2020 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque | The Premium Alternative

Today we're here in the woods taking a look at the smallest Range Rover you can buy in the United States, the Range Rover Evoque for

2020

. The Evoque is brand new but it also looks familiar because it looks a lot like the last-generation model. the first Range Rover in America to get its new 48-volt hybrid system, but that's not on the model we're looking at here. It's best to think of Range Rover as a sub-brand of the Land Rover brand, so this is a Land Rover Range Rover Evoque and it's part of the growing family of Range Rover vehicles in the United States, we have the

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, we have the valar, the sporty and then just the Range Rover without any additional name, you can definitely see the Family styling up front, we take a look. that's definitely very similar to the Range Rover velar and of course the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.

We have these very thin LED headlight modules. The turn signal is right there, it turns into daytime running lights, it is not on and then the model. The one we're looking at here has fog lights integrated right into the bottom of the bumper, bucking the trend in the automotive industry to make each version larger than the last, this Range Rover is almost exactly the same size as the latest model It was 172 point one inch long, but Land Rover stretched the wheelbase. They've given it an extra ant between the rear and front wheels, which helps a bit in terms of overall interior practicality right now, the big difference.

The difference between this and the last-gen Evocar is that this one comes only as a four-door crossover instead of the two-door vehicle that was available on the last-gen model compared to the competition. This is about two inches shorter than the Volvo XC forty and about three inches. shorter than the BMW or the x1, depending on how you have it configured, will cost seven to ten thousand dollars more than most European options. The base price of this model is between seven and ten thousand dollars more than the base price of the Volvo, BMW, Lexus and Audi, etc., so this is definitely a

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in the subcompact crossover segment, but one of the other differences is the overall width, about four inches wider than something like the BMW x1, meaning we get a slightly wider interior which makes it feel a little more spacious.

Especially in the front row, some of those subcompacts that come across us in the United States, so you could see it as a

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to something like the Volvo or the BMW or as a slightly more compact, easier-to-park alternative to something like a Mercedes. Benz GLC, even though the Evoque is the least expensive Range Rover in the

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and this is the only one that uses a transverse engine layout very similar to what we see in many other subcompact crossovers out there, they still decided to do it as a shutdown. - as road-friendly as possible, so we have 8.3 inches of ground clearance, which is class-leading in this segment, and pretty good angles overall for approach, departure and braking.

Land Rover also decided to give us an all-wheel drive system that is certainly fine-tuned. for more off-road tasks than those found in the BMW, Volvo, Audi, etc., we have your typical terrain management system that we will see shortly in the interior and the all-wheel drive system is tuned to direct the power in rather than simply reducing engine power when front wheel slip is detected. We also have a front view camera available. This particular model doesn't have one, but it would actually be taking images right down there, at the front of the vehicle, and would give the driver a better perspective of what they're about to hit immediately rather than a view further forward.

On top of that, we have a weight sensor available that will tell you when you're getting close to the 23.6 inches of water fording capacity in the rear. We've got all-LED taillights that are red, as you can see there on that side, we've got LED fog lights here at the bottom and then we've got kind of faux exhaust tips. I'm not sure exactly what shape it's supposed to be. Be down there, but the actual exhaust tips are under the bumper. The faux vents aren't just limited to the rear exhaust, we also have some here on the hood and right here on the side panel and front door, as we see with most luxury vehicles in America right now, other than Lexus brand vehicles, most of the active safety systems we see on this particular model are optional, not standard, and that includes things like the adaptive cruise control system we found on the version we drove.

Today, the entire displacement is familiar to us, we have a completely new engine family under this hood. It is a 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 246 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque. That is the model we drive today. The next step From there, there's a new 48-volt mild hybrid system. It uses the same basic 2-liter turbocharged engine, but makes up to 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. It has a 48 volt belt alternator starter type system that is located right in one. The side of the engine that sends power to the ground for both engines is an updated 9-speed automatic transmission.

It is also manufactured by ZF of Germany, just like the previous one, only this model is a 9 HP 50. The key thing you should know about this transmission is that it appears to be significantly smoother than the one found in the last generation Oak, which is a welcome change for

2020

thanks to the hybrid system, which makes the extra power cost you nothing at the gas pump. Both engines are rated for combined rating. 23 miles per gallon, which is a bit below the competition, however, and is also a loss of 1 to 2 miles per gallon over the last generation. One key thing to note is that the Evoque is relatively heavy for this segment depending on how you've configured it, it could weigh five to six hundred pounds more than a BMW x1 and is overall a smaller vehicle.

Perhaps one of the reasons the Evoque is noticeably heavier than the competition is that Land Rover has still designed it with a trailer. Keep in mind that this has a US tow rating of three thousand nine hundred and sixty-eight pounds, which sounds like an odd number. Why isn't it exactly four thousand pounds? The most likely reason is that they translate a metric trailer rating to a US trailer rating. But either way, around 4,000 pounds of towing capacity for a subcompact crossover is pretty healthy in the United States. Front seat comfort is definitely good in the sense that this particular model has 12-way adjustable front seats for both the driver and front passenger. and both seats have three-position memory, we also get a memory-linked power tilt-and-telescopic steering column, but not all of these features are standard because Land Rover has positioned the evoke as the premium entry in this segment.

There are several options available in the front seat area that we don't see in this particular model, we can get more ways of movement in the driver's seat. Seat massage is also available. The model we drove here only has heated front seats, but ventilated front seats are available. Additionally, and features like this tilt-telescopic steering column, which is an optional feature, is not standard due to the overall size of the Evoque and the way Land Rover has decided to distribute space, we have considerably less legroom here than the In fact, the competition found a more compact interior here than in any other current generation Audi q3 and it really shows sitting here behind me at 6 feet up.

I have about two inches of legroom left, but I'm sitting in a fairly upright position. and forward, if I tried to slide to the right side over here, my feet barely fit well on this stand and you can see my knees digging into the back of the seat, it's because this front seat is all the way back in its proper place. For a taller driver, if you are shopping in this segment and want to put adult or child seats in the back seat, you may want to consider buying something like a BMW x1 or upgrading to the Range Rover Velar because either of those options is I'll give you four inches.

More legroom over all that said. Headroom is definitely generous and here, thanks to the vertical proportions, we have the panoramic roof on this particular version, but I still have about an inch and a half of total headroom left and if this front passenger was willing to Sit more upright and forward. I could definitely sit here very comfortably. Rear seat passengers have a folding center armrest that is softly padded and has two cup holders and then we have a 40/20/40 folding backrest. seat design, although this 20% side has to fold down with the driver's side seat back, if you lowered it they would all go together, but this allows you to fit larger items in here, like a surfboard, if you so choose want, one of the reasons we seem to have a little less legroom inside.

It's just that Land Rover has definitely decided to prioritize cargo capacity over overall legroom. We have 21 and a half cubic feet of storage space back here, which is excellent for the subcompact category, although this is on the small side of the category we have more cargo space back here than we find in the qx30, the GLA , the q3, the Volvo XC 40, etc. This is quite similar to the BMW X 2, but is a bit below the BMW x1, as you can see. which we can definitely fit things like these larger 22 inch wheeled bags back here, we could definitely line them up in the back and they would fit under this tonneau cover, this is a hard type tonneau cover so if you want Remove it from the vehicle if you take it out and then it is a one piece unit, so you would have to figure out where you want to place it.

Another reason this cargo area is large is because Land Rover decided to give us a spare tire here, they didn't stick the Evoque with run-flat tires or just a tire inflator kit and in a t1 55 size, this is a Reasonably sized spare, no small sum, it's out there when we look inside, keep in mind we're on a first edition model. It has a decent amount of options, but it's not fully loaded, so there's still more you can get within the model we've been able to drive. It has a very large single glass panel on the roof that does not open.

If you want a folding panoramic sunroof which is available but a little more expensive, you can see that it extends to the heads of the rear passengers. The driver and front passenger have fixed-height shoulder belts and two-way adjustable headrests on the model we're driving here again. More expensive seats are available. The two-tone leather upholstery on this particular model is perforated, but these seats are only heated. We don't have the ventilation option here as you would expect from a vehicle with a premium Mission in mind, we have much more soft feel and premium materials on the doors, which would be the front and rear doors, so instead of less expensive mats that Many soft-touch stitched materials are used in these door panels, as with the rest of the Range Rover

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, the Evoque also offers a much wider range of interior customization than what we find in the rest of the European options, so more colors, more color combinations, more ways to configure its interior.

The model we drove has the mid-level Meridian audio system, it is not a stereo system. surround sound in this particular vehicle and then we also have that three position memory for the driver's seat, the glove box is one of the variety of bins. I couldn't fit a larger tablet inside, but some of the smaller ones might fit in top quality materials. Continue as we move around the dash, we have a soft touch top section on the dash and then this center section stitched right here. In the middle of it all we find essentially the same infotainment system that we find in the rest of the Range Rover line,Except this model features a tilting screen design, the system features the latest in smartphone integration, and the software package is basically the same.

What we see in modern Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles is full-featured, but not as snappy as some of the competitive European infotainment systems. It's really obvious if you start exploring some of the system's off-road options, so for example, if we open the off-road information right there, you can see how long it will take to start that particular option. I already click on we're waiting, we're waiting and then that option pops up so you can see it's definitely not as snappy as some of the alternatives out there, if the model we were driving here had anything other than the base camera installed, we've got some to camera view available, but we only have the rear camera on this particular model, as we see on the In the larger Range Rover models, we have not one, not two, but three large LCD screens on the dash, the infotainment, this screen below that is mainly dedicated to vehicle settings, seats and climate control, we get some infotainment readouts and then an LCD instrument. group that we'll look at in a moment, the two screens can work together, so for example, if I pull up Leia's on the top screen, I can pull that little dial down there and get the Apple Carplay readout here in this area and from Similarly.

If we were in the vehicle information screen and I press the offer and information button, it would also open it in the infotainment system. Here on the climate screen, you can see the main function of this screen, however, we have these two knobs that are on the top of the LCD touch screen, so there is actually the LCD screen right here that we see that It shows us 64 degrees, which is the same one that that screen gives us right there. If I unzip these two sides, we have separate climate controls for both of them. zones right there, if I press the sync button, this turns into a fan button.

You can also press this for seat heating or seat ventilation. If your model has that particular option, it only has seat heating, so pressing once only has that seat heating option. there you can see the plus three programs on that screen, we also have the ability to control the seats right there, the same thing turns on the seat heating right there through that vehicle configuration screen that gives us that terrain management system that I mentioned at the beginning of In this video we have the dynamic eco comfort mode. This is the grass, gravel and snow program.

Then we offer a mud and rut program right there and then a sand program at the end or you can let the vehicle decide what it wants to do with the button. The racing helmet takes you to the settings for my dynamic display in the infotainment system or you can adjust things like the engine, transmission steering effort and suspension firmness in the center of the console, we have a shift lever. joystick style shifts, there's a button right there on the back, we push it in and then pull the rear words to drive, push forward to reverse, shift left when in sport mode, move away from the driver to down, pull towards the driver to upshift if we press the park button.

Button that will return to the center right like this. There are a variety of different finish options available, including real wood finish, but the model we drove here only has these horizontal lines on the plastic behind the shifter. We have an area where you can store your smartphone. and this tray is removable to give you access to the two cup holders. You will notice that one is a little smaller than the other. The central armrest is divided so that we can open each of these sides independently of each other. I'm not sure why you would want to do that, but we can have two USB inputs right there, an auxiliary input, the Micro SIM card for the infotainment system and a 12 volt power port.

There is also some additional storage just behind the climate control LCD screen, as with the larger Range Rovers we get a full LCD screen. The instrument cluster on this model can be configured through a menu controlled by the steering wheel button. I prefer the one dial layout, but we also have a two dial layout available where we can display additional information right there between the speedometer and tachometer where the steering wheel is. The same basic round design that we see on the larger Range Rover models, we have sporty grips on top and there are several different wheel designs you can choose from.

This particular wheel design has a metal strip right between the two sides of the leather. perfect leather on the inside non-perforated leather on the outside the only downside to this design is that this is a real metal band and in warmer climates it gets pretty hot so if you drive this somewhere like Phoenix Arizona maybe want To consider getting the steering wheel without the metal strip on the right side of the steering wheel, we have the buttons for the adaptive radar cruise control system. We set the distance with these two buttons here and the speed with the up and down ones. button to enable and disable the lane-keeping assist system's cruise control or on-the-spot speed limiter and heated steering wheel functionality.

You will notice that these buttons light up when you press them and this is a solid piece of plastic, so it is a combination of a touch button and a physical button right behind it. I really like the way Land Rover has done the buttons on the steering wheel, if we are on a call we have a red and a green button here for the phone, but if I hang up the call and you notice it goes back to white, so which is a little more visually pleasing. We'll also have a voice command button, a favorites button there and then this toggles the volume up/down back and forth if I click in the middle.

We get the menu button and notice that it switches to that four-way layout there with an OK button in the middle that controls the multifunction messages to the instrument cluster and then finally on the back of the steering wheel you can see the paddle shifters that we have down. To the left and up to the right on the road, you'll notice a few things right away. The first thing you'll notice is that this 9-speed automatic transmission is significantly smoother than the previous generation, the Evoke, or any other iteration. of this ZF 9-speed that I have experienced so far, whether we are talking about those under the hood of a product like the Jeep or Chrysler Pacifica models or the 9-speed automatic transmission, we find in Honda and Acura vehicles essentially the same. 9 speed automatic layout that we see in front wheel drive Jaguar Land Rover vehicles but this is the next generation of that 9 speed automatic and the big difference seems to be in the way the software is programmed, the changes definitely seem to be Much more consistent in terms of overall quality and I must say I don't mind the way these 9 speeds shift so well in other vehicles.

I've said that the ZF 9 speed can be a bit problematic in the Evoque. I have to say I don't agree with that statement for this particular vehicle, unfortunately the 9 speed upgrades can't counteract the curb weight we found in the Evoque, this one weighs around 4,000 pounds which is several hundred pounds more than most direct models. competition and that's probably the main reason the acceleration is a bit slow, we recorded 7.8 seconds from 0 to 60 which was a bit disappointing because according to Land Rover this should have been around 7 seconds even now Since we were in dynamic mode and we had the manual transmission selector selected for first gear most of the time, this transmission starts in second gear, so if you leave this in comfort mode or automatic mode and you are stopped at a traffic light, put the foot to the end. floor the accelerator is not going to shift into first gear it will stay in one second and in that case it took 8.1 seconds to go from 0 to 60, that means that something like a BMW x2, a BMW x1 or the XC 45 will be significantly fastest, they're all down there around 6.1 to 6.2 seconds from 0 to 60 and then of course we have the new BMW with 300 horsepower under the hood and that will be by far the fastest model in this particular group, the heaviest.

The curb weight also probably contributed to the longer stopping distance on this model. 129 feet is how long it took us to stop from 60 miles now coming back to zero, which is definitely longer than most of the European competition when it comes to overall handling. Evoque has a good solid feel, but you have to take into account that weight and the fact that we have one of the highest ground clearances available again at 8.3 inches on this model, which reduces handling ability by below some of the most modern ones. Road-focused options, like the BMW x2, are certainly lower than the Audi q3.

The brave q3 is pretty low to the ground and has very very wide tires, it handles incredibly well on top and finishes, but while the handling is not bad at all, new people. I'm going to go ahead and give this a B as far as overall handling goes, remember all versions of the evoke are all wheel drive, there is no front wheel drive version of this, although the drivetrain is front wheel based. all-wheel drive layout with a transverse engine in the front, meaning it will handle differently to some of the competitors that are available with front-wheel drive.

The drive system has a rear axle disconnect feature that is more aggressive in the Eco mode of the The terrain management system is going to be really aggressive in disconnecting that rear axle to help save fuel and if you put it in the program dynamic mode will then keep that connection locked so we can send more power to the rear axle and it gives you better handling overall, unlike the full Range Rover or something like a Land Rover Discovery, we don't have an air suspension on the evoke, but that we have an adaptive suspension that is a little more similar to most competitors. adaptive suspensions, has fairly traditional seam struts, but can control the valves electronically so that the overall height of the vehicle does not change and the suspension dynamics feel more like a traditional steel spring suspension, can become firmer or softer in this moment we are in. the soft mode, I can click here to set the vehicle, activate the dynamic mode or the individual mode and then that would choose us the firmest shocks or whatever I selected from that individual mode, then the suspension definitely becomes a little bit firmer, but it won't be as firm as some of the options in this segment actually think the BMW x2 has a less compliant suspension than the Evoque.

Keep in mind that while on paper this is a road-focused Range Rover model, it's still designed to be capable off-road, and that capability on offer requires a more pliable suspension overall when it comes to our overall handling score. I'll give this an A because it ends up in a price category where you could get more comfortable options. so this is definitely in the same price range as something like a mercedes benz GLC, not a GLA, something like a BMW x2, not necessarily an x1, and they will be a little more comfortable and more compliant on the road. definitely well composed even when we're in that dynamic mode and if I put it in comfort mode I think we get an overall nicer suspension setting than some of the larger Land Rovers;

The larger Land Rovers tend to feel a little heavy, perhaps. a little heavy and we don't see that sensation in the VOC. It definitely has a sharper chukka underneath as well. Land Rover has put all of its latest fuel saving technologies into the VOC. We have active shutters on the grill. Their latest engine family, the revised 9. automatic speed, the all-wheel drive system with rear axle disconnect and improved aerodynamics, even after taking all that into account we still ended up with lower fuel economy than the last generation COV, unfortunately we can probably blame the weight totally empty. of this vehicle so, any way you look at it, we've been averaging about 27 miles per gallon, which is right where the EPA says we should be for this particular vehicle, but that's definitely below most of the core competition Overall, the Evoque is exactly what you'd expect from a small Range Rover on the road, it has a presence and overall luxurious feel thatwe don't necessarily see in the rest of the competition, it definitely feels a little more solid in terms of results.

On the road, the Evoque is exactly what you'd expect from a baby Range Rover. We get a very solid and luxurious feel and the overall nature of the vehicle is a little more relaxed than most of the main competitors, especially the German one. options available, so if you're looking for something that's a little out of the ordinary, this is exactly what you should look at. I've met a lot of people this week who seemed to confuse where the Evoque stands in the automotive sector. Part of this is due to the overall pricing structure. 20/20 VOC is quite expensive for this segment of subcompact crossovers.

It starts at forty-two thousand six hundred and fifty dollars, which is a hell of a lot closer to the average compact crossover in America than the average. subcompact luxury crossover significantly more expensive than the next one in XC 40, GLA, etc. and that's part of the reason why some buyers think the Evoque is a little larger than the model we were driving this week actually is. The first edition started at fifty-six thousand eight hundred and fifty dollars and if you add all the options at the Evoke level right now, it will end up around seventy-two thousand dollars.

Part of that is due to the type of options we have. If you find it available on the Range Rover, there are more premium options available on the Evoque than we find on most of the competition, but a lot of that has to do with the overall starting price. You might be wondering now why the Evoque is so expensive. This has to do with the customization that is available in the Evoque, we find more options to choose from, we find more ways to configure the interior, different interior treatments, steering wheels, headliners, etc., which we find in most subcompact crossovers that exist and even when we compare it to something like the average compact luxury crossover in America.

You'll find more ways to personalize the Evoca interior. We also found a few more interior treatments that give a more premium feel by evoking the overall shape of the dashboard and doors. trimmed etc, we have more premium materials in those areas and then there's the way Range Rover has chosen to position the evoke; It's definitely positioned as a more premium option in this particular segment, for reference a BMW x1 alone costs around $48,000, so what's the evoke? Well, maybe we'll get there eventually, but let's talk about the BMW x1 first because I think comparing the evoke to an average model in the subcompact crossover category will explain a lot about the x1, the new q3, the Volvo XC. 40, many of the entries in that segment are very similar, so although we're talking about x1 here, a lot of this applies to the XC 40 and the most important thing you'll notice about the evoke in the base model versus a base model.

Of the BMW x1 massaging the front seats for example usIt also has the off-road mission of the Evoque all-wheel drive as standard and you can definitely tell that Range Rover spent a lot of time with the Evoque's software, making it more capable off-road than most of the competitors in this segment. I haven't taken the exact Evoque we were driving off-road today, but I have driven this generation and previous generation Evokes on a number of courses offered across the country and I can tell you that it's definitely as capable as you are. what you would expect from a vehicle with production tires.

Land Rover always likes to keep original equipment tires on its vehicles when allowing them off-road, so the Evoque couldn't follow the same routes you'd expect from a Land Rover Discovery or a full-fledged Range Rover to go downhill, but it works. relatively well for a vehicle with all-season tires and low profile tires. The Evoque has one of the best ground clearance entries in this segment. It's also one of the few vehicles here that has a rating. Ability to wade through water, not that many people here take Terry VOC down the river, but if you wanted to, it would be more capable than most of the competition.

The downside of the Evoque is that we manage some of that due to the overall weight. This is due to the high ground clearance and is partly due to simply the overall design of the evoke. The Evoke is significantly heavier in terms of curb weight than a BMW x1, Audi q3, Volvo There could be additional pros and cons due to curb weight, fuel economy is definitely below most of the competition, but overall the Evoque drives and feels more like a larger vehicle, so if If you're looking for something that's really small and easy to park but still feels like a more substantial crossover, then Vote might be a good option for you, but the most important thing to remember here is that the Evoque isn't exactly the same as a BMW x1 or a Volvo The Evoque is like a luxury compact crossover competitor.

We'll just use the BMW x3 as a good example here, but this would again apply to something like a GLC or Volvo xc60 in the same way. Now this comparison is a little tricky because a lot of people equate size with price and a lot of people want the extra space that you would find in something like an x3, a GL c q5 or an XC 60, plus the x3 starts. at $41k in a price range very similar to most compact luxury crossovers with all-wheel drive and it will be quite difficult to get most of these entry-level engine options in the compact luxury segment at the same price .

Labels that we see on the Evoque. I tried the x3 with the base engine, but it just wasn't possible. I'm sure you could get the m4 TI or x3 em in the $70,000 range, but they're not exactly the same. an Evoque Oddly enough, the Evoque will perhaps be a little heavier than some of the compact luxury crossovers in America, but in terms of overall driving dynamics and handling ability it's not too far off from what we see in the Audi q5 or the Volvo xc60. In short, the Evoque is an odd duck here, it is presented as an alternative to the luxury vehicles out there, but it is not necessarily the most direct competitor to many of them, it could be seen as the more compact alternative to something like the Range Rover of the law or the Volvo xc60 Mercedes GLC, etc. or it could be seen as an upgrade from something like a BMW or the Volvo XC 40.

Those are two absolute options in the smaller crossover segment. They won't feel as premium as the Evoque, but they will be zero. to 60 a little quicker, they will also handle a little better than the Range Rover or I think if I wanted to spend sixty to seventy thousand dollars I would just take the next jump up the lineup and move up to something like the Range Rover Valar it would be more expensive but it will handle better and feel more premium than what we see in the Evoque. For me, the Evoque is a little too compact and a little too expensive.

I know what you think about it in the comments section below, what would you choose if you were shopping in this particular segment? If you haven't already, be sure to find us on facebook.com slash oxen autos so you can see what we're driving this week and I'll see you later.