Range Rover Evoque 2011 review

There's something very special about the launch of a brand new, never before seen car like Land Rover's new Range Rover Evoque. With its killer good looks, this is a car going places, a car that's going to do big things for Land Rover - not just here but around the world.

Preparing to drive the car for the first time in Wales this morning, we admit to being a little excited. Due to arrive in Australia early next year, Land Rover is already holding close to 170 orders for the compact luxury sports utility vehicle (SUV). Hell, the orders started rolling as soon as they showed the first pictures, with many people happy to put their money down just to make sure they're the first to get one.

VALUE

Did I mention the price? You can get your hands on one of these delectable looking runabouts for as little as $49,990. That's the asking price for the entry level, two-wheel drive model with a turbodiesel engine - but you'll have to wait a little longer for that one which won't be launched until March or April.

TECHNOLOGY

There's a choice of three and five-door, two-wheel and four-wheel drive models, with three engines and two transmissions and a variety of options packs. Standard equipment includes push button start, an electric parking brake and Bluetooth with audio streaming, as well as rear parking sensors, colour computer screen and power adjust front seats. For the top of the line Prestige model with a turbocharged petrol engine and all the options, you can pay close to $120,000.

If the Ranger Rover Sport experience is anything to go on, the Evoque is headed for number one with a bullet, destined to easily become the biggest selling model in the Range Rover range based on price alone.

Buyers flocked to the cheaper, smaller Sport model when it was launched in 2005. Last year, Land Rover sold 4789 vehicles in Australia and 3451 vehicles so far this year - an increase of nearly 20 per cent. There's even talk the Evoque could double sales.

At the same time however the Evoque is likely to steal sales from other models, so the marketing focus is going to be on getting new customers into the brand. Land Rover Australia brought its dealers over to the UK to see and drive the car for the first time a month ago.

The reception was very positive according to spokesman Tim Krieger.

"The Range Rover Evoque is the smallest, lightest and greenest Range Rover ever and we expect it to have huge appeal in the market, many of whom may never have considered a Range Rover before, Krieger said. "We already have 8000 people who have registered interest in the model and over time we expect it to be our biggest selling model."

The petrol engine is the excellent 177kW 2.0-litre twin turbo unit that we have already seen in some Ford and Volvo models, with direct injection and twin variable valve timing, coupled with a six-speed Aisin automatic transmission. The two 2.2-litre fuel efficient diesels, at 110 and 140kW, are the same as those found in the Land Rover Freelander 2.

For a car to succeed it has to nail what we call the three Gs. It has to look good, it has to be offered for a good price and finally it has to go good. Two out of three ain't bad - we're about to find out whether it ticks the final box. Just climbing into the Evoque now.

DRIVING

At the end of the day (and what a long day it's been) it doesn't really matter how well the new Evoque goes or does not go - it's all about the looks. This is not just a good looking car, but a great looking car, inside and out - that will appeal to a wide variety of people (both male and female).

It's bigger inside than you might think, with more headroom than the sloping roof suggests. But rear legroom is tight and it has a smallish boot.

The Evoque shares its underpinnings and drivetrain with Land Rover's Freelander, with the same 2660mm wheel base - although we're told the chassis has been heavily modified. Ironically, the Freelander looks more like a Rangey than the Evoque does, leaving us to wonder whether there was much debate over what badge it should carry. The final production version of the car is very close to the original LRX concept that was shown in 2008.

Design director Gerry McGovern was adamant there were to be no concessions to engineering that compromised what he describes as an exciting, dramatic shape. The designer is confident the result is going to hit the sweet spot.

Evoque sits 27mm lower and is 145mm shorter than the Freelander, but incredibly has a wider track and 12mm more ground clearance - not that many owners are likely to take this little beauty bush bashing. With a higher roof line, the five-door is 30mm taller than the three-door version providing back seat passengers more headroom.

Extensive use has been made of plastic, aluminium and composite construction materials to reduce the weight, resulting in better performance and fuel economy. The fenders are made of plastic, while the roof and bonnet are aluminium and the tailgate is made of composite material. The result is a car that's about 100kg lighter.

So what's the Evoque go like? The 177kW turbocharged petrol model that we drove first up had a sporty engine note and packed a punch, with more power and torque than the 3.2-litre six that it replaces.

The engine weighs 40kg less than the six and delivers much better fuel economy. Rated at 8.7 litres/100km, it returned 13.5 litres/100km over a combination of motorways, back roads and heaving going in the mud. The high output SD4 140kW turbo diesel delivers plenty of performance too, with an impressive 420Nm of torque. It's good for 6.5 litres/100km but delivered 11.8 litres/100km over the same drive route.

Both engines are teamed with a six-speed Japanese Aisin transmission that allows the driver to change gears manually using steering wheel mounted change paddles. The petrol and diesel will appeal to different buyers. We found the drive experience in both vehicles was not as smooth as we'd hoped, with some odd vibrations and noises on occasion. In both cases, the transmission exhibited a slight hesitation before hooking up - just enough to be irritating.

The electric steering is good with plenty of driver feedback, but not nearly as good as BMW's variable ratio steering. Both the cars that we drove were fitted with 19 inch wheels and Continental tyres. It's easy to drive and holds the road well even in wet conditions, but the tyres generated quite a bit of noise on some road surfaces.

Off road the Evoque is in a word impressive, with four dial-in terrain response settings for different conditions. The challenging slippery, sliding muddy conditions that we encountered were no real deterrent. In this environment it shines as easily the best in class. Given its off road pretensions, we were surprised to learn the Evoque is supplied with a reinflation kit in the event of a puncture.

But the local Land Rover franchise has taken a decision to supply our cars with a space saver spare as standard - not ideal but better than nothing. Overall, the Evoque offers an impressive combination of luxury, performance and economy with some minor niggles - none of them are going to stop you buying it.