ORIGINALLY hitting the road as a ‘baby Range Rover’ the Evoque quickly established itself a monster seller and one of the most popular SUVs around.
The latest Range Rover Evoque, features a range of traditional, mild hybrid and plug-in electric hybrid variants plus a low emission tax busting PHEV model which really make the Evoque a company car hit.
The latest version is virtually the same size as the original model, but sits on Land Rover’s mixed-material Premium Transverse Architecture – which means there is more interior space than before.
A longer wheelbase yields 20mm extra rear kneeroom and an increase in small item stowage – the larger glove box and centre cubby can now fit tablets, handbags and bottles with ease.
The luggage space is 10% (591 litres) as well as much wider and easily fits a folded pram or set of golf clubs, with space increasing to 1,383 litres when the flexible 40:20:40 second-row seats are folded.
The good news for business motoring drivers is the hybridisation of the engines. The mild hybrid powertrain is a first for Land Rover and works by harvesting energy normally lost during deceleration thanks to the engine-mounted belt-integrated starter generator, storing it in the under-floor battery.
At speeds 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 and reduce fuel consumption.
Available across the range (when specified with automatic gearbox) of four-cylinder Ingenium petrol and diesel engines, the mild hybrid delivers CO2 emissions from as low as 149g/km and fuel economy from 50.4mpg.
While the mpg sounds laudable, for company car drivers, that means a benefit in kind of 37% – so it will still be expensive until that PHEV version comes along.
The 150PS diesel engine with front wheel drive emits 143g/km offering a company car tax banding 1% lower.
The Evoque P300E, introduced in 2020 and winner of the 2021 Business Motoring Medium SUV category, features an all-new petrol engine, a 1.5-litre three-cylinder Ingenium unit that produces 197bhp.
This drives the front wheels, while at the rear axle there’s an electric motor and a 15kWh battery under the back seats.
Total system output is 309bhp and 540Nm of torque, enough to get the Evoque from 0-60mph in 6.1 seconds, and it can reach 84mph on electric power alone.
On top of that, it’s good looking with great residual values combining all the SUV attributes with hybrid power.
With an electric-only range of 34 miles and CO2 emissions of just 44g/km. As a result, Evoque P300e benefits from low Benefit-in-Kind tax bands; from just 10% in 20/21 and 11% in 21/22 – for a 40% rate taxpayer that equates to a monthly car tax liability from around £150/ month.
The P300e is already in strong demand from SME customers; fleet managers for its compelling financial package and end-users for its refined driving experience, luxurious cabin, hi-tech functions and cutting-edge exterior.
Why would you want a Range Rover Evoque?
- Improved interior space
- Smooth looks, even the door handles retract to help streamline the shape.
- Luxury cabin
- High levels of technology
- Four-wheel-drive
- Great ride, even over the potholes.
What might put you off a Range Rover Evoque?
- There’s a lot of (good) competition in this sector at much more appealing prices
- Technology adds a lot of weight, so you need plenty of horsepower
- Rearward vision is not great, so reversing camera and sensors are really handy
The Evoque has achieved much of its success through being an attractive-looking, medium-size SUV which carries the iconic Range Rover name, but it is much more manageable around city roads.
You can also enjoy Range Rover levels of luxury including leather options and a fine array of colour choices.
High-spec models come with JLR’s Touch Pro Duo system, with two central screens stacked one above the other. The lower one runs the climate control but can be simply switched with a swipe to cover driving modes and terrain response.
The top screen displays all the usual menus, media systems and sat-nav. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have been added. A nice touch here in that you can swipe your phone’s music track display down onto the lower screen so you can still use the upper one for navigation.
Another useful option is a Ground View system which involves cameras embedded around the front of the car feeding an image of the area down between and forward of the front wheels – a useful off-road aid.
The driving position has a good range of adjustment, from laid-back to command, and seats are very supportive with a good space in the rear for adult occupants.
On the road, the Evoque has always been marketed as a Range Rover for the city with nowhere near the bulk of its illustrious, larger ancestor.
But because it carries the Land Rover heritage, cross country ability matters and you have to work pretty hard off-road to catch the Evoque out.
Land Rover engineering provides good clearance and articulation while there’s an array of electronic traction gizmos to help stop you falling over. It also has an impressive wading depth of 60cm.
The car is comfortable rather than sporty with a ride smooth enough to make long trips or bad road conditions as stress-free as you could reasonably expect.
Unlike the big Range Rover the Evoque’s ride isn’t particularly soft but it does feel quite flexible, smoothing out most of the lumps and bumps in the road.
What’s really good is that the temptation to grow the latest generation Evoque in size has been resisted so it retains its compact dimensions without actually looking that small.
Prices start in the low £30,000s for the 150bhp diesel, although this is the one version that does not have 4WD. Moving up the range it’s easy head north of £50K.
Click here to find out more about the Evoque P300E
