Evoque aims to stay out on top
IF rival manufacturers were hoping that the success of the Range Rover Evoque was about to let up, they’ve been disappointed.
Land Rover has kept its premium compact SUV on top of its game with a whole series of significant updates – and these have come not so long after a previous series of changes that introduced the car’s segmentleading nine-speed ZF auto gearbox. This time round, the Evoque’s looking to stay on top of the pile courtesy of some styling updates, some fresh engines and a range of improved safety kit. Is it enough? Nobody’s really got to within touching distance of the Evoque in terms of desirability in its division, so we’re going to go out on a limb and say yes. It’s really not that much of a punt.
It’s a brave new world at Land Rover right now. The Freelander’s gone and the Discovery Sport has appeared, but the big news might well be the development of the Ingenium engines that look to put the company on a similar efficiency footing as the best of the Germans and Japanese. The Evoque gets the aluminium Ingenium diesel engine, built at the company’s shiny new £500m Engine Manufacturing Centre in the West Midlands. This TD4 unit is 20-30kg lighter than its predecessor and delivers low levels of vibration and noise intrusion. It’s offered to Evoque customers in two states of tune: 150PS in the economy-oriented eD4 front-wheel drive model, and 180PS if you prefer a bit more poke and can’t do without all-wheel drive.
Should you want to go faster still, you can buy the Evoque with the punchy 240PS Si4 petrol engine. This propels a three-door car through 62mph in just 7.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 135mph. The nine-speed ZF transmission is available and it’s an option you really need to tick. It shifts between gears so quickly that ZF reckons it’s “below the threshold of perception”. An adaptive shift programme quickly matches the driving style and includes a memory function. A Torque Vectoring by Braking feature further enhances agility and safety by redirecting torque to counteract understeer. Off-road ability is enhanced with the fitment of All-Terrain Progress Control. This function maintains a pre-determined speed - selected using the cruise control function - in forward or reverse gears between 1.1mph and 19mph, allowing the driver to concentrate on negotiating tricky terrain.
Land Rover needed to keep the Evoque looking contemporary without diluting its inherent appeal. Evoque’s highly desirable design is a hallmark of this luxurious compact SUV. The latest design tweaks help it look even wider and lower thanks to slimline LED fog lamps and enlarged air intakes at the front, along with two revised grille designs. Full LED headlights are available as an option and the bonnet vents previously seen only on the three-door models are introduced on five-door HSE Dynamic and Autobiography specifications.
Buyers still choose between three and five-door models, the key difference between which is the amount of room in the back of the car. Go for the five-door and the roofline is subtly re-profiled such that there’s 30mm of additional headroom. The rear row of seats, with seat belts and head restraints for three passengers, have 60/40 folding squabs and are equipped with ISOFIX child seat mounts. When required, luggage capacity can be expanded to a healthy1,445litres. The three-door has a boot that is a little smaller, measuring 550-litres with the seats in place and 1,350 with them folded.
Land Rover has spent its money wisely with this Evoque. Not a lot really needed doing to the styling and the interior finish and there’s only been a bit of tidying up there; mere nips, tucks and tweaks. The engine range has come in for the lion’s share of the budget and it’s an investment that ought to keep the Evoque at the top of the class for some time to come. Rather depressingly for the Evoque’s competitors, it’s only the start of the roll-out of the Ingenium engine family. It’s just going to get better and better.
That’s wonderful news for Evoque customers. The car’s just become significantly more economical and capable, both on road and off. Just about the only thing that can really sink this model is for it to go horribly out of fashion. That doesn’t look like happening any time soon, but just in case, Land Rover has concentrated on substance over style with this revision.
In doing so, the brand has future-proofed its biggest money-spinner.