Range Rover Evoque vs Infiniti QX80

What's the difference?

The Range Rover Evoque is more highly specified and more luxurious than ever, and this plug-in hybrid version makes the most of what’s on offer with its slick but familiar feel from behind the wheel. 

Unfortunately, it does have an eye-watering price tag to go with its classy design and the options list is a bit rude, all things considered, but the core offering is a solid luxury buy for city-slickers, nonetheless. 

What makes the Evoque P300e stand out for me is its impressive EV driving range and excellent charging specs which make it as convenient as possible to make the most of its electrified features.

It’s up to the buyer whether these conveniences and the Range Rover badge are worth swapping into a car a full size down from its luxury plug-in rivals for the same money.

The petrol-only QX80, really a Y62 Patrol with shedloads of bling, is a curious beast; a big, bold status-boosting premium SUV, which is much better suited to the US and Middle East markets than ours. However, it has a real premium feel, is very smooth to drive and the exterior and interior changes have improved what has so far been a divisive model for a brand with a small but growing fanbase here. Infiniti sold 83 of the previous QX80 in 2017 and is hoping to move 100 of these new ones in 2018; they have their work cut out for them, but if brand confidence is worth a few sales, who knows, they might even top the ton.

The Evoque has always been a car all about its sleek, city-slicking design, an iconic piece of modern SUV art from Jaguar Land Rover head of design, Gerry McGovern.

With its shapely proportions, clever descending roofline, and a silhouette which successfully reflects a miniaturised version of the Range Rover, the Evoque is at once classy with a faint suggestion of toughness under the skin.

The blacked-out grille, slimline headlights, and contemporary strip across the tailgate all serve to add intrigue to this SUV, and the extra detailing in the front bumper, shapeliness of the bonnet, and contrast black trims (with extra contrast panels on our test car matching the gloss black wheels) serving to add to its premium appeal.

It’s important to remember, while the Evoque slides into a busy small SUV landscape now, it was one of the first to make a premium car so successfully appealing in this small SUV space way back in 2011 with the first Evoque, following Land Rover’s historic trend of being in front of the SUV curve.

Rival small SUV designs may have caught up in the minds of many with the likes of the Audi Q3, BMW X2, and Volvo XC40 shining in recent years, but few have won as many design accolades as the Evoque.

Range Rover seems to be leaning into a more upper luxury trend, not just with the pricing, but with the vibe of the car’s interiors, too.

The new generation Evoque, for example, took a big jump in the look and feel of its interior appointments when it launched in 2019, and over time has only consolidated its market positioning.

The HSE grade which our P300e hybrid arrives in is lavish on the inside, with lovely suede-like seats, intricate contrasting grey cloth trims in the doors (do I detect an influence from Volvo here?) and a plush-looking dash, all finished in soft-to-the touch materials.

Attention to detail, like the silver bezels which adorn the centre console and media screen, add to the premium flair which lifts the Range Rover badge above the Land Rover one, and I do like the way the additional function screen seamlessly melts into the piano finish and integrated dials. While it’s always a nightmare to keep gloss piano finishes clean, it looks oh-so primo.

It’s a little odd the P300e has analogue dials, which seems to miss the premium edge which a fully digital dash might provide although the 7.0-inch centre dash screen has a great resolution and speed, as well as a mostly well laid out operating system.

I found the R-Dynamic modes, which can sharpen up the accelerator response and steering buried two menus deep, unnecessarily hard to find, as were various EV information screens and other less important functions.

The bulk of the facelifted QX80’s design changes have been to the exterior and include, most noticeably, new LED headlights with a redesigned, sleeker but more aggressive front end than its predecessor’s softer, more rounded curves.

The new QX80’s bonnet is 20mm higher than before and has been extended 90mm; the side steps have been stretched 20mm wider, and the power tailgate has been re-designed to include sharper, thinner, rear LED taillights and the bumper is visually wider.

The whole body has a higher visual centre of gravity, with this latest raft of design shifts giving the SUV a taller, broader, wider and more angular overall appearance.

The interior includes a bigger, chunkier redesigned centre and rear console and those aforementioned premium touches, such as leather-wrapped heated steering wheel, updated upholstery-stitching, semi-aniline quilted leather patterning on door panels and seats, as well as its stainless-steel sill plates, all add to the premium feel.

The QX80 looks better than it did but, as the previous one was pretty hard on the eyes, the 2018 version may still polarise opinion.

While it still plays the role of Range Rover’s smallest SUV, the current Evoque is much bigger than the car it replaced in 2019. I would go so far as to say it’s deceptively large on the inside.

Front occupants are treated to a cabin which now feels almost as wide as an actual Range Rover, with plenty of room for elbows on either side, which are, of course, met by lovely soft-touch surfaces.

The raised console helps with the upmarket feel, as does the plush dash. The standard 14-way adjust front seats help to accommodate most passengers, with my only criticism being the large A-pillars and height of the dash can make it feel a little bit claustrophobic compared to some rival luxury SUVs.

Storage is offered through a set of large door pockets, a centre console box, dual bottle holders behind the shift lever, and a healthy nook underneath the climate controls, which also hosts a wireless charging bay.

The rear seats share the same comfortable rim as the front ones, and also have large pockets in the doors. Despite the descending roofline, I had just enough room for my head at 182cm tall although it is notable the space in the PHEV feels smaller with the raised floor needed to accommodate the batteries.

I had a little airspace for my knees behind my own driving position, too. The main drawback for rear passengers is the large transmission tunnel, making it difficult to accommodate an adult in the centre position.

There are adjustable air vents for rear passengers, but it is frustrating Land Rover has chosen to make rear USB-C charging ports an arbitrary $270 option.

The boot is also deceptively large for such a small SUV, measuring in at 472 litres (VDA), it’s above average for the small SUV class and fits the full CarsGuide luggage set, provided you remove the parcel shelf as it's just a smidge too high.

You'll also need to keep your charging cables in the boot, as there's no underfloor storage, the entire space being taken up by a space-saver spare wheel.

The QX80 is a big unit – 5340mm long (with a 3075mm wheelbase), 2265mm wide and 1945mm high – and, when you’re seated inside it, it feels like Infiniti designers and engineers must have worked hard to maximise the space afforded them for driver and passengers without seeming to have sacrificed any style or comfort.

And that big open space inside the cabin is easy to get comfortable in. There are soft-touch surfaces everywhere – door panels, arm rests, centre-console edging – and the seats are unsurprisingly soft and supportive but tend towards slippery when there are quick changes in speed or direction, or when tackling steep downhills off-road. (It was fun to watch front-seat passengers slip-slide around inside during the 4WD loop)

If you’re up-front you’re well catered for; big glovebox; overhead sunglasses storage; the centre console now has a roomy smartphone storage area; the twin cupholders have been upsized to cop two 1.3-litre cups with handles (up from one 1.3-litre cup and a 950ml container); the USB port has been moved to the other side of the centre console so it’s easier to get to; the storage area under the front passenger arm-rest is now a 5.4-litre compartment, able to hold up to three upright 1.0-litre bottles or tablet devices.

There are nine cupholders and two bottle-holders in total in the QX80.

There’s a sunroof if you get the urge for natural light from above.

Second-row passengers now get 8.0-inch entertainment screens (up from 7.0-inch) and two additional USB ports.

The tip-up second row seats are easy enough to operate and the third row is power 60/40 split-fold-to-flat and reclining.

The QX80 is available with both seven- and eight-seat configurations, with the back seat in a two- or three-seat formation.

There is a 12V outlet in the cargo area.

Pricing has not changed: there is one model and it still costs $110,900 before on-roads and that price does not include paint other than the standard Black Obsidian; metallic paint is $1500 extra. Changes over and above the previous model’s standard features list include 22-inch 18-spoke forged alloy wheels (up from 20-inch), Infiniti’s InTouch 8.0-inch colour touchscreen (up from 7.0-inch), new Espresso Burl coloured trim, new chrome finishes all-round, updated upholstery-stitching everywhere, quilted leather patterning on seats, new headlights, LED foglights and more. There is no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

The Evoque now sports Jaguar Land Rover’s hybridised ‘Ingenium’ engine family across the range, and the set-up which appears in the plug-in hybrid model might be the most interesting.

It consists of a 1.5-litre three-cylinder combustion engine which is said to produce 147kW/280Nm, and an electric motor powering the rear axle producing 80kW, the two of which combine for an impressive quoted total output of 227kW/540Nm, driving all four wheels.

The motor sources its power from a 15kWh lithium-ion battery pack under the floor of the car, which provides a claimed 62km of fully-electric driving range.

Land Rover also replaced the mechanical brake pedal with a drive-by-wire one to allow for improved ‘blended’ regenerative braking.

The previous generation’s 5.6-litre V8 petrol engine (298kW@5800rpm and 560Nm@4000rpm) remains, as does the seven-speed automatic transmission with adaptive shift control. It also has Infiniti’s all-mode 4WD system, which offers Auto, 4WD High and 4WD Low settings and it has terrain appropriate modes (sand, snow, rocks) able to be dialled in.

Claimed energy consumption on the combined WLTP cycle for the Range Rover Evoque P300e is 2.0L/100km. As with all plug-in hybrids though, this will heavily depend on how it is driven.

The 15kWh battery is said to provide a 62km driving range (again, on the WLTP cycle), which seems healthy for a PHEV, and I was pleased to find that my car was reporting about 56km on a full charge, not far off the claim.

Importantly, the Evoque has stellar charging specifications, which make it ideal for a city-slicker with minimal time to conveniently charge.

I was shocked to find a DC charging port when I flipped open the panel, which is capable of charging the tiny battery up in just 20 minutes (at a peak rate of 35kW), while on a slower but easier-to-find AC charger, it can extract 7kW allowing a charge time of around two hours.

This is well above par for a plug-in hybrid, and makes charging quick, painless and convenient, even for those who can’t charge at home.

As a result of this ease-of-charging and therefore minimal time spent in the hold or hybrid modes, my car reported an astounding 1.0/100km of fuel consumption during my week, covering mostly urban kilometres.

The only drawback is the need to fill this small turbo engine with mid-shelf 95RON fuel.

The QX80 is claimed to use 14.8L/100km. We reckon that fuel-consumption figure is very optimistic and if QX80 owners are partial to towing boats – as Infiniti reckons they are – or if they tackle some 4WDing, then that figure is going to climb much higher quite swiftly.

The second-gen Evoque is still the lovely, luxury, small SUV it was when it launched in 2019, and this plug-in hybrid version only serves to improve the formula, adding sleek electric driving characteristics to the already-smooth turbo engine and torque converter automatic.

Interestingly, and like its Volvo XC60 rival, the electric motor is located on the rear axle, giving this car the odd characteristic of being rear-wheel drive when driven electrically, or predominantly front-wheel drive when driven in combustion mode.

Speaking of modes, this car does the bulk of the management, with only three driving modes available to the pilot. These include the default ‘hybrid’ mode, which as the name suggests, blends the two power sources with more of an emphasis on electric driving when the battery is charged.

There's also an electric mode, which will only use the rear axle motor until the battery runs out, and a ‘Hold’ mode which will still blend the two sources but predominantly rely on the combustion engine to maintain the car’s state of charge.

You might want to use the last mode if you're travelling long-distance, to maintain the electric range for where it is most efficient - in low-speed stop-start driving.

The regenerative braking is not adjustable, having just a single mild level. It’s far from the single-pedal driving you can experience in a fully electric car, but Land Rover has made the brake pedal fly-by-wire so it can blend increased regen with the mechanical brakes.

It makes for a familiar experience from behind the wheel for those coming straight out of a purely combustion vehicle.

The electrified brake pedal does have the consequence of removing a bit of feel for a keen driver, and the same can be said for the rather slow steering tune in the default settings which makes the Evoque feel more luxurious and less sporty or reactive than it could be.

It’s a shame, because the two power sources combine to make for a thumping amount of power when you stick your boot in, and the all-wheel drive system and nicely balanced suspension keep this little SUV well under control in the corners.

As with my original Evoque range review in 2019, though, it is notable how heavy this SUV feels, particularly compared to some rivals like the Audi Q3.

The heftiness suits the Evoque's expanded dimensions and even more upmarket feel, but despite the power on offer it’s not an agile SUV to be carving corners in.

At least the ride quality and quietness is superb, making the Evoque an ideal SUV for driving around the centre of pothole-stricken Sydney, with a notable amount of poise. At the end of the day, isn’t that what this Range Rover was built for?

In the world of luxury SUVs big is king and this thing is definitely on the chunky side of big, but it doesn’t often feel too cumbersome for its own good, or too bulky to steer in and out of Melbourne’s bustling morning traffic with precision.

During this event, we did a fair chunk of driving – highway, country roads, gravel roads and a decent bit of 4WDing – and, surprise, surprise, it did pretty well, especially when things of this ilk usually exhibit the ride and handling of an old poorly-sprung couch on wheels.

It did, however, feel top-heavy at times and revealed substantial body-roll when pushed around corners at speed or even during some sections of slow, bouncy off-roading, so I’d be reluctant to experience what it would be like without hydraulic body motion control. However, we were willing to forgive it any rocking-and-rolling when that healthy V8 growl kicked in as we gave it the boot.

The 22-inch tyre-and-wheel combination is not the way I’d go if I was going to use the QX80 for any off-road forays but, having said that, we did fine on them, at road tyre pressures, over a decent off-road loop.
It has 246mm of ground clearance and 24.2 (approach), 24.5 (departure) and 23.6 (ramp-over) angles.

The QX80 has coil springs all-round and it was only ever caught out when it thumped through a couple of surprise potholes along a dirt road.

This Infiniti model has a claimed tare mass of 2783kg, but you wouldn’t have known it was that many kegs because it powered up steep and slippery bush tracks, through deep muddy ruts, over greasy rocks and through a few knee-deep mud holes with ease. It was as easy as pulling up, switching your terrain modes and dialling in your setting: 4WD High, 4WD Low or Auto. It has a locking rear diff and very capable hill descent control, which we tested on a few rather steep sections of track.

It’s nice to see vehicle manufacturers unafraid to put their off-roaders, even their pricey luxury ones, through a decent off-road loop at launch because it shows they have confidence in its capabilities.

The QX80 has a maximum braked towing capacity is 3500kg and 750kg (unbraked).

The QX80 does not have an ANCAP safety rating. Safety tech as standard includes blind spot warning, intelligent parking system, forward emergency braking, lane departure prevention (incorporating lane departure warning), distance control assist and predictive forward collision warning, Infiniti/Patrol intelligent rear view mirror (which can display video from a camera mounted in the upper rear windshield) and more. It has two ISOFIX points in the second-row seats.

As of April, 2021 all Land Rover products are finally covered by an industry-standard five-year and unlimited kilometre warranty, matching its key rivals, and beating out BMW which persists with an old three-year warranty promise. Five years of roadside assist is also included for the duration.

When it comes to servicing, the P300e is available to be purchased with a five-year plan ($2650 - $530 annually) which covers 102,000km of visits.

This pack is well worthwhile as Land Rover servicing is generally quite expensive when purchased a-la-carte.

It has a four year /100,00km warranty. Service intervals are scheduled at 12 months/10,000km. The total cost for three years is $1346.11 (GST included).