Test Car
The vehicle driven is the
Range Rover Evoque Pure two wheel drive with the eD4 diesel engine finished
in Fuji White with Ebony part leather trim.
Model background
The Evoque has captivated the
market since its launch in 2011.
It’s the smallest and lightest
Range Rover manufactured. It's also the first ever two wheel drive Land
Rover product to go on sale.
The bold styling is a major departure from
the usual conservative Range Rover products of old. The junior Rangie also
comes with a more palatable price for the entry level model, bringing
ownership of a Range Rover within grasp of a much broader slice of the car
buying market.
It must be said from the outset, this may be a
relatively cheap Range Rover but the lower price has not been achieved at
the expense of quality.
The eD4 is the newest engine choice for the
Australian market, being launched in July 2012.
Variants & Prices
The Evoque range offers plenty of
flexibility with the choice going way beyond the three trim levels, two body
styles, 2WD or 4WD and four engines available.
The three trim levels are Pure,
Dynamic and Prestige – all well equipped. Each trim levels is available in the Coupe
or Wagon body style and with any engine choice.
There are three diesel engines or one petrol engine to choose between. The
three diesel engines are all 2.2 litre four cylinder turbo diesel units
offering different levels of power and torque.
Pure is the entry
level trim and is priced from $49,995* for the 5 door wagon when coupled
with the eD4 diesel engine. Note that the eD4 is only available with a
manual gearbox. It's also worth noting the eD4 engine is only available as
two wheel drive. The Coupe attracts a $1,500* premium over the more practical
5 door version.
Despite being the cheapest variant by a substantial
margin, the Pure gets plenty of features including part leather seats, 17
inch alloy wheels, Bluetooth connectivity for telephone and audio streaming,
reverse sensors, stop/start, brushed aluminium interior highlights, climate
control air conditioning, electric park brake and fog lights.
The
test vehicle had a couple of options: carpet mats $200 and rear air
conditioner vents $190. This pushes the list price to $50,385* before on
road costs. It’s a disappointing picture when you use the drive away price
calculator on the Land Rover website. Unfortunately Land Rover Australia
openly publish the maximum dealer delivery charge at $3,990.00 (I selected
NSW as the delivery state). It is probably worth most other franchises stop short of this crazy figure for
$50,000 vehicles. The end result is a recommended drive away price pushing
above $57,000 for this entry level vehicle with a couple of cheap options on
it.
The higher spec trim levels are known as Dynamic and Prestige
and attract a substantial price premium.
The Dynamic includes gloss
black exterior trimming such as mirror covers, grille, rear spoiler and
bonnet louvres. It also gets striking 19 inch alloys, unique bumpers, full
leather seats, electric seats in the front and the roof is painted in a
contrast
Pricing for the Dynamic variant starts from $63,495*. That buys
you the 2WD version powered by the eD4 diesel engine. The pricing climbs up
for the more powerful engines which also receive four wheel drive. The most
expensive engine option in Dynamic trim is the 2.0 litre Si4 petrol engine
which is priced at $70,103*.
The most expensive Evoque variant is
the Prestige and as the name suggests this is the most luxurious. The
Prestige is
priced from $65,495* and tops out at $71,642*. The interior of the Prestige
gets the full Range Rover luxury treatment featuring full leather interior
including dash and door trims plus touches of wood and aluminium. It also
comes standard with 19 inch alloys.
Options
As mentioned early, flexibility is abounding
in the Evoque range.
The ability to personalise the vehicle is
definitely a key part of the Evoque’s appeal. In this case though, we
appreciated driving a vehicle very close to standard spec.
Flexibility will definitely be appreciated with the wheel combinations –
there are 6 wheel choices on the option list for each trim level, making a
total of 9 wheel designs across the entire range.
Interior styling
can be chosen to suit personal taste, with up to five themes covering interior fabrics and
colours. The roof can be specified in contrast black and a panoramic glass
roof is an option.
Technology, safety and convenience options on
offer are also many. These include navigation, TV with dual view screen,
mood lighting, surround cameras for parking, blind spot monitoring system,
heated seats, heated steering wheel, rear seat entertainment, voice
controls, privacy the list goes on. You name it, you can probably build it
into your Evoque.
Whilst many options are available individually, there
are also three option packs which batch up several options. The three packs
available on the Pure are the Tech Pack (full leather, electric seats, mood
lighting, 18 inch alloys, upgraded sound system and more) , Cold Climate
Pack (heated bits including seats, steering wheel, washer jets & windscreen)
and the Clearview Pack (lights and wiper upgrades).
Be warned, the
price will increase quickly as options are added and it’s not difficult to
add $20k or more to the starting price, pushing an entry level Evoque from
affordable to expensive.
Driving the Evoque
On paper, the performance of the
eD4 diesel powered Evoque may not impress all people. Of the three diesel
engines available to Evoque buyers, the eD4 has the least power and torque. The 2.2 litre 4
cylinder turbo diesel engine has a modest power output of 110kW @ 4,000rpm
and respectable torque of 380Nm @ 1,750rpm. Acceleration from 0-100km/h takes
11.2 seconds.
Despite the lack of speed on acceleration, this vehicle
is still quite impressive to drive and I found myself enjoying the vehicle
more and more, covering 1,200+ kms over 9 days.
The small diesel
has great low down power for pulling away smoothly from a standing
start, including on hills. The clutch has good pressure and the 6 speed
manual gear box is easy to live with including a short gear shifter. It may
be the least powerful Evoque, but it is definitely adequate.
Even around town, I found the manual accommodating, often not requiring
downshifts where other manuals would. Stop/start technology is standard,
turning the engine off when the vehicle is both stationery and in neutral.
Push button start and an electric park brake are standard. The start button
is located high on the dash to the left of the instrument cluster and I
found this location a bit bothersome as a) the dashboard slopes away from
the driver meaning you may have to lean forward to push the button and b)
it’s not close to the park brake and gear lever. Small gripe. If you do take
off without releasing the park brake the car will release it automatically.
The handling is composed and the 17 inch alloys offer a reasonably
smooth ride. Noise levels are acceptable. If you don’t like the standard 17
inch wheels, there are four other styles to choose from on the option list,
all larger. Ventilated front discs and solid discs at the rear wheels do a
good job stopping the Evoque.
For people wanting to take the Evoque
to the snow, don’t be concerned about buying the two wheel drive version as
you can buy genuine snow chains to suit the standard 17 inch wheels on the
Pure.
Living with the Evoque
The Evoque wins most people
over based on looks alone and it was women that wanted to talk about it the
most. The design is definitely appealing although I think the standard 17
inch wheels let the presentation down somewhat on the entry level Evoque
Pure.
It’s easy to overlook the fact the Pure is the entry level
variant when you inspect the cabin. Overall interior finish is of high
quality with brushed aluminium trim and soft touch fabrics complimenting the
part leather seats and thick leather steering wheel – all standard on the
Pure variant. The seats look the part and provide plenty of comfort. The
soft touch fabric on the doors and dash does mark easily when touched
however its cleaned with minimal effort.
The buttons on the steering wheel are not the most logical in layout and
I’m not a fan of the appearance of the standard radio console in the Pure.
It looks like it would be more at home in a van although it works fine and
the sound quality is good.
Climate control air conditioning is
standard on all Evoques.
Size wise, the Evoque is not the most
practical. The 5 door is more practical than the Coupe with the extra two
doors and slightly larger cargo space. Access to the rear seats is so much
better than the Coupe and rear seat passengers have plenty of leg room. Two
adults will enjoy a comfortable ride seated in the rear and there is three
belts across the back.
Even with 575 litres of boot space,
it’s not practical for a small family. A pram filled the boot but more
tellingly, a newborn rearward facing baby seat will only fit in the Evoque
if the front passenger seat is moved forward so far that it’s not possible
to sit in it. So it’s definitely not a car for families with babies.
Curiously, not only is the 5 door model more practical, it is also cheaper
than the Coupe.
The rear window does look small from the outside. It
also appears small looking through the rear vision mirror from the driver’s
seat however it’s just large enough to be safe. Some people will find it off
putting. Side vision isn’t great either, partly due to the narrowing window
line but it’s certainly better in the 5 door version and the chunky side
mirrors are great for rearward and side vision. I think they look great too.
Safety
ANCAP awards the Evoque just four stars out
of a maximum five stars after it failed to meet the five star standard in
the frontal offset crash test. The standard was missed by a small margin
with the Evoque scoring 12.39 out of a possible 16 in the frontal offset
crash test when the minimum score to qualify for five star status is 12.5
out of 16. To give you an idea that it is possible for vehicles of this type
and size to reach five stars - the Evoque’s older brother of similar size,
the Land Rover Freelander, does achieve 5 stars from ANCAP. Next Car rates
the Freelander very highly despite its dated shape and it scores a much
better 14.92 in the offset crash test.
That said, the Evoque is
still loaded with safety features including ABS, driver and front passenger
airbags, side curtain airbags front and rear, and a knee bolster airbag for
the driver. Other electronic driver aids built in as standard are
emergency brake assist, cornering brake control, dynamic stability control
and roll stability control.
Rear parking sensors are standard on the
Pure and can be turned on or off to suit. They are set too conservatively
which is a tad frustrating but this ensures no excuse for any parking
accidents.
Fuel and emissions
The Evoque is extremely frugal on
fuel thanks to the efficient eD4 diesel engine, the front wheel drive layout
and stop/start technology. Land Rover claim fuel consumption of 5.0 litres
per 100 kilometres on a combined cycle which is excellent. Even around town
the numbers are very good with Land Rover boasting consumption of just 6.0
litres per 100km in urban driving conditions. That said we didn’t quite get
that low during our drive. We recorded consumption of 6.4 litres per 100 km
on our first tank of diesel.
The all-wheel drive and more powerful
Evoque models are thirstier but still achieve reasonable consumption
figures.
The eD4 gets a smallish fuel tank with a capacity of only 55 litres.
This is still going to give a driving range. Even with fuel economy of 6.4
litres per 100km, the range is 728km before the low fuel warning is
signalled. The low fuel indicator chips in with 8.4 litres remaining,
allowing you well over 100kms of additional driving before refuelling if you
want to push it to the limit.
The stop/start system is a bit
sensitive, often firing the engine up prematurely when stopped but remains a
key tool in minimising emissions and diesel consumption. It can be switched
on and off easily with a button on the console to suit.
CO2 emissions
are 133g per km.
Dimensions
Length: 4,355mm
Width: 2,125mm (including
side mirrors)
Height: 1,635mm
Wheelbase: 2,660mm
Weight: 1,595kg
Boot capacity: 575 litres, increasing to 1,445 litres when rear seat
folded.
Towing capacity: 750kg with an unbraked trailer, 1,500kg braked
Front axle clearance: 215mm
Rear axle clearance: 240mm
Maximum
wading depth: 500mm
After Sales
The Evoque is warranted for three years
or 100,000 kilometres, whichever occurs first. Roadside assistance is
provided for the full warranty period.
Service intervals are 26,000
km or 1 year.
Conclusion
The hype is easy to buy into once you
drive the Evoque. The design is unique and the range of flexibility will
meet the needs of almost everybody.
For our money, the entry level Pure eD4 is the
best choice in the Evoque range. It’s very well equipped and a capable drive
but most importantly it retains much of the style, character and build
quality of the more expensive higher spec variants. Perhaps more
importantly, it is also the most affordable.
More Land Rover news .....
here.
NOTE: * Manufacturer's
List Price (MLP) excludes dealer delivery fees and the numerous statutory
charges (commonly known as on-road costs). Additionally, please note that
all prices, fees and charges are subject to change without notice, as are
the specifications. Luxury Car Tax (LCT) is effected when options are added
to the car. E&OE.
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