The New Range Rover Evoque Has Arrived

Range Rover gladly ditched a Spice Girl and they have never looked back. Their new Evoque channels the styling of existing Range Rover vehicles, while retaining key design elements making it unmistakably an Evoque. Nick Rogers, Executive Director, Product Engineering, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Underneath the skin is an engineering and technical revolution. The architecture is all-new to accommodate both plug-in and mild hybrid systems, with only the door hinges remaining unchanged on the body. The new chassis makes the most of the stiffer body, ensuring the characteristic ride comfort and refinement of a Range Rover. Evoque is now smarter than ever. The software that sits behind our infotainment system has been refined to provide a more intuitive customer experience. On top of that, we’ve added Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for seamless smartphone integration.”

OneShift Editorial Team

15 May 2019

The new Evoque has more to offer. Pronounced shoulders and powerful wheel arches are propped by 21” wheels, while the introduction of jewel-like elements such as Matrix LED lighting provide a sophisticated front and rear lamp graphic. Like its larger Velar sibling, the Evoque has also adopted flush door handles, delivering a smoothly sculpted exterior.

While the new Evoque is 4,37m long, almost identical to its predecessor; the all new Premium Transverse Architecture allows for better packaging. The new Evoque offers more interior space than before. A longer wheelbase also yields 20mm more knee room at the rear. Improved stowage in the form of a larger glove box and centre cubby can now fit tablets, and even handbags. Cargo room also sees a 10% increase to 472 litres, and expands up to 1,156 litres when the flexible 40:20:40 second-row seats are folded.

The new twin touchscreen Touch Pro Duo system, seen in its larger siblings; and featuring new, faster software makes its way into the Evoque. The Evoque is also the brand’s first to feature “Smart Settings”, which utilises AI algorithms to learn the driver’s preference and acts as an onboard butler. In addition to music preferences, climate settings and seat settings which by the way now have 14-way adjustments; the Evoque can also control steering column preferences for improved comfort.

Drive to the car is supplied by their award-winning 2.0 Ingenium engine, with the addition of a 48V mild-hybrid powertrain, for greater efficiency, and paired to a ZF 9-speed automatic gearbox. Two power ratings are available, with the R-Dynamic trim delivering 200ps and 320Nm, while the First Edition delivers 249ps and 365Nm. Acceleration figures are a respective 8.5 seconds to 100km/h for the R-Dynamic model, while the latter does the same in a quicker 7.5 seconds.

With the requirement to be able to be termed a true offroader, the Evoque boasts Approach / Break Over / Departure figures of 19.5° / 20.7° / 30.6° respectively. Wading depth has also seen a 100mm increase to 600mm. Terrain Response 2 technology, which was first seen on the full-sized Range Rover also makes its way into the new Evoque. The system sets the car up automatically to tackle the surface it is being driven on. Also available as an option, ClearSight Ground View technology effectively makes the bonnet invisible by projecting camera imagery onto the upper touchscreen to show the driver a 180-degree view under the front of the vehicle. This is especially useful when negotiating difficult parking spaces, navigating high city centre kerbs or tackling rough terrain.

Another highlight is its ClearSight rear view mirror’ that transforms into an HD video screen. Utilising a camera located at the base of the antenna, the driver is able to see what is behind the vehicle in crisp high definition; and comes in handy in the event that there are bulky items or a 5th passenger at the rear. The system offers a wide 50 degree field of vision, and also works in low-light situations.