The New Range Rover Evoque – Drive Review

The first thing I noticed was that there’s been a huge uplift in the cabin’s quality, with yet more Velar- inspired touches such as the pair of 10-inch touchscreens, and some exquisitely chosen interior trim and materials. It’s clean and uncluttered, with very few knobs and buttons. Every Evoque is well equipped, with climate control, rain-sensing wipers, automatic LED headlights, keyless start and heated front seats as standard. The driving position, not to mention much of the cabin styling, feels familiar and has that rare ability to allow the driver to feel special. There’s an impressive combination of sporty driving positions and an up-high commanding view.

There’s also more space in the cabin to store bits and pieces (a genuine problem with the old car), while the boot’s also around 10 percent larger, which was one of my only complaints with the old car. Driving around town I found the engine to be pretty silent and willing. The mild hybrid system shuts the engine early as you move to a halt, and then re-starts instantly. Out on the open road, I found performance to be smooth and responsive, the nine-speed automatic gearbox is far better than in the last Evoque. I really like the move from the old models gear dial to a new style gear lever - it plays co-operatively when you use the paddle shifters.

This is a Land Rover so it goes without saying that you can be confident it will be more than capable if the ‘Beast From The East’ should make a reappearance! The Evoque is available with Land Rover’s brilliant Terrain Response 2 system, standard on higher-spec new Evoque’s. It’s activated by the twin glossy touchscreens of Touch Pro Duo, tap the icon that best represents the environment you’re moving through or just go for Auto mode and let the car decide. As well as Mud and Ruts, you can select Hill Descent Control at the crest of a particularly steep hill, peg the target speed to its slowest setting and simply let the car do its stuff. For those who need a good view of the road ahead, ClearSight Ground View system is activated from the menu on the center screen, and allows you to see immediately ahead – between the front wheels – for just these sorts of occasions.

Using a combined feed from cameras in the grille and beneath the mirrors, Ground View brings up a digital field of vision on the infotainment screen some 15 meters across and 8.5 meters deep, your front wheels ghosted in to help you place the car. It’s a system that Land Rover first teased as Transparent Bonnet on 2014’s Discovery Vision concept, and it works very well indeed.The 2019 Evoque has answered most, if not all of my criticisms of the old model, so job well done. Not only is it a head turning stylish SUV, it’s good to drive and is posh inside. Perhaps the biggest reason to buy an Evoque is how well its likely to hold on to its value. Independent depreciation experts expect it to be worth more than all of its rivals.

Uncluttered surfaces and sumptuous materials combine to form sophisticated and luxurious cabin, state-of-the-art Touch Pro Duo infotainment system, featuring two high-definition 10inch touchscreens for unrivalled functionality and intuitive operation engage the driver and Smart Settings artificial intelligence algorithums learn driver preferences and readies the cabin for their journey!

Inside, increased rear legroom, a larger loadspace and enhanced small item stowage are delivered thanks to a longer wheelbase. Available in S, SE and HSE trim choices, with an R-Dynamic variant for greater personalisation and priced from £31,600 in the UK.