All-new Range Rover Evoque is more sophisticated, more responsible and more capable — you’ll love it
And now it will go further off-road than you’d ever dare risk it
THERE’S a line in Captain Marvel that I use to motivate my kids.
Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) is sparring with Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) when he tells her: “I want you to be the best version of yourself.”
To my boys that means always look smart, be kind and try hard.
The thing is, I reckon Land Rover has a similar mantra and followed it to the letter with the new Range Rover Evoque.
Yes, I said new Evoque.
At first glance, it looks no different to the eye-catching original that all your women friends desire. But it is. This Mk2 version is better in every way. More sophisticated, more responsible, more capable.
Only the door hinges are carried over from the previous car. Now let’s start with the jewellery. The second- gen Evoque has flush door handles borrowed from the boutique Velar, as well as recycled seat fabrics, twin touchscreen set-up, Apple CarPlay, 4G wifi, and all sorts of camera-based safety systems. It’s all very classy.
Look carefully at the photo of the rear-view mirror and you’ll see it’s switchable between a conventional mirror and a rear-view camera screen. Plus you can option “Ground View” cameras which show the ground under the front of the car to avoid scraping high kerbs. Or boulders on grass verges.
Cabin space is much improved for rear-seat passengers and the boot is ten per cent bigger (591 litres) and wide enough to swallow a pram. The chassis is better too. It rides better (Velar rear suspension). And now it will go further off-road than you’d ever dare risk it.
MOST READ IN MOTORS
As well as snow, grass, mud and let-the-car-sort-itself-out auto modes, select the All Terrain Progress Control button and it will crawl up and down a mountain, at a set speed, with ease, while you just steer. It can also swim in 60cm of water. In short, it’s now a proper Range Rover.
Note. The £31,600 base car is front-wheel drive and manual and best avoided.
The rest are all-wheel drive with a nine-speed auto and awesome. Now let’s have a poke around under the hood. Every engine — petrol or diesel — above the base car has a 48V mild hybrid system to cut emissions and improve economy with no charging required.
It works by harvesting energy normally lost during deceleration and storing it in the underfloor battery. Below 11mph, the engine will shut off while the driver applies the brakes.
When pulling away, the stored energy is redeployed to assist the engine under acceleration. Which means it’s quieter AND less thirsty. Win. Win.
Next year, a three-cylinder plug-in petrol hybrid will follow that’s even kinder to the Earth. To sum up, then. If you liked the old Evoque, you’ll love the new one. You won’t find anything else as classy or as capable.
It’s the best version of itself.
KEY FACTS: RANGE ROVER EVOQUE
Price: £35,850
Engine: 2-litre turbo diesel
Power: 180hp, 430Nm
0-62mph: 9.3 secs
Top speed: 127mph
Economy: 38mpg
CO2: 150g/km
NOW LET’S HOPE THE JLR FIGHTBACK STARTS HERE
NEWS from the JLR mothership hasn’t been good as of late.
Redundancies. Recalls. Poor sales. Over dependence on diesel. Brexit. China.
Britain’s biggest car maker has been caught in a perfect storm after several years of unprecedented growth in which the workforce doubled and sales quadrupled.
The Range Rover Evoque was the linchpin for that success, racking up an incredible 800,000 sales in just seven years. Let’s hope this is the start of the fightback. Halewood – home of the Evoque and the equally popular Land Rover Discovery Sport – is back on three shifts after receiving a £110million investment. Next up, the Discovery Sport will get a tech and styling update and the 48V mild hybrid. Then we’ll see the new Defender before the year end. At last.
You can bet your boots there’ll be an all-electric Range Rover within the next few years too.