RANGE ROVER EVOQUE
The baby Velar ramps up the desirability quotient
NOBODY NEEDS AN EVOQUE. For the same price a Discovery Sport, also updated this month, gives you a better ride, crunchier off-roading, more practicality, more space, and even a third row of seats. Then again, where's the fun in buying just what you need? A G-Shock tells you the time better than a Speedmaster, but who wants a G-Shock?
The Evoque, then, is a classic case of heart over head, an SUV that has fashion at its very core. When they first did the Evoque eight years ago, Victoria Beckham was roped in as a styling consultant. It broke off from the big and chunky SUV mould and made style, nay fashion, at the core of everything. It was the first of the compact premium SUVs. It was a risk — and it paid off, so handsomely that this is now Range Rover's most important model, sales having not tapered off even in its run-out year. It also laid down a very important baseline for the brand: that every Range Rover must look like a million bucks.
Which this new Evoque does! It looks fantastic! Now I'm not a fan of me-too styling running through all the models in the line-up, something which Audi pioneered and Mercedes are adopting, but then again the Evoque borrows its sexiness from the Velar — the most beautiful car of recent times — so who am I to critique the move? Slim lighting, flush door handles, copper accenting on the air-dam, the shallow glass house, tapering floating roof, it's all stunning. It's what you'd call the bee's knees. If I had to criticise something, it would be the 18-inch wheels on this D180 test car that look too small; much like the Velar this new Evoque needs big wheels to complement the design, and to hell with the ride quality.
I'm actually surprised that our first taste of this new Evoque is of the lower-spec D180, because when you step inside, the first thing you notice are regular analogue dials, which Land Rover doesn't do very well. There is an SE variant that for not much more money
(relatively speaking, considering the range starts at over `50 lakh) gets you digital dials which, Land Rover does do very well. Then there's the Touch Pro Duo twin-screen that only the SE trim gets. This Evoque has a large expanse of black glass that just attracts fingerprints without doing very much. Without the lower touchscreen, operating the air-con blower becomes a fiddly affair and, worse, the Terrain Response is activated by an insignificant little button next to the air-con blower switch which then illuminates the modes that you activate using the air-con temperature dial. I'm really bummed out by this because it trivialises what should be a matter of pride on anything that wears the
Land Rover badge — the off-road ability.
On the actual off-roading though, I can tell you it does its maker justice. We didn't push it to its ultimate limit but the 212mm ground clearance allied to the short wheelbase means it clears all obstacles without grounding, and the traction it musters, the ease with which you can meter out the power while tip-toeing on rocky trails, it all raises an eyebrow of appreciation.
Now you wouldn't get a speck of dirt on your Ferragamo's so let's focus on what really matters — how it drives on tarmac. The old Evoque was stiff and, in part due to these small-ish wheels, the new one rides appreciably better. It rounds off sharp
bumps in the city, doesn't float about on the highway, and your passenger doesn't complain about your driving. It tackles twisties with the enthusiasm you'd expect of something small and short with well-controlled body roll. I was going to say small and light but the Evoque, at a shade over 1.8 tonnes is hardly light, despite its aluminium construction. What it is, is all-new. Apparently only the door hinges are carried over from the previous Evoque, otherwise this Premium Transverse Architecture is 99.9 per cent new and is engineered to allow the addition of plug-in hybrid versions in the days to come.
Back to the handling, there's torque vectoring (via the brakes) to polish up the cornering and the steering is well-weighted and responsive for an SUV. Highway manners are excellent with rock-solid stability and bump absorption that gets better as speeds increase. It is very Range Rover-ish, in the comfort and confidence it exudes, and the improved ride quality does bode well for its usability on our roads. I must also mention that I was surprised by how wonderfully comfortable and supportive the front seats are, and am very happy that the days of the rotary gear knob are over and we are back to the gear stick, pistol-grip as JLR terms it.
When you buy a new Evoque, your car will spew cleaner BS6 emissions though the one I'm testing is still on the old BS4 regime and might be quicker and more responsive than what you will buy. Might be, I do not know for sure. In terms of refinement, the 2-litre Ingenium is appreciably silent at idle but it also doesn't fool you into thinking it is anything but a diesel. The torque curve is matched well to the 9-speed automatic that is more responsive and less intrusive than in the past.
It's only when you're really gunning it that the gearbox gets caught out and that is also when the engine gets too gruff and noisy for what is a luxury SUV.
Which brings me to the one thing that we've always criticised about the Evoque — its size. Have I got good news for you! The Evoque has grown. By a full one millimetre!
Wisecracks aside, the reason why the Evoque has been so successful is its compact footprint, but within that footprint the wheelbase has grown by 210mm and that leads to better space inside the cabin. It is still snug but it's no longer claustrophobic, making you feel less guilty about listening to your heart and splurging on an Evoque over the more sensible Discovery Sport. You will still be laughed at if your chauffeur opens the back door for you. But you'll enjoy it even more when it is parked and you turn round to watch the glow fade away from the slinky DRLs. ⌧