SYDNEY: Land Rover’s Range Rover Evoque is a compact luxury crossover that doesn’t compromise its capability for its style. Delivered with heaping helpings of both, the Evoque is the latest status symbol from Land Rover. Two new trim levels are added at the upper end for 2015, the Autobiography and Autobiography Dynamic.
Land Rover also introduces a new suite of connectivity technologies (the Land Rover InControl Apps) that enable smart phone apps to be displayed and controlled with their original look and feel from the Range Rover’s touchscreen.
The Range Rover Evoque has only been around since 2011, but it has won lots of accolades from the public for its cutting edge style and capability. More than 270,000 units have been sold worldwide.
Indeed, the Evoque looks different from its stable mates at Range Rover, sort of like the stylish little brother that never really wanted to work on the farm anyway. Other Range Rovers and Land Rovers seem more suited for the toils that start where the pavement ends, but the Evoque is more suited for the valet line at the Four Seasons. Nevertheless, the Evoque is still a Range Rover, which means you can dirty it up all you want on the trails.
Powering the 2015 Range Rover Evoque are a pair of turbocharged 4-cylinder engines. All models but the top-end Autobiography Dynamic have a 2.0-liter engine that kicks out 240 horsepower and 250 lb.-ft. of torque. The Evoque Autobiography is powered by a turbo 4 that develops 285 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque. The standard transmission is a 9-speed automatic.
The turbocharged 4-cylinder in our test Evoque was surprisingly powerful, but required heavy throttle to push the vehicle up to speed on the highway. At interstate speeds, the little engine did fine. Steering was on center and precise.
The cabin of the Evoque is top notch and brilliantly executed. As far as space inside goes, occupants are fine in the front seat with comfortable power bucket seats. But because the Evoque’s roof slopes rearward, headroom in the rear seat is a little lower. In the rear seat, the hair atop my 6-foot-1 frame brushed against the sliding blind of the fixed glass moon roof, which by the way is fabulous.
The blind on the wide moon roof opens all the way back to above the rear headrests. The moon roof is part of the Pure Plus package ($3,000) that also includes powered leather seats with lumbar and memory, fog lights, power headlight washers, 19-inch wheels and a power tailgate. The glass ceiling is one of the reasons the inside of this small SUV feels larger than it is. Gauges and controls are intuitively simple, and include two round gauges (speedometer and tachometer) behind the steering wheel. A driver information center separates the two. An 8-inch touch screen atop the center stack is crystal clear.
Fuel economy is better than you’d think in the 2015 Evoque – 21 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the road for a 24 mpg combined rating. And if you’re one of the few and the proud who will want to take the Evoque off-road, the all-terrain system has settings for general, snow, mud and sand.
The Evoque has not been safety tested, but has seven airbags including a driver’s knee airbag, anti-lock brakes, stability and traction control, as well has hill-descent control.
2015 Land Rover
Range Rover Evoque 5-door
Engine:
2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder
Horsepower/Torque:
240/250 lb.-ft.
Transmission:
9-speed automatic with paddle shifters
Base price:
$41,100 plus freight
($49,319 with options)
EPA mileage rating:
21 mpg city / 30 mpg highway
