ROAD TEST REPORT AND REVIEW: RANGE ROVER EVOQUE

The new Range Rover Evoque which has just been named Motor Trend “SUV of the Year”.

On his Evoque, Motoring Writer TOM SCANLAN (slightly tongue-in-cheek) wants the whole lot.

The Evoque is a Range Rover.
Maybe, considering its dimensions, it could have been a Land Rover. Anyway, it’s not and it’s set its stall among some serious opposition at this sort of money.
I’ve been driving the version that’s both practical and fun, thanks to the engine. This is the 2.2-litre diesel producing 190bhp. Given that I’m now going to get performance that’s never going to embarrass me on the open road, let’s take it from here. I also intend to go off-road, so I want all the help I can get here. Well, the Terrain Response system of course is on board, so I know I can go uphill and down dale whether it’s on snow and ice or over coastal sand-dunes (as we don’t yet have deserts in the UK). Actually, as I haven’t tested the car on snow or in sand-dunes, don’t take my word for it.
So far, I’m well-impressed with the performance and especially the ride and general handling agility.
Luckily, I’ve got shed loads of dosh and, because the 3-door Coupe version makes me go weak at the knees every time I look at it, I’m going to make the salesman feel like it’s the next three Christmas’s all in one go.
First of all, the colour: it has to be Orkney Grey Metallic at £550. And the wheels: well, my test drive proved that the 20” Chrome Shadows not only look great, but don’t compromise the ride comfort that can happen on oversize profiles; that’s another bag of peanuts: £225.
Now if you have a car that you’re driving out in the great blue yonder, you want to be able to observe the great blue sky up above, given that this won’t be an everyday occurrence. Unfortunately, Evoque doesn’t have an opening sun-roof, but it does have an impressive Panoramic Roof that extends pretty well the full length available; not only that, but it’s in contrasting Narvik Black. Irresistible at just £500.
Looking inside now, as my wallet is still bulging with notes: I’d  better get those nice Premium Carpet Mats; after all, they’re only £80, which is a lot less than other prestige marques would charge. And that reminds me, as I sit here in my test car on quite a cold morning – another option is a heated steering wheel. Luxury! I’m often up early and, as we look forward to another hard winter, at least my fingers aren’t going to get frozen-stuck to the early-morning steering wheel.
So much for the candy-floss. Now down to business. I want the Dynamic Plus Pack, please. But hang
on. Let’s not get carried TOO far away… this comes out at £3,000. So what do I get? Well, I get:
•    Dynamic Plus Oxford Leather seats with electric driver and passenger adjustment including recline, height, tilt, and lumbar support and an 8/8 way memory function
•    Heated seats
•    Textured facia mid-section
•    Ebony headliner
•    Satin Brushed Aluminium horizontal and centre console finisher
•    Gloss Black Strata horizontal finisher free if I want… well, why not?
OK, I’m still loaded, so, for £4,325, I’m also going for the Lux Pack, even if I don’t know what half of it means…
•    Powered electrical tailgate (open and close)
•    Fixed Panoramic Roof including Power Blinds (I thought I’d already paid for this.)
•    825 Watt Meridian® Sound System with radio and single
•    slot CD player, MP3 disc and file compatibility,
•    16 speakers with subwoofer
•    8 inch high resolution dual-view Touch-screen , including  a set of WhiteFire Headphones
•    Analogue/digital television
•    Interior rear view mirror (auto-dimming, naturally)
•    Surround camera system with towing assist
•    Blind spot monitoring
•    Keyless entry
•    Park assist
•    Climate control – automatic with air filtration and air quality sensing…well, of course.
Let’s just take one of those features. The surround camera system lets you see what’s happening on the ground around the car. This could be a real bonus for off-roaders. For example, you may sense that you have a flat tyre front near-side. On the screen in the car you have five picture sectors and so you just touch the relevant sector to get the enlarged image. And, just for fun, enlarge the front forward image and your screen shows the track you’re carefully traversing at 10 mph at a snail’s eye view – except you look like you’re doing 200 mph.
Right, well, from a basic £39,990 for my basic SD4 Dynamic Auto Coupe, I’m now spending £48,850.
Ouch! Let’s keep it at that, then. But my plan is now to sidle up to my prestige-German-car friends and bore the pants off them with my list of standard features and then move on to my Lux and Dynamic option packs. Honest: they’ll totter away, broken men, clutching their brows…
Or will they?
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