2018 Range Rover Evoque vs 2017

What's the difference?

I do find the standard specification list a bit weird but there's no denying it's well-equipped and it's not like they play pin-the-tail-on-the-spec-sheet at JLR HQ - this is a company that has worked out what buyers want. It's still great to drive (especially with the new engine), still looks utterly brilliant and is oddly practical.

You're not buying an Evoque with penny-pinching in mind - it's a considerably more expensive car than its larger stablemate, the Land Rover Discovery Sport. Heck, you can buy a 184kW Velar SE for a few more bucks. But neither are an Evoque, neither are the bold statement that went from show-stage to the road and changed the way we see Range Rover.

The Evoque is cool, classy and fun. It's well equipped, properly screwed together, and age hasn't taken the edge of its still dramatic looks. And if we had to pick a sweet spot, it's the five door in SE grade with the Td4 180 engine. Great performance, lots of standard equipment, and a relatively modest price.
That said, the range as a whole isn't exactly cheap, and option prices add up quickly. But as the old saying goes, quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten, and when time does finally catch up with this first generation Evoque, it will be a tough act to follow.

'Iconic' is bandied about a fair bit, but the Evoque definitely fits the bill. Few cars are as recognisable or as desirable as the Evoque's trend-setting lines. Even if you don't think it pretty, it's striking. It's also unusually cool in the (optional) 'Yulong White' - many of the options on the extraordinarily long list are to add to the car's styling. The Black Pack does look terrific, as do the 20-inch black alloys, which clearly work well against the angular look of the car.

I used to think that the three-door was the better looker, but I've come around to the better proportions of the five-door, the way the roof appears to fall to meet the tailgate, the big-wheel-friendly chunkiness and that front end with the LED daytime running lights still looks as fresh as the day it was born, tempered slightly by the recent arrival of the Velar.

Inside is more conventional and very familiar to the Land Rover/Range Rover-ista. It all works well, even if the rotary dial for the gear selector makes things a bit awkward in a three-point turn. It looks solid, dependable and most of it feels good.

A mesmerising combination of Imperial Stormtrooper and Exocet missile, the Evoque exudes character and confidence.

A piercing stare from sharply angled headlights is backed up by pumped up wheel arches filled with large rims to create a muscular, borderline angry stance.

Character lines along the side of the car are angled up as they move towards the rear, while the roofline slopes down. The result is a strongly tapered glass area and a feeling of aggressive forward motion, even when the car's standing still.

Signature design cues include blacked out window and door pillars to create a floating roof effect, as well as a geometric tail-light treatment, retained in the convertible, even though its rear section has been substantially re-engineered to accommodate a 'Z-fold' fabric roof (structured to retain the Evoque's distinctive silhouette when in place).

The interior retains the chiselled-from-stone look, with a broad centre console sweeping up between the front seats to join the dash. Brushed metal inserts enhance the weapons-grade feel, with broad surfaces containing neatly integrated segments for multimedia, air con, instruments and other controls.

Produced at Jaguar Land Rover's Halewood plant in the UK, the standard of fit and finish is excellent, with high quality cloth and leather upholstery combined with soft-touch materials around the dash, doors and storage areas.

Interior space is surprisingly good for what is effectively a compact SUV. The front-seat passengers have plenty of room in all directions while two rear seat passengers who aren't NBA stars will be perfectly happy. The third, middle row won't be, although the vents will keep their feet from sweating.

The boot is an impressive 575 litres with the seats up and 1445 with everything folded. The loading lip is quite high, though, and although the seats fold, the load area isn't flat.

The turning circle is a lazy 11.38 metres.

Off-road, you can wade up to 500mm, you have clearance of 211mm, an approach angle of 17.8 degrees, departure of 30 degrees and breakover of 22 degrees.

The Evoque is currently offered in Australia as a five-door and convertible only, the three door having quietly made an exit (after four years in market) in the last half of 2016.

Although the hardtop Evoque is only 4.4m long, 2.0m wide, and just over 1.6m high, interior space is generous. There's plenty of room for front seat passengers, with wide-opening doors providing easy access.

And while not exactly limo-like, space for rear seat passengers is surprisingly good. There's enough headroom for those up to around 180-185cm to sit in uncontorted comfort, with reasonable legroom, but the centre position is modest. Big tick for adjustable air vents in the rear of all models.

The cup holder count runs to two in the front and two in the back, although the doors are a no-go zone for bottles bigger than that scotch you nicked from the hotel mini-bar.

Having lost two doors and the roof, you also give up a seat in the Convertible, with four positions available. With roof up, head and legroom in the back is surprisingly generous, and with the top down, headroom increases significantly.

With rear seats upright, the five-door offers a handy 575 litres of load space, which expands to 1445 litres with the 60/40 split rear seats folded. Worth noting the rear seats don't fold completely flat, which can make life awkward, and a high load sill height isn't ideal.

The Convertible makes do with a modest 251 litres of boot capacity, but it's clear the drop-top is more about relaxed day trips than full-on excursions.

Luggage compartment anchor points are standard on all models (hard and soft top).

The Australian Evoque line-up ranges across a close to $40k spread from $55,495 for the entry-level Pure Td4 150, to $93,195 for the HSE Dynamic Td4 180 Convertible.

While the standard features list is determined by which model grade you opt for, the price you'll pay is linked to the engine sitting under the bonnet, as per the table below.

                                               Td4 150                Td4 180                Si4 240
Pure                                        $56,050        
SE                                           $63,120                 $67,551                  $68,788
HSE                                                                      $75,089    
HSE Dynamic                                                      $78,881                 $82,526
HSE Dynamic Ember LE                                    $91,699    
SE Dynamic Convertible                                    $85,343                 $84,948
HSE Dynamic Convertible                                 $93,195                  $92,800

An impressive basket of standard fruit is fitted across the range, including cruise control, a high-res touchscreen multimedia interface, rain-sensing wipers and auto headlights, alloy wheels, leather wrapped steering wheel, climate control air, rear camera, front and rear parking sensors, 5.0-inch colour TFT 'Driver Information Centre', 'InControl Touch Pro' audio, and satellite navigation.

There's plenty of standard safety tech on board as well, so skip to the safety section for the details.

Step up through the higher grades and all sorts of additional equipment ranges into view, including bigger wheels, bigger screens, more speakers, and a small herd's-worth of leather.

And option pack enthusiasts will be in seventh heaven, with no less than eight on offer, covering everything from 'Cold Climate Convenience', to 'Advanced Driver Assistance', and 'Front Seat Entertainment.'

'Fuji White' is the only no-cost paint colour. Any one of 10 metallic shades will set you back $1870, while selecting any of the six premium metallic finishes adds $3750.

The 290 in the model name refers to the (metric) horsepower number of JLR's own Ingenium four-cylinder turbo petrol. That means 213kW/400Nm (there's a 240 horsepower version for a hefty 10 grand less).

Power reaches all four wheels via ZF's nine-speed automatic and, being a Rangie, it comes with all sorts of off-road cleverness to ensure you don't end up stuck in a rut... or sand... or mud... or snow. Flatten the throttle from rest and you'll be at 100km/h in a swift 6.3 seconds (as long as there's no snow, or mud, etc).

Towing fans will note a rating of 1800kg for a braked trailer and 750kg for unbraked.

A choice of two diesel engines and one petrol unit is offered across the Evoque range, as well as a six-speed manual (entry-level Pure only) or nine-speed automatic transmission, with every model sending drive to all four wheels via an electronically-controlled Haldex centre coupling (with torque on demand to the rear axle).

The Euro 6 emissions standards-compliant diesels are members of JLR’s ‘Ingenium’ engine family, developed to (wait for it…) “maximise performance and environmental sustainability.” In other words, more grunt, lower consumption and fewer emissions.

The 2.0-litre Td4 150 (for 150hp) turbo-diesel produces 110kW at 4000rpm and a hefty 380Nm at 1750rpm. While capacity is unchanged, the Td4 180 is tuned to deliver 132kW/430Nm at precisely the same rpm peaks.

If petrol power is more your thing, the 2.0-litre Si4 240 turbo-petrol produces 177kW at 5800 and 340Nm at that magic 1750rpm mark. This engine dates back to Jaguar and Land Rover’s years under Ford ownership (which finished in 2008), and is technically part of the blue oval’s EcoBoost range. Stand by for an Ingenium replacement sooner rather than later.

The nine-speed ZF (9HP) automatic transmission replaced the previous six-speed unit in early 2013.

The windscreen sticker says 7.6L/100km of 95RON or better, but that doesn't ever seem likely on the combined cycle. Our week of suburban running with bursts of highway yielded an average of 11.3L/100km. The Evoque is chubby for its size, which explains its relative thirst.

The Evoque Pure Td4 150 manual leads the way on fuel economy, with Range Rover claiming 4.8L/100km for the combined (urban/extra urban) cycle.

The Td4 180 in five-door form is listed at 5.1L/100km, with the Si4 240 petrol version rated at 7.8L/100km. Weighing just under 300kg more than an equivalent five-door model, it's no surprise the Convertible ups the numbers on fuel consumption, the diesel version using 5.7L/100km, and the petrol 8.6L/100km.

Fuel tank capacity for diesel models is 54 litres, while the petrol's extra thirst means a step up to 68.5 litres.

In its likely environment - the suburbs - the Evoque is impressive. Even on the big, optional 20-inch tyres (albeit with the dynamic dampers), the car rides firmly but with good compliance over the bumps. To my ears, the Evoque has become quieter over the years, which is partly down to the new engine, while further advances in sound-deadening have  also helped.

The steering is light and sensible in 'Standard' mode and weights up probably a touch too much when you switch to 'Dynamic', via the console-mounted switch. I like kicking around in Dynamic with the stiffer suspension and slightly more responsive throttle.

Perhaps less optimally, I also found myself switching to 'Sport' mode on the transmission. The nine-speed has a habit of being a little ponderous, which may be something to do with the switch from the old Ford-powered car I drove a few year ago. My wife complained that the transmission was clunky but agreed it improved in Sport mode, while expressing her disappointment that it didn't drive as well as she had remembered. She's hard, but fair.

If you're a bit of a hooligan like me, this 290-spec engine is strong and torquey and with everything turned up to Dynamic and Sport, very good fun and a potent weapon in traffic. With the nine-speed more concerned with performance than fuel-saving in D, S turns the tables and gets you moving at a rapid rate. Get too ambitious, though, and understeer sets in, with the weight of the car inescapable.

At cruising speed, the Evoque is genuinely lovely and very well-suited to long journeys and with that huge optional panoramic roof, a light and airy space that feels huge.

Any vehicle adorned with a Land Rover badge has to maintain the iconic brand's ability to perform off-road, even a cheeky, city-focused convertible Range Rover Evoque.

Tech features like 'Terrain Response', 'Hill Descent Control', and 'All-terrain Progress Control' systems look after that with break over, and departure clearances allowing the Evoque to climb (just about) every mountain and ford (almost) every stream.

That said, the urban jungle is the Evoque's more natural habitat, and it performs beautifully there as well.

Acceleration is crisp in all models, with the manual-equipped Pure Td4 150 taking the longest time to sprint from 0-100kmh (10.8sec), while the master blaster is the Si4 240 five-door, trimming that to just 7.6sec.

But rather than focus on stopwatch numbers, it's the low down torque from both the petrol and diesel engines that contributes most to the Evoque's willing character. It's all there from just 1750rpm, and mid-range pulling power is strong.

The six-speed manual gearbox in the entry-level Pure is reassuringly positive, with short throws and a sweet clutch action. The nine-speed auto is as smooth as a Don Draper creative pitch, with ratios perfectly matched to keep the engine on the boil.

Suspension is by struts all around and the Evoque delivers a polished blend of ride comfort and dynamic ability.

There's plenty of feel and a reassuringly linear response from the electrically-assisted rack and pinion steering, while the torque vectoring (by braking) system subtly discourages the front end from pushing into understeer in rapid cornering.

Braking in all models is by ventilated discs up front, with solid rotors at the rear, and they deliver progressive, consistent stopping power.

One of the Evoque's strongest suits is safety, with a full swag of active and passive tech on board. All the important active safety features are present on all models, including, dynamic stability control (DSC), traction control, roll stability control, engine drag torque control (EDC), auto emergency braking (AEB), electronic brake force distribution (EBD), trailer stability assist (TSA), lane departure warning, and hazard warning light activation under heavy braking.

On the passive side, there are airbags for the driver and front passenger, a driver's knee airbag, and curtain bags covering front and rear seat rows.

There are also pop-up roll over hoops on the convertible, and ISOFIX child seat anchor points on the two outer rear seat positions.

In terms of personal security, 'Smart Key Controls' covers remote locking and unlock, with double lock, lights on and tailgate open functions included.

The Evoque Convertible is 'unrated' by ANCAP, but for reference the five-door version was tested and awarded a maximum five stars by EuroNCAP in 2011, although in line with local spec, ANCAP rates the hardtop at four stars.

The standard warranty of three years/100,000km applies, with three years roadside assist. Service intervals are set at 12 months or a scarcely believable 26,000km, whichever comes first.

You can extend the warranty at purchase and pre-purchase five years/130,000km of servicing for $1500, which seems fairly reasonable.

The Range Rover Evoque is covered by a three year/100,000km warranty.

Diesel models require servicing every 12 months/16,000km, while petrol-powered variants should head to the workshop every two years/34,000km. Land Rover doesn't offer a capped-price servicing for the Evoque.