Range Rover Evoque TD4 Pure 5dr

18:16, Sep 3 2011 Road Test by Bruce Booth, drivingforce.uk.net

WE’RE all familiar with gimmicks that front advertising campaigns for anything ranging from breakfast cereal to washing powder. Who can forget the ads from that High Street store who don’t stock ordinary food, but sell only M&S food that’s a little bit extra bit special. Or how about more recently times? Those bright sparks from Carlsberg have tried to convince us that if the Danish beer company were to make anything other than lager, no matter what the product was, it would be the very best you could possibly buy. Well, don’t be surprised if you were to see a new advert from the famous Land Rover brand which combines both those themes. For the new offering now rolling off the marque’s Halewood production line in Liverpool is not just an Evoque, it’s a Range Rover Evoque. And if Carlsberg were to make motor vehicles, then I reckon this is what they would produce. For the Evoque really is that bit special. Ok, it’s not going to compete against the likes of the Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Ferrari or Bugatti supercars of this world, it’s not meant to. But with a starting price of less than £30,000, anything that hovers a few grand either side of this figure is going to be fair game. And little wonder. For the new Evoque is Range Rover at its very best. Stunning exterior design, whether in three or five-door guise ... and that’s just for starters. Yes, the three-door version does have the edge in the looks department, but the five-door comes with more practicallity and ease of access to the rear ... and it’s cheaper! Then there’s the build quality. You can’t fault this baby in any way, while the interior design team have also done a fabulous job, mixing lashings of soft leather hides with items such as brushed alluminium, polished wood veneers and proper plastics that will undoubtedly last the test of time. Yet no two cars have to be the same, for buyers can choose from a huge range of interior designs while mixing and matching with no fewer than 12 paint colour choices along with three contrasting roof colours or even a full panoramic glass roof. It will even park itself for you perfectly every time should you add the park assist option. Other upgrades are available for the digital audio/DVD system, while a range of optional alloy wheels help complete the package. However, what makes the Evoque stand out from the crowd is its ability to master just about any kind of driving condition you can throw at it. We all know just how the evergreen Land Rover Defender has evolved over its 60-year production run and what its capabilities are. Well the same technology can be found in the Evoque, which means that it is a serious off-roader in its own right ... should you ever wish to put this hunk of gleaming metal to the test. Well, that’s just what I did when I got the chance to put a diesel version of the Evoque through its paces over some heavily-rutted, boulder-strewn mountain tracks and through deep fast-flowing streams as I snaked along in the shadow of a massive pipeline which cuts across some pretty remote moorland. And boy, did this machine perform. A row of buttons allows the driver to choose the perfect set-up from Land Rover’s brilliant terrain response drive system to match the prevailing conditions, whether it be slippy surfaces such as ice and snow, sand, deep muddy ruts, boulder fields or steep grassy pastures. Electronic descent control also helps the machine crawl slowly down steep terrain without any other input required from the driver apart from steering the car in the right direction. And great as it is offroad, its onroad abilities are equally matched. For a heavy machine it holds the road brilliantly while its ride quality matches that of many a saloon car. The electronics can also be set to dynamic mode which turns the baby Range Rover into something of a boy racer’s dream machine.  With a pair of 2.2-litre powerplants pumping out either 148 or 197bhp, the all-wheel-drive Evoque offers more than enough power to comfortably keep up with the flow, even the less powerful engine posting a top speed of 115mph and a zero to 62mph sprint time of 10.8 seconds. But it’s the 50mpg fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of 149g/km that will concentrate the minds of most buyers, for these figures compare well with the likes of the Audi Q3 and BMW X1. A workaholic offroader, luxurious hatchback or sprightly sports car, the three-in-one Evoque is a true master of disguise. And with its highly-competitive price tag there is no doubt that Range Rover dealers are going to be kept very busy for a long time to come.   FAST FACTS Range Rover Evoque TD4 Pure 5dr Price: £28,705 Mechanical: 150bhp, 2,198cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving four wheels via 6-speed manual gearbox Max speed: 115mph 0-62mph: 10.8 seconds Combined mpg: 50.2 Insurance group: 33 CO2 emissions: 149g/km BIK rating: 15% Warranty: 3yrs/ unlimited miles