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Launched in 2011 by a former Spice Girl, the Range Rover Evoque laser-focuses on the burgeoning premium SUV market with a small yet perfectly formed coupe-esque shape and a luxurious and stylish interior.
Based on the Land Rover Freelander's platform, the five seat, five door Evoque SUV is available as both a front- or all-wheel-drive, with a range of engines that include turbocharged petrol and high-tech Ingenium diesels. Available as a five door SUV in the $78,031 Range Rover Evoque P250 Dynamic SE (184KW) or as a high riding two-door convertible in the $115,634 Range Rover Evoque Phev Autobiography (227KW), the Land Rover retains a healthy ability to clamber through the countryside – though it's far more likely to be spotted along the café strips of our major cities.
When this car was new, the recommended change interval for the timing belt was nine years or 230,000km which is an awfully long interval by industry standards. In some markets, this figure was reduced to seven years and 180,000km, which is still a long interval, but much more sensible.
If it was my Land Rover, I’d be changing it even sooner, probably at 150,000km at the outside, just to be certain, as a snapped belt will turn the engine to junk in a split-second. While you’re at it, take the opportunity to change the water pump and idler pulleys while the front of the engine is apart. It’s better than having to go back and disassemble the same part of the engine a few months later when the water pump starts leaking.
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The reason the scan threw up a camshaft phasing problem is because the belt has stripped and allowed the camshaft timing to become way out of synch. This is also why the engine lost power and wouldn’t restart in the first place.
Simply replacing the timing belt won’t fix it, as the engine’s original camshaft timing has to be restored for the engine to ever fire again. There’s a specific method to do this, but pretty much any mechanic will be able to retime the camshaft and get you going again.
If the engine is retimed and still won’t fire, there’s a chance the stripped belt has allowed internal damage to the engine which may need a full rebuild. You could be looking at bent valves, cracked pistons and more.
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Who told you a luxury car can't be a work car? If that's what you really want then you should go for it. You will probably turn it over faster but I've not heard anything about the Evoque that is a particular concern.
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The following Land Rover Range Rover Evoque comes with five seats. The Evoque S and SE variants are available with Grained Leather or Eucalyptus textile and Ultrafabric seats as standard. Grained leather is available in Ebony, Cloud or Eclipse. Fabric seats are available in either Ebony or Cloud. As an optional extra, Windsor leather seats can be added, in Ebony, Cloud, Eclipse or Deep Garnet. Similarly, optional Kvadrat premium textile and Dinamica suedecloth seat trim is available in Cloud or Dabble Grey/Ebony two tone. The Windsor leather and Premium textile seats are available as standard on the HSE variant.