Range Rover Evoque: The Automotive Style Statement

Back in 2011, while most car companies were still teasing people with laughable and unrealistic concept cars, the boys at Land Rover decided to produce a car that was a spitting image of their LRX concept car despite being road legal and useful in the real world. The resulting SUV was the brilliant Range Rover Evoque and the world instantly fell in love with it. This gave Land Rover the push to make outlandish cars like the Velar which barely resembles a production car (but it sure is breathtakingly handsome to look at). Thank you, Evoque.

Now apart from being a design icon, the Evoque was also well built, reliable and felt great to drive around in and since they have a refreshed model out for 2018, let's see whether it still puts up a good fight in the compact SUV segment.

Driving and Performance:

Under the hood, there's a 2 liter, four-cylinder turbocharged unit mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission pumping out 237 hp and 250lb-ft of torque which puts it above the Audi Q3 and BMW X1 performance-wise as both those cars put out close to 200 horses from their four-bangers.From a standstill, this Rangey reaches 60mph in a brisk 6 seconds making it quicker than the X1 that does the run in 7.9 seconds and almost a second quicker than the Q3 that does it in 6.9 seconds. In conclusion, the Evoque is one of the fastest cars in its segment which means it backs up its looks with solid performance figures.

Interior:

If you take a look inside the more expensive Range Rovers like the Vogue and Sports models, you'll find that the center console, dashboard and mostly all the dials on them are all based on the design language of the early Evoques. You won't be wrong as this was one of the first Land Rover models to showcase the new and improved infotainment system and dash design which went on to be used in many other Land Rover models. The seats are supportive and very well made with beautiful leather stitching and ample height but tall passengers may feel a little uncomfortable in the rear of the Evoque since it's a little cramped to make more room for the boot.

Everything on the inside is pretty much standard issue features for a luxury SUV like this one such as heated seats, climate control, lumbar support seats, selector knob to select driving modes, electronic seat adjusters, ambient lighting and so on. Although Bluetooth connectivity is standard, it does not feature Apple Carplay or Android Auto in any specific for some weird reason. For a luxury SUV with a futuristic design language and luxury SUV- like aura, the lack of smartphone connectivity aside from Bluetooth is a little disappointing.

If you're going to buy one of these, make sure you check the brochure properly because it's easy to lose track of what you're actually buying since the Evoque comes in no lesser than 10 trim lines. Phew.

In terms of body styles range rover evoque specs includes, there's the five-door, three-door and convertible models each of which has sperate trims like SE, HSE Dynamic and HSE premium with slight changes in the number of interior and exterior features along with certain Performance gains or losses.

Exterior:

The most defining feature of the Evoque must be its gorgeous, contemporary designthat hasn't aged a day since its release in 2011. The bold front fascia makes a statement wherever you go and looks classy even when it is parked next to bigger, broader SUVs.

The sloping roofline perfectly suits the linear and geometric lines on the side profile of the Evoque and gives it a certain charm that is unseen in other compact SUVs. In terms of sheer sex appeal, the Evoque is pretty much the Ryan Gosling of compact SUVs.

Verdict:

It's expensive, it doesn't feature Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, it has a little bit of body roll, the rear is umm..kind of cramped and it's pricier than the competition but the Evoque has a larger than life persona that just demands to driven and enjoyed on the open road. It isn't a fully fledged luxury SUV either but it is loaded with everything you look for in a top-model Range Rover and has enough performance to leave the X1s and Q3s of the world in your dust.

There's no doubt that this is the most charming SUV out there and will definitely go down as a future classic in the next decade or two. So, it's a great buy no matter which spec you choose but since there is a 2019 model coming up real soon, it's wise to wait for a little longer if you're serious about buying an Evoque.