Range Rover Evoque vs Mercedes-Benz X220

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 X-Class Pure 4x2 is good, but that's its major problem, because three-pointed stars and their high price tags bring with them a justified expectation of being not just good - but great. If a second-generation X-Class needs to borrow some components again, we hope they're from the legendary G-Wagen next time. In fact,a platform share between X-Class and G-Wagen (like Ranger/Everest or Colorado/Trailblazer etc) would have much greater appeal.

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.

Benz has re-engineered the Navara's steel ladder-frame chassis for greater rigidity and topped it with a restyled body that's 85mm longer and 126mm wider with a new M-B interior. There are also new front suspension components and a new coil-spring multi-link live rear axle assembly with disc brakes, which result in track width increases of 82mm front and 75mm rear (compared to RX Navara 4x2).

These engineering changes, combined with revised springs, shocks, anti-sway bars and steering, result in sure-footed handling with sharp steering response, excellent ride quality and a feeling of solidity that are all X-Class strengths. However, they have also resulted in a hefty 236kg weight gain.

The X-Class Pure 4x2 rides on a 3150mm wheelbase with a 5340mm overall length, 1916mm width and 1839mm height. In comparison to Ford's Ranger, which is considered the 'bigfoot' of Aussie dual cabs, the X-Class is 70mm shorter in wheelbase and 22mm shorter overall, but 56mm wider, 24mm taller and lineball on turning circle at 12.8 metres. So, like the Ranger it's quite a large and imposing vehicle.

Critical rough road credentials include 222mm of ground clearance with 30 degree approach and 25 degree departure angles. Its wading depth of 600mm is better than Amarok (500mm) but considerably less than Ranger (800mm).

It's nice to see sizeable grab handles on the window pillars for front and rear passengers and the driving position is pretty good. However, the Pure's front seats lack sufficient lumbar support and the base cushion (at least the driver's) needs some rake adjustment, as it can feel like you're sliding off the front at times.

For such a sizable vehicle we're surprised by how cramped the rear seating is for taller adults in terms of length and height, with knees touching the front seat backrests and, thanks to the higher 'grandstand' style rear seating, heads touching the roof lining. The rearward location of the B pillar also makes for quite tight entry and exit for those long of limb and large of shoe.

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.

Deducting the 4x2 Pure's 2046kg kerb weight from its 3200kg GVM would normally equal a payload of 1154kg, but the official payload figure is 68kg under that at 1086kg, which is an extra safety margin should the payload (but not the GVM) be exceeded.

The Pure 4x2's braked towing capacity of up to 3200kg is less than the 4x4 models' 3500kg rating. Even so, its generous 6139kg GCM allows for a substantial 884kg payload while towing its heaviest trailer load, which is impressive.

The load tub is 1581mm long, 1560mm wide and 475mm deep, with 1215mm between the wheel arches ensuring it can carry an 1160mm-square standard Aussie pallet. As mentioned earlier, our test vehicle was equipped with the optional $490 rear window guard frame, which should not only be standard but also have tradie-friendly pivoting load retainers or 'book-ends' on each side for carrying long lengths of timber, PVC pipe, etc.

The test vehicle's adjustable load-securing rail system mounted near the top of the tub (as seen on Navara) works well for securing loads of matching height or more, but there also needs to be four tie-down points in each corner at floor level to secure lower loads as well. The absence of load retainers and floor level tie-down points are glaring omissions for such a work-focused vehicle.

With tradies in mind there's also a lack of cabin storage, limited to bottle holders and storage pockets in each front door, an overhead sunglasses holder and small glove box. The multimedia system's sizeable rotary controller and touch-pad occupy a big chunk of potential storage space in the centre console, which only offers a tiny front storage slot, single cup holder and small rear lidded box (and there's no box if you opt for the 1-DIN audio ports as fitted to our test vehicle).

Rear seat passengers get a bottle holder and smaller storage pocket in each door and the bench seat base pivots upwards to a vertical position if you want some extra internal cargo space. But there are no flexible storage pockets on the front seat backrests and no cupholders. This needs a re-think because you quickly run out of places to store things.

Our test vehicle is as basic as an X-Class can get - the X220d Pure 4x2 dual-cab with six-speed manual transmission for $46,400. It's effectively a 'Hi-Rider' in industry speak, even if M-B doesn't use that term.

Given its work-focused specification, with hose-out vinyl floor, 17-inch steel wheels with 255/65 R17 road-biased tyres and matching spare, plus black bumpers, door handles, hub caps, etc, with not a hint of bling anywhere (bar the shiny three-pointed star on the grille), pricing north of $46K (before on-road costs) is Pikes Peak steep compared to the competition.

For example, the Ford Ranger Hi-Rider 4x2 in base-level XL trim with 2.2-litre diesel and six-speed manual is only $36,390 and Toyota's HiLux Workmate 4x2 Hi-Rider with 2.4-litre diesel and six-speed auto is $39,490.

And keep in mind our test vehicle also has the $1300 'Plus Package' ('Parktronic' and adjustable load-securing rail system), optional 1-DIN audio access ports ($150) and rear window guard frame ($490), raising the price to $48,340. That's a lot of money for a new player to be asking at base level, regardless of how much its star may twinkle.

Even so, the X220d's standard equipment list does include useful stuff like front fog lamps, DRL and dusk-sensing head lights, cruise control, tyre pressure monitoring, rear view camera, four 12-volt sockets, load tub light, four-speaker audio system with big 7.0-inch screen, multiple connectivity including Bluetooth and steering wheel controls, plus benchmark safety.

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 X-Class shares the Navara's engines and transmissions, but Nissan's superb YS23DDTT 2.3 diesel with sequential twin turbocharging and 140kW/450Nm is reserved only for the X250d variants.

The entry-level X220d Pure 4x2 and 4x4 models (like the entry-level Navara RX) make do with the less powerful but still excellent single turbo version with variable vane technology, producing 120kW at 3750rpm and 403Nm of torque between 1500-2500rpm.

The RWD Pure's six-speed manual gearbox (backed by hill start assist) has a pretty low (4.685:1) first gear which is handy for getting big loads underway from standing starts, while the over-driven top gear allows economic engine rpm at highway speeds. There's no rear diff lock like the Ranger Hi-Rider.

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.

Mercedes Benz's official combined figure is 7.6L/100km and the instrument display was showing that figure at the end of our test, which covered more than 660km on different roads (sealed and unsealed) and with a variety of loads, including our usual GVM run.

By comparison, our figures calculated from trip meter and fuel bowser readings came in at 9.0L/100km. Any dual-cab ute, particularly one this size, which can deliver genuine single-digit fuel economy in 'real world' driving gets a big tick from us. Based on our figures, you could expect a realistic driving range of 850km-plus from its 80-litre tank, which is fuel efficiency with a capital E.

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?

It might be based on a Nissan Navara, but it doesn't drive like one. Even at 4x2 entry level, the X Class's excellent un-laden ride quality, sure-footed 'wide track' handling and steering feel/response are benchmark for the class, which is the minimum you'd expect from this brand.  Cabin noise is also low.

The single-turbo Nissan engine is a strong point. Despite the X-Class having a higher kerb weight, the Navara engine does not feel sluggish, with ample low and mid-range punch making it a spirited enough performer under light loads with more than enough torque for heavy load-hauling. The six-speed manual gearbox shifts sweetly and its ratios are well matched, keeping the engine in its maximum torque band on the highway with 2000rpm at 100km/h and 2300rpm at 110km/h.

To test the 3200kg GVM rating we forklifted 920kg into the load tub, which with a 100kg driver was  only about 60kg under its 1086kg payload ceiling. The rear coil springs compressed a full 80mm and the nose rose 21mm, resulting in the rather ungainly tail-down-nose-up 'praying mantis' stance similar to the coil-sprung Navara from which it is derived.

A look under the tail revealed the top of the rubber bump-stop cones just kissing the underside of the chassis rails. Once underway, though, there was none of the Navara's riding-on-rubber feeling, as the Merc's thicker rising-rate rear coils maintained a modicum of springing. However, the sloping tail felt less stable, with some noticeable suspension squirm in a straight line and wagging through some corners, particularly on unsealed roads.

Even so, its Nissan engine made light work of our 2.0km 13 per cent gradient set climb, proving its excellent load-lugging ability by climbing it so easily in third gear that we made a second successful ascent in fourth. Engine braking in second gear on the way down, though, could not restrain such a big payload on its own, requiring regular prods of the brake pedal to maintain the 60km/h limit.

Maximum five-star ANCAP rating and first dual-cab ute to bring AEB to this segment gets a rare perfect score from us. Passive safety includes driver and front passenger front, thorax, side curtain and driver's knee airbags, child restraint top tethers plus iSize and ISOFIX anchorages on outer rear seat positions.

Active safety also includes lane-keeping assist and vital ute features like brake-force distribution, trailer stability assist, hill start assist and tyre pressure monitoring.

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.

Warranty cover is three years/unlimited km with 24/7 roadside assist.

Service intervals are 12 months/20,000km, whichever occurs first. Under M-B's 'Service Care Promise' the first three scheduled services will cost between $585 and $930.