A happy look ahead
“With us nothing is as it was before”, says Ralf Speth, head of the British marques Jaguar and Land Rover, “we are changing everything. These are fantastic brands and they are really worth fighting for. The Range Rover Evoque is for us just a start.” The off-road models made by Jaguar / Land Rover scored over 180 thousand sales worldwide in 2010. “This year we’ll hit the 200,000 mark”, promises John Edwards with an optimistic view of the current year, “2011 is going to be our best year. In the first quarter we were already up by 16 percent..” When the hear the word ‘China’ there are happy faces at Jaguar / Land Rover. The growth in that market in 2010 was a hundred percent, with 23 thousand vehicles sold. And this year they want to increase that to 40 thousand and keep the growth rate increasing.
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- It is only 4.36 metres long and will be priced at only just over 33 thousand Euros, giving it a good chance against rival like the BMW X1, Mini Countryman, VW Tiguan or Audi Q3.
Completely different buyers targeted
In the booming Chinese market it is above all the top models which are selling so well, the Land Rover Discovery, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. But in it is the hope that the new Range Rover Evoque will be the hit when it goes on sale in autumn. It is only 4.36 metres long and will be priced at only just over 33 thousand Euros, giving it a good chance against rivals like the BMW X1, Mini Countryman, VW Tiguan or Audi Q3. “The Evoque will bring us buyers who have never before considered one of our autos”, John Edwards explains, “they will be younger buyers and more of them will be women.” A Range Rover positioned among the SUV mid-class models was almost unthinkable a couple of years ago. Now the Evoque will be launched as a three-door or five-door model, with a choice of petrol engine or two diesel versions. The power outputs will be 150, 190 and 240 horsepower respectively. The established Range Rover models are still waiting for their massive weight to be reduced but the new entry model has already been conceived a svelte and slim. The roof and bonnet hood are made of aluminium, the tailgate is fabricated in high-tech fibreglass and carbon composite materials and the skirts and front fenders are made of plastic. “The entry model now weighs not more than 1.6 tons”, announced Land Rover head developer, Dave Mitchell, with obvious satisfaction.
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- In contrast to many competing models the Evoque will also perform well off-road. The fording depth is a full 50 centimetres.
Front-wheel-drive for the first time
The two litre petrol engine is made by Ford. Thanks to turbo-charging and direct injection the power output from the four-cylinder motor is 240 horsepower and 340 Newton metres of torque. A zero to a hundred time of 7.6 seconds and a maximum speed of 217 kilometres an hour are respectable figures. This is paired with a fuel consumption of 8.4 litres. The 2.2 litre PSA diesel power plants are even more economical in both the 150 and 190 horsepower versions. The lower powered diesel driving the front wheels calls for less than 4 litres of fuel per hundred driven. However in order to be seen as a true Range Rover… and that is the ambition of the Evoque… the front-wheel-drive solution will hardly suffice. For just 1,800 Euros more even the 150 horsepower version can be had with the requisite all-wheel-drive. In contrast to many competing models the Evoque will also perform well off-road. The fording depth is a full 50 centimetres and the thanks to the Terrain Response System there is partially automatic adjustments to the road characteristics with the settings ‘Street’, ‘Sand’ or ‘Snow’.
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- The best choice in the current model range will be the Evoque SD4 with 190 horsepower and all-wheel-drive for 37,700 Euros. The averaged fuel consumption with automatic transmission is around 6.4 litres. The sprint to a hundred lasts 8.5 seconds although the top speed of 195 kilometres an hour is a slight disappointment.
The bigger diesel as the best option
The best choice in the current model range will be the Evoque SD4 with 190 horsepower and all-wheel-drive for 37,700 Euros. The averaged fuel consumption with automatic transmission is around 6.4 litres. The sprint to a hundred lasts 8.5 seconds although the top speed of 195 kilometres an hour is a slight disappointment. Phil, the test driver, is particularly complimentary about the suspension. Going at just 80 kilometres an hour on the simulated stretch of straight country road on the Graydon test circuit he is then able to accelerate smoothly. “The SD4 diesel has plenty of bite with its 420 metres of torque and the continuously variable damping keeps the carosserie stable at all times,” says the experienced test driver. He hits the bumps typical of an English country lane at 130 kilometres an hour and the Evoque takes a small jump with ease, the springing responding powerfully, and there is never a feeling of instability. An emergency stop an Phil is all smiles: “This is how it should be. This is what our new electronic dampers make possible.”
Start-stop only with the manual gear-shifting
The prototype runs on 19 inch rims and has the 190 horsepower diesel onboard and six-speed automatic transmission. The engine is not quite as quiet as it is when installed in the Jaguar XF 2.2 i4 Diesel, but for the cross-over it is a fitting solution. The driver who chooses to have the manual transmission will also benefit from the start-stop automatic system which is not available in the version with automatic shifting. As from this autumn the Jaguar XF four-cylinder model with the new eight-stage automatic drive will also have the start-stop feature. In the Evoque the automatic transmission is that already used in the Land Rover Freelander, a six-speed unit built by Aisin. Production of the Evoque model will be in the Halewood works of Land Rover.
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- The seats are electrically adjustable, there are DVD screen in the back, a good navigation system display and an electrically operated tailgate… features which not all rivals in this segment offer as standard.
Top equipment
The Evoque will have an interior which will meet the high standards of cars with the Range Rover badge. The dashboard is good looking even if the instrumentation is a bit gimmicky. In the most dynamic mode offered by the Terrain Response System the instruments are lit up in red, possibly trying a bit too hard to be young and cool in this respect. But other wise quality is apparent in every detail. The seats are electrically adjustable, there are DVD screens in the back, a good navigation system display and an electrically operated tailgate… features which not all rivals in this segment offer as standard. There is room at the back for 1,445 litres of load. With all of this to be had in the Evoque it may be harder for the Land Rover Freelander to find buyers. However the 4.36 metres length does imply a reduction of the available space inside although even tall passengers will find the rear seats comfortable. Easy access is only promised by the five-door model.
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- From this autumns the Range Rover Evoque will be available at dealerships. As the smallest Range Rover ever built and with prices starting at 33 thousand Euros it will be up against rivals who in the past never figured on the Jaguar / Land Rover radar.
Another boost for the SUV segment
The interior of the Evoque is specially welcoming when the light falls through the generously proportioned glass roof. This is one of the optional extras with the three equipment packages ‘Pure’, ‘Dynamic’ and ‘Prestige’. The Range Rover Evoque will be on dealers’ fore-courts from this autumn. As the smallest Rover model ever built it will be going head to head with brands which the pair of British marques never before had to consider as rivals. Now with the support of the Tata concern Jaguar and Land Rover are gathering strength. In order to keep up with the other premium sector constructors there will be three thousand workers recruited for the three plants in England. This is how they intend to be ready for the next boom in SUV popularity. It is predicted that the models at the top end of the SUV segment will by 2017 account for an increase in sales of up to 35 percent. This is a forecast which must be music to the ears of the Land Rover car makers who are also busy getting ready to bring out the next generation of the Range Rover and the robust Defender models.
