The New Range Rover Evoque 

Range Rover introduced the newly updated Evoque as clearly a compact sport utility for the city but with the usual dose of Land Rover capability. This new Evoque provides more luxury than the previous model and several world-wide firsts in technology. This “luxury” tilt is not to say that these models are any less “capable” than a traditional Land Rover, ala Discovery, Discovery Sport. Just a bit higher profiled from a luxury standpoint and more geared for on-road. Not a slouch by any means. It’s a Land Rover by any means. 

This model is also pushing more into the sustainability areas that more manufacturers need to embrace these days. In my opinion it’s the steps toward being more environmentally and socially responsible as well as the new technology that makes this new Evoque special. We’ll get into those in a moment, but first let’s review the obvious changes. 

Visually 

This new model has followed suit with the other Range Rover siblings in adopting the sleeker and more efficient front end and headlights first seen on the Range Rover Velar. I do enjoy the visually appealing narrower lighting systems these models share. This is probably the most readily identifiable change upon first glance. These new systems also include “sweeping (animated) indicators”. 

The lighting can include Range Rover’s Matrix lighting systems that automatically adjust the throw pattern away from traffic. This is great to allow the driver to utilize maximum visibility by using the high beam lights WITHOUT the need to manually dim them for oncoming traffic etc. Unfortunately, we in the United States aren’t granted this benefit due to antiquated vehicle regulations. There’s talk of this regulations against advanced lighting systems being updated. Let’s hope they do.  

The design of the new Evoque though mildly updated on the outside still maintains its award-winning design language. It maintains the popular short rear overhang making for a compact and efficient urban vehicle with great departure angles.  

The silhouette is the time tested Evoque style. Rising beltline with a falling away roofline. It still looks great, maybe even better in this refreshed form. 

This design looks great on this vehicle as refreshed. Land Rover has done wonders in bringing vehicles that are concept car worthy to market without much loss of their initial pre-production forms. Take the Range Rover Velar for instance. I personally believe this Evoque looks much more acceptable than the Velar does upon second glance. The ground-breaking Velar is a strikingly beautiful vehicle. The sweeping lines that first catches your eye in wonder, stretches the look a bit too far. I personally prefer the Evoque.  

Responsibility 

The improvements that I find most interesting and appreciative on this new Rover are the steps toward sustainability for one. Social conscience has over the years began to swing toward less animal byproducts in the form of leathers in the interiors. As first introduced in the Velar with the wool seating surfaces, Range Rover has gone even further in responsible interiors on the new Evoque. 

This new Evoque not provides options for true non-animal-based interiors. Seating surfaces contain recycled textiles as well as plant-based alternatives to a degree not seen in other vehicles. It is a truly “reductionist” design philosophy. Even wood fibers are included to make these areas appealing, beautiful yet durable and a true alternative to leather.  

Technology 

With the newly introduced Touch Pro Duo screen system with a 12.3-inch driver command center, this Evoque also follows other Range Rovers in simplifying the dash area. It’s cleaner, more refined and modern than before. True, there are those times where an actual button is preferred for simple commands, but the trade-off to a clean design is worth it. 

Technologically is where it seems Range Rover is pushing the envelopes to be followed by other manufacturers. It seems the Land Rover method of rotating a dial to select different driving modes has been copied industry-wide. Several other Land Rover firsts such as hill decent and terrain progress controls are all over the industry for good reason.  

This new Evoque has some new tech that will no doubt be introduced on the other Range Rover models in due course, but for now are only available on this new model. They include something we saw on a concept a couple of years ago. The ability to virtually make the hood invisible. This was first shown for use in driving off-road over the crest of a hill. There was no way to see what was on the other side nor the very important wheel placement.  

Now with the clever use of available camera systems, the new Evoque has a part of its new Clear Sight System a way to see precisely where the wheels are traveling by virtually looking through an invisible hood area directly down onto the wheels. This image is shown on the center screen and shows a live view of what’s directly in front of the wheels and their path. Genius. 

I can only hope they at some point introduce another advancement they were working on where they van virtually make the A-Pillars see-thru. Therefore, eliminating a habitual blind spot. 

This Evoque is truly a utility vehicle and for those times you have large items in the rear storage area that might block your view from the inside rear-view mirror, we have a solution. Incorporated into the rear rooftop shark fin is a camera that can have its display shown on the rearview mirror. Similar to the mirror in some Cadillacs, this provides an unobstructed view which is typically safer as it provides a wider angle than the actual physical mirror. 

From a performance standpoint, this new Evoque comes with a choice of seven new power plants. These include a hybrid system to provide even more efficient urban operation.  

Overall, I feel with the introduction of all of the other updates of Land Rover and Range Rover models, this Evoque was somewhat left in the dust. It was relatively underpowered and needed a refresh. After eight years, it has been proudly refreshed without losing any of its initial appeal. The new technology and sustainability additions that are exclusively included for the time being is great. We look forward to seeing it in person for a hands-on review. 

As in true OurDailyTread style, we’ve included some of the descriptions and facts directly from the source below.