Evoque beats the car crooks

Best-selling Range Rover Evoque is one of the toughest cars for hackers to steal – and that’s official, says Dave Phillips

THE RANGE Rover Evoque is Land Rover’s best-selling model – and it’s also less likely to get nicked by keyless hackers than any other model. Soaring levels of car thefts by hackers using hi-tech gadgets to override keyless entry systems led car security experts Thatcham Research to launch a new rating scale to measure vehicle security. The Evoque came equal top, along with its stablemate the Jaguar X, the Audi E-tron and Mercedes B-class. All four were rated “superior”, beating popular models like Ford Mondeo, Hyundai Nexo, Kia Proceed, Lexus UX and the British-built Toyota Corolla Hybrid – all rated “poor”.

Bottom of the pile, though, was Suzuki’s £15,500 Jimny SUV, which was given the lowest rating available – “unacceptable” - for its lack of security options.

“Security has come a long way since vehicle crime peaked in the early 1990s,” said Thatcham’s chief technical officer, Richard Billyeald. “But the layers of security added over the years count for nothing when they can be circumvented instantly by criminals using digital devices.”

But Thatcham’s new rating system has come under fire from manufacturers for highlighting the cars that are easiest to break into.

“It offers a signpost to thieves and increases the risk of targeted criminal activity,” said SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) chief executive, Mike Hawes.

Thatcham’s tests were carried out on the first-gen Evoque. We suspect that the newly-revealed Evoque 2 will be even better equipped at beating the crooks.