Range Rover Evoque vs Nissan Ariya

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 Nissan Ariya made an excellent first impression on us in the short time we had to get to know it. The test vehicle's overseas spec meant we weren't able to experience it on public roads, so a 'real world' drive will have to wait until the car officially launches here in 2024.

At that point we'll also know the model line-up, final technical specification and pricing.

For now, we can say the Ariya appears to be easy and comfortable to drive, while offering excellent room for a car that's not at all large.

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.

The Ariya is a mid-sized SUV, about 4.6m long, which is close to the same length as a Toyota RAV4 but its styling is very different to the SUV norm.

The Ariya looks like a hatchback that's eaten another car with that big, bloated face and puffed-out wheel arches. But somehow, this SUV looks stunning, in an intriguing way.

The cabin is also beautifully odd in places such as the climate controls which illuminate out of the wood-like dashboard. But then there are more familiar elements such as the screens for media and driver's instruments.

Yep, the Ariya’s design treads the line between avant garde and everyday that makes it interesting without scaring people off.

Tesla’s Model Y is a direct rival to the Ariya, only about 10mm longer and has its own quirky, but very-Tesla interior that’s far more futuristic than the Nissan’s relatively traditional layout. 

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.

Leading up to the Australian preview of the Ariya I’d heard it was outstanding for space given its not-so-large exterior dimensions.

For the most part I found this to be true. Legroom in the second row is excellent, even for me at 188cm tall. Headroom back there isn’t as good as I expected with almost no room to place a hand between my noggin and the ceiling.

The flat floor in the second row creates more space and makes sliding from one side of the car to the other across the rear bench seat easy.

Up front there’s a large storage container Nissan calls the ‘Magic Box’ probably because it retracts neatly into the dashboard, although not due to any actual magic.

The sliding centre console is great for making more legroom for the unlucky middle seat passenger in the second row and offers superb covered storage. But it’s electric and as slow as a turtle, or a tortoise, I forget which one has legs.

Hyundai, Peugeot and other brands have these, too, but are manually operated.

The rear doors open wide making this an easy car to get in and out of, too.

The boot isn’t enormous. Nissan says it has a cargo capacity of 466 litres but those aren’t the VDA litres other brands such as Toyota uses, rather ‘liquid’ litres which is handy if you absolutely need to know exactly how much milk you’re able to pour into there. The load lip on the boot is also high, and will mean you’ll have to hoist items up and into it. 

The Ariya is still very practical, but the hype was overstated I think.

How much does the Ariya cost? Well, Nissan hasn’t announced pricing at this stage and won’t until much closer to the car's launch in 2024, but we think the list price will be close to $70,000.

How do we know this? We’ve zeroed in on the $70K mark because the Ariya’s direct rival is the Tesla Model Y which starts at $69,300 and tops out at $98,855 for the most powerful version.

Nissan would be barmy to price the Ariya higher than the Model Y and the company would also know Tesla could drop its prices in anticipation of the Ariya’s launch. 

What about the models in the line-up? Going by what’s offered in the UK, the Australian Ariya line-up could have two grades - an entry model and a fancy top-of-the-range version.

There will likely be a choice of two battery sizes as well as availability of an all-wheel drive version. 

So, with all that taken into account it’s likely the top-spec AWD could come in at about $90K.

That’s Nissan Patrol money for a mid-sized SUV, but it’s also not overly expensive given electric vehicles are still extremely costly to build and that extra spend is then passed onto the buyer in the asking price.

As for the features, well, in the UK the entry grade Ariya comes standard with dual-zone climate control, two 12.3-inch screens for media and the driver’s instruments, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat nav and a wireless phone charger.

There are also LED headlights and 19-inch alloys wheels on the overseas version. 

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.

Nissan hasn’t announced the motor specs for Australian Ariyas. But in the UK the Ariya can be had with a 63kWh battery and a motor sending 160kW/300Nm to the front wheels, or a bigger 87kWh battery version with the motor making 178kW/300Nm.  

There’s an all-wheel drive called the 'e-4orce' with the 87kWh battery and two motors (one on each axle) making a total of 225kW/600Nm. 

We might get all these versions or just some… we’ll probably know towards the end of this year.  

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.

Nissan was still evaluating the Ariya for Australia at the time this preview was published and had not determined the ranges or energy consumption for the vehicle locally.

What I can tell you is in Europe the 63kWh battery offers a 403 km range, while the 87kWh gives you a more substantial 533km range. The all-wheel drive version offers a 500km range. 

The efficiency figures for the European cars are also indicative of those we could expect. The 63kWh battery version is claimed to consume 17.6kWh/100km and for the FWD Ariya with the 87kWh battery that figure rises to 18.1kWh/100km.

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?

This was the first time the Ariya had been driven in Australia. Okay, sure, we were only allowed to do so at a test track and not on public roads. And, yes, the car we drove was an overseas version given to us to test by Nissan.

But the opportunity meant we could get a hint of what it might be like to drive in the real world.

Plus, we could drive it at 110km/h, which is about 30km/h faster than the maximum allowed for CarsGuide colleague Stephen Corby when he first drove the Ariya for us in Sweden, thanks to the overly cautious speed limits in that country. 

We drove the FWD Ariya with the larger 87kWh battery.

First impression is the Ariya is an easy car to drive, smooth thanks to the electric powertrain with good (but no ludicrous) acceleration.

Handling and brakes are excellent, while steering has a nice weight to it but remains light and accurate.

At higher speeds there’s wind noise but that’s only noticeable because there’s no engine to drown out the sound of the air rushing past.

The test track we drove the Ariya on was a course bitumen loop that approximated Australian road surfaces and the Ariya felt comfortable and stable at all times no matter what the speed.

So, an easy car to drive that’s comfortable and handles well, with good acceleration but not outstandingly quick compared to a Tesla Model Y. 

The Ariya won't go on sale in Australia until next year and hasn’t been given an ANCAP assessment yet. But ANCAP will likely adopt the maximum five-star rating the car scored in its Euro NCAP test. We will have to wait and see.

That means the Ariya will arrive with AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection, plus rear AEB. There’s lane keeping assistance and a 360-degree camera, too.

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.

We’d expect the Ariya to be covered by the same five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty Nissan Australia applies to all its vehicles.

The battery will likely be covered by a separate eight year/160,000km warranty just like the Nissan Leaf EV.

Service pricing will be available once the car's final specification is settled.