 3-door Coupé (starting at $52,595), with three trim levels: Pure, Dynamic and Prestige. At this price the Evoque will be competing head-to-head with the likes of Audi's Q5, BMW's X3, and Mercedes' GLK … although when it comes to style, one might ask if the Evoque really has any competition at all.
©(Copyright Canadian Auto Press)

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