Coincidences happen when you least expect them. So there I was, writing a news story on Land Rover selling 5,20,000 units of the Range Rover Evoque worldwide, when I got a call from Jaguar Land Rover India asking me if I wanted to test the refreshed Evoque over the weekend. Did I just say coincidence? The Range Rover Evoque got a nine speed automatic gearbox along with some additional equipment in the first half of last year. At the same time, it also joined the ‘locally assembled’ portfolio as well. The facelift Evoque made its India debut in November last year with the SUV getting only cosmetic changes. So has a stunning looking car got even better? Let’s look at what’s new.
The Range Rover Evoque has one of the most beautiful designs ever. It is one of the few automobiles whose production version stayed true to the concept (LRX). Half a decade after launch, it still looks fresh and appealing. The facelift Evoque is available in four trim levels instead of the earlier three: Pure, SE, HSE and HSE Dynamic. The car you see in these pictures is the range topping HSE Dynamic variant. The styling changes take the desire quotient of the Evoque higher. The sexy sculpted headlights get new W shaped daytime running lights. The front grille finished in black gives the Evoque a very SVR ish look. There is a new front bumper with XL size air intakes, sadly non functional but they do add character to the front end. The fog lights are integrated into the front bumper above the air intakes. The side profile remains the same. The rear gets a new bumper with an aggressively diffuser. The tail lamps get a new design and the U shaped elements look classy. The test car came shod with 7 spoke 18 inch alloy wheels. 18 inch alloys are standard on the HSE and HSE Dynamic trims. The Phoenix Orange paint job with black roof matched up with the sunny weekend. Quite a funky colour this.
Step into the cabin and you notice that nothing has changed from the earlier car. The interiors are plush and of fantastic quality. Everything is exactly the way it should be inside a Range Rover. The soft touch dashboard feels nice to touch and comes with contrast stitching. There is lots of leather everywhere and the test car featured the tan and Ebony combination. The steering wheel comes wrapped in leather but comes with manual four way adjust. The touch screen infotainment system gets the Home screen similar to that of the new In Control system but once you go further, you notice the interface is the same as before. The front seats are large and supportive and get 12 way electric adjust. While legroom is pretty good at the rear, tall passengers could be left wanting for more headroom. There is a rear entertainment system with two 8 inch screens mounted in the front headrests. The dual zone climate control cools well and made the Evoque’s cabin a comfortable place to be in this year’s extremely hot summer. The HSE Dynamic features a high end Meridian sound system with 825 Watts of power and 17 speakers. Sound quality is excellent and the system features USB and Bluetooth connectivity along with a single slot CD/DVD player.
Other features include a large panoramic sunroof, ambient lighting with ten colours, gesture tailgate opening, Heads Up Display, front and rear parking sensors and a 360 degree view camera. The Range Rover Evoque has a standard boot space of 575 litres. The rear seats fold down in a 60:40 split which increases the boot space to 1,445 litres. Land Rover provides a space saver spare tyre with the Evoque.
There are no changes under the hood either. The 2.2 litre four cylinder SD4 diesel engine still does duty in the Evoque. The new 2.0 Ingenium motor is still not offered in India. The existing engine develops 190 horsepower at 3500 rpm with max torque of 420 Nm coming from 1750 rpm. The engine may not be a scorcher off the block, but offers great drivability along with the 9 speed automatic gearbox. Shifts are smooth during relaxed cruising and the Evoque is an excellent highway mile muncher. At lower speeds however, the gearbox feels confused. It is always trying to find the right cog, and suddenly gets the eureka moment. It is more evident while requesting a kick down shift. Press the throttle hard and the gearbox will take 2 to 3 seconds to respond before moving ahead. Also, the engine has noticeable turbo lag till about 1500 rpm. The gearbox feels better in Sport mode and if you are shifting manually via the paddle shifters. The Evoque goes from 0 to 100 kph in a claimed 8.5 seconds and to a top speed of 195 kph.
Handling is good, body roll is also well controlled and it feels planted around corners. The Evoque comes with Land Rover’s Terrain Response system that features four driving modes: General Driving, Grass/Gravel/ Snow, Mud & Ruts and Sand. Each mode makes the engine, gearbox, chassis and other systems adapt to the various driving scenarios.
Safety features on the Evoque include 7 airbags, Dynamic Stability Control, ABS with EBD, Hill Descent Control, Hill Start Assist, Roll Stability Control, Auto hazard lights under hard braking, Engine Drag Torque Control and Torque Vectoring by Braking.
Land Rover has made an already good looking SUV even better. The styling updates have made it even more desirable. Being a CKD, the Range Rover Evoque now comes at a better price too and you get four variants to choose from. Prices start from Rs. 48.60 lakh for the Pure and go upto Rs. 65.68 lakh for the HSE Dynamic (ex showroom without octroi). JLR also throws in a three year service package. If a more subtle design suits you, the Discovery Sport with the option of seven seats is also available at around the same price point. But if you want something that will make a statement and turns heads at the drop of a hat, get the Evoque. Heck, I would buy one for those drop dead gorgeous looks alone. It is also the cheapest way to join the Range Rover owners club.
2016 Range Rover Evoque photo gallery:
