Range Rover Evoque Road Test

For - Great looks, luxurious interior, handling dynamics

Against - Lack of cabin space, stiff ride

Verdict - It isn't just a car, it's a fashion accessory.

Rating - 6/10

The Range Rover Evoque has been the game changer for the brand since its launch back in 2011. It is the highest selling model in the Land Rover range and would have continued to be so even without this midlife facelift. Still, it has been five years since the Evoque first started plying on the roads and logic suggests it should get a facelift, even if it just to retain the novelty factor.

Rating: 8/10

The looks have been the biggest USP for the Evoque. To say the least, it looks stunning. The SUV has been around for six years and is still easily one of the most stylish SUVs on sale. The midlife facelift here is pretty superficial, but works fine.

The exterior changes can be listed in one breath. There is a new bumper with the thin LED fog lamp strips and larger scoops for air intake, new rectangular grille, additional air vents on the bonnet and new-shape DRLs and all-LED headlamps. All of this goes perfectly with the philosophy, why fix something that isn’t broke? The end effect is that the Range Rover Evoque now looks more aggressive and in this new Phoenix Orange colour draws even more attention.

Land Rover has used the modified LR2 chassis for the Evoque, with the intentions of making it sportier than rest of the models. Also it is shorter than rest of the SUVs in the Land Rover range. As expected, there are no changes to the underpinnings in the facelift and all the basic dimensions apart from the length (which has increased by 50mm) are exactly the same.

Rating: 6/10

This is where we found the most noticeable difference in the Evoque compared to the pre facelift version. The white interior has been replaced by sporty black with contrasting stitches in correlation with the exterior colour – in this case, orange. The cabin now matches the exterior in terms of image. Even the door trim of the new car has changes; where earlier it had beige with black inserts, the panels now use black and brown leather trims. I particularly liked the soft touch treatment given to the top of the dashboard.

But the black colour and the attached sporty feel comes at a cost. The Evoque has a tiny cabin and it feels smaller with the dark coloured interior. Plus, despite being an SUV, the Range Rover Evoque tries to offer sporty feel, which means you are sitting relatively low in the cabin and that coupled with small windows means, rear passengers are bound to feel claustrophobic. The saving grace is the ultra large sunroof, which when open, does provide ample natural light. However, in a tropical country like India, that is not the best option, all the time.

The cabin of the Evoque isn’t a perfect place for four adults. If driver and front passenger are even slightly taller than average sized Indians, the knee room at the back is a serious issue. Also the sloping roofline does restrict the availability of head room at the back.

The usable boot is sufficiently large to carry luggage of four at 398 litres. In addition, if there are just two people in the car, the rear seats fold 60:40 to offer over 1,000 litres of space. For an SUV, the loading lip is not high and there is electronic assistance to open and shut the lid making it all the more easier.

Rating: 7/10

We are dealing with a segment, where the occupants’ safety is a given and hence I will talk about the equipment list first. The Evoque gets an updated eight-inch LED screen for the infotainment unit with the Meridian system. It sounds nice, but the interface isn’t too different and not the most ideal. The touch screen requires you to take eyes off the road, additionally there are buttons all around the console and that means extra time and attention in getting the desired result.

It has plenty of features – there are surround cameras, instrument cluster with heads-up display unit, and independent screens for rear passengers, panoramic sunroof, remote to operate the music system from the rear and ambient lighting in seven colours. There are plenty of storage bins in the cabin as well, the glovebox under the dashboard and one under the driver’s armrest are deep. The door pockets on the other hand are not, these are thin and narrow and fitting even a single one litre bottle in here is a task.

The Evoque fulfills all the prerequisites on safety for a luxury car. There are six airbags, plus loads of electronics starting with ESP, hill hold, traction control among others. Also, since it is a Range Rover, it gets hill descent control and other features from their renowned terrain response system.

Rating: 8/10

The Evoque is available with only one engine option in India; the 2.2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel putting out 188bhp and 420Nm of torque. The numbers look sufficient for a good drive, and test figures confirm the same. The Evoque gets to 100kmph in 10.5 second and way beyond without breaking a sweat. More importantly, with more than decent torque spread and bottom end grunt, in-gear acceleration is good. Getting from 20kmph to 80kmph takes six seconds; 40kmph to 100kmph is just a second more.

It comes mated to the nine-speed ZF transmission and with the ability to deliver power to all wheels when required. It is a responsive transmission, tap the paddles behind the steering and gear shifts are instant. They feel even quicker in the sport mode, as the overall response becomes sharper. The problem however is when the car is choosing the ratios on its own, there are so many of them, that even slight variation in throttle input leads to gear shifts and the moments become jerky.

Interestingly, the red-line marking on the tachometer begins at 4,200rpm, which is low for the modern diesel engines. The car does rev higher shifting closer to 5,000rpm when floored.

There is some amount of vibration at idling, which is typical to most diesel engines. It smoothens out as the revs build up, yet the cruising rpm is low with the nine ratios. The car does 100kmph at 1,300rpm; even 150kmph comes at under 2,000rpm.

The brake pedal feels spongy and there is hardly any feedback. It does not mean the brakes are bad, the SUV comes to a standstill from 80kmph in under 3 seconds and in less than 30 metres. However, they do not inspire confidence.

Rating: 7/10

The Evoque has a firm ride, especially at low speeds. Low speed drive through pot holes, uneven surfaces and even smallest of the speed breakers is uncomfortable. It does flatten out as the speed goes up, but even then, it does not have the plush ride like most of the SUVs in the segment, including the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

Land Rover uses magnetic MagneRide dampers as standard on all variants and it has kept the body roll to minimum. Also the steering is precise and the SUV turns in quickly, making it fun around corners. The only downside is a hint of understeer but that too only comes in if the Evoque is pushed hard.

The AWD also has the Terrain Response System to tackle various off-roading conditions like gravel, snow, grass, sand and mud. If you are open to the idea of taking an Rs 70 lakh SUV off paved roads, the Evoque won’t disappoint. It has good ground clearance (210mm), smart electronics and short overhangs. The only thing missing from its credentials as a serious off-roader is the differential lock.

Rating: 3/10

The nine-speed ratios have helped the fuel efficiency of the Evoque. It returned 9.8kmpl in the city and 13.2kmpl on the highway on our pre-defined test routes. Land Rover offers four variants of the Evoque, with the base version carrying a lucrative price tag of Rs 47.1 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The top-end HSE Dynamic that we drove is expensive, costing Rs 63.2 lakh. All the variants have the same engine, transmission and AWD system. The difference is pricing is based on the equipment level.

Rating: 6/10

To sum things up, the Evoque is a good-looking SUV that’s great to flaunt but has limited utility in terms of cabin space. It has good performance, acceptable fuel efficiency and involving dynamics; the latter does come at the cost of stiff ride quality. The Evoque ticks majority of the boxes, till you don’t get the price into perspective. This is an expensive product; the top-end Evoque costs almost the same as the Mercedes-Benz GLE, BMW X3, Audi Q5 and its own sibling, the seven-seater Land Rover Discovery Sport. And all of them are bigger than the Evoque in terms of size and space. What you do not get in any of the above, though, is the Evoque’s stunning road presence. It isn’t just a car; it’s a fashion accessory. And quite a good one at that.

Photography by: Kapil Angane