Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 2014 Review

The most handsome of all the current crop of small prestige crossovers, Land Rover’s Range Rover Evoque delivers great handling on and off the road and a cabin that’s a step above the rest of its class. But you’ll pay and then some for the pleasure of its company as standard equipment lists are lacking in lower grade variants.

The surprise at the level of luxury you experience the first time you shimmy into a Range Rover Evoque’s stylish cabin is only offset by the gasp that comes when you check out the very same car’s list price.

At close to $67,000 before on-road costs or ‘should-have’ (in this segment at least) options like a sunroof, comfort entry or powered rear tailgate, the ‘on test’ Range Rover Evoque Pure TD4 is cheerful, but far from cheap.

You’re clearly paying a premium (even over other ‘luxury’ brand crossovers) for the styling that sets the littlest Rangie apart.

This is without doubt the most handsome small SUV money can buy...

But offsetting the sticker shock in part is the fact you’re also getting a significant dose of extra prestige bang for your buck. Indeed, if the feedback yours truly received during the short period I drove our TD4 is anything to go by, that includes ‘big’ Range Rover cachet without the six-figure price tag.

Evoque is a worldwide hit. Australia is no exception. Last year it was Land Rover Australia’s best selling model. Around 216 found Aussie homes each month – given the average transaction price that’s an impressive result.

And with extra focus on the prestige small SUV segment this year (courtesy of cars like Mercedes-Benz new GLA and Porsche’s larger, even more expensive Macan) and the effectiveness of the revised nine-speed automatic drivetrain, we expect that run rate to grow.

You read it right: The Evoque is one of the first production cars to feature ZF’s new nine-speed automatic transmission.

Specially designed for transverse engine applications, the new box is more compact than competitive six and seven-speed units but delivers the potential to offer an off-road friendly super low first (and second) gear and highway-economy taming extra-tall eighth and ninth cogs.

Matched to the 2.2-litre 110kW/400Nm four-cylinder turbo-diesel in the four-wheel-drive TD4 Pure, the new transmission offers near seamless performance.

Around town the gearbox will often start from standstill in second gear and at gentle throttle openings third is sometimes selected at little more than walking pace. That’s doesn’t mean the car is slow though.

There’s a little bit of turbo lag in some instances, but more often than not a prod on the accelerator simply results in the selection of the right cog and strong, instant acceleration. And thanks to the closer ratios of the nine-speed box keeping the turbo-diesel in its torque sweet-spot that acceleration doesn’t seem to fade on each gear-change. Indeed, the little Rangie-that-could just steams on up to and beyond the legal limit with no fuss.

The efficiency in this respect is highlighted by Land Rover’s own 0-100km/h acceleration claims. At 9.6sec the nine-speed auto is no rocketship (it honestly feels faster) but it is a hefty 1.2sec faster than the six-speed manual variant.

Overtaking performance would, we suggest, be also significantly better than the manual.

My short stint in the turbo-diesel Evoque also suggested reasonable real-world economy. The trip computer prompted a full fuel tank range well north of 800km, which with the TD4’s 57-litre fuel tank translates to around 7.1L/100km – with no thoughts of trying to drive for economy. That’s commendably close to the ADR combined test figure of 6.0L/100km.

But as mentioned above, it’s not performance but rather the styling inside and out that is likely winning the most Evoque buyers.

It is very thoroughly a Range Rover. One family member rushed out on my arrival – he’d been waiting to drive the new Range Rover Sport... Another, of the opposite gender, thought the Evoque was ‘cute’ and ‘right-sized’ for her next car. The car also ‘polled’ very well on the school run.

Does that mean Land Rover style guru Gerry McGovern has got the car’s exterior look just right? On a qualitative sample of two– it appears so.

Inside, the car has a definite air of quality. Soft surfaces on the dash and IP take it into the prestige league, but there’s also reasonable amenity with split-fold rear seat and, thanks to the fast rising waistline, a very tall, and reasonably deep luggage space.

Of course the same tall shoulder and shallow rear glazing significantly limits rear and rear three-quarter sightlines even in this five-door variant. And this, in turn, brings me to the chink in the Evoque’s chic armour – equipment levels.

At $57,895 the Evoque Pure TD4 does include rear park sensors but asks $670 additional for the essential rear camera – and another $620 for front parking sensors.

And then there’s the matter of navigation – that’s another $3400 on top.

Paired auto wipers and headlamps – standard in some $15,000 hatches will add another $550 dollars. And the bigger alloys (almost compulsory!) to deliver the proper Evoque look, will set you back at least $1500 (for 19-inch). At least in our test model leather is standard.

Most buyers will also be looking for a powered rear hatch (add another $1020).

Contrasting paint on the roof, also part of the Evoque ‘look’, adds a princely $955.

At this rate, perhaps we should official categorise the Evoque as a BOAT. As in Bring Out Another Thousand!

A true ‘looker’ there’s very little wrong with the way the Evoque performs. It handles well for a high-rider and ride quality is good to boot, and the new gearbox/engine combo is a peach.

No, the biggest fear factor involved in heading down the littlest Rangie road is simply dollars. Just a tweak of the spec sheet on our tester would have taken the bill north of $80,000. That’s a hell of a lot of money!