RANGE ROVER EVOQUE CONVERTIBLE Si4 HSE DYNAMIC

Occupying the most niche of niches, this Evoque is a peculiarity that's surprisingly endearing

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A9,47 sec 177 kw/340 N.m 217 km/h UTOMOTIVE oddities abound in the history of the motorcar. Some more recent ones, like BMW’S four-door-coupécum-suv X6, have succeeded in attracting risk-taking buyers; others, such as the Nissan Murano Crosscabriolet, were miserable commercial failures (and, thankfully, the latter was never offered for sale in South Africa).

We mention the Murano because the vehicle you see on these pages – if your eyesight remains unaffected by the intense Solar Orange paintwork – follows the blueprint laid out by the Nissan: take an SUV and chop off its roof. 10,32 L/100 km 201 g/km

We were curious to nd out who, aside from game rangers and the Pope, would leap with excitement at the prospect of a cabriolet-suv. There was certainly a chorus of cynics in the CAR of ce when the – take a breath – Range Rover Evoque Convertible Si4 HSE Dynamic arrived for testing…

But here’s the thing: after driving Land Rover’s ight of fancy, all of CAR’S road testers returned with grins on their faces as wide as the Evoque’s shapely hips. All but one, that is. That member of the team found the vehicle insufferable, penning the word “everything” in the negatives column of the test feedback sheet. Then again, he’s a Land Rover traditionalist, and the British brand isn’t exactly targeting those customers.

Nope, this second-most-expensive Evoque is aimed squarely at those buyers for whom the ability to make a fashion statement is far more relevant than the practical merits of owning such a car. Who cares if it costs more than a million rand when it draws as many stares as a R5 million supercar?