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Range Rover Evoque off-road

Baby Range Rover has impressed on tarmac – but what about off it? We hit the trail to find out

Range Rover Evoque corner

By James Foxall

April 2011

  • Rating:
We know already that the Evoque will be great on the road – our first drive in Issue 1,160 confirmed it.  But as it wears a Land Rover badge, it will have to be equally capable off it. So, to prove the car is a chip off the old block, we joined the marque’s off-road test team as it put an early pre-production model through its paces.

All Land Rovers have their rugged skills honed on the tortuous trails around Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire’s Malvern Hills. And the Evoque is no different, as these first pictures showing it getting its wheels dirty prove. Land Rover claims ability in the rough will be one of the core attributes of its small premium SUV. As a result, it’s spent six months ensuring that off-road traction and driveability aren’t compromised by giving the car the ride comfort, composure and handling owners will expect of a Range Rover.

Video: watch part one of our video review of the Range Rover Evoque

 


Sensors in each corner of the model tell the Terrain Response computer when to automatically switch to off-road settings. 

And as you pull on to an unsealed surface, it becomes immediately obvious that the firm suspension which gives the Evoque its dynamic edge on tarmac isn’t suitable for a rough road. Our heads 
are tossed about as we’re thrown around in our seats.

But once you’ve engaged the Terrain Response’s off-road setting, everything settles down instantly. The Evoque sits on Land Rover’s MagneRide suspension, and it’s this that the company’s engineers are fine-tuning. The set-up uses magnetic fluid to adjust the shock absorbers’ damping rate.

It enables the testers to alter the balance between front and rear axles, or make the ride softer but with better controlled body movement. So what’s the Evoque like in the rough? Our route around Eastnor’s mile-long Bircham’s Wood loop involves steep climbs, even steeper descents, hairpin bends, deep ruts, stones and a lot of mud. The model simply ploughs through it all with no indication that it’s struggling. 

Traction is excellent and the 2.2-litre diesel engine provides plenty of low-down grunt to pull the car out of trouble. Plus, it does so in a refined, unfussed way. 

But easily as impressive is the relaxed aura in the cockpit. When we hit submerged rocks, it’s the sound that gives them away, not a jolt through the cabin. Even if the Evoque is on three wheels going over a large dip, you would never know from the inside.

Considering the baby Range Rover’s looks, it’s no great shock that it impresses on tarmac. But judging by our experience, the real surprise is the ease with which it handles rough ground.

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7 Comments

Softroader?

Try that in an X1, Q3............

By tr_4_triumph on 12 April, 2011, 6:53am

That track is not that rough, my Astra mk5 goes on a road similar, and has to deal with far steeper Inclines than that. I'm sure the X1, Q3, or Countryman would have no problem.

By KIII3R on 12 April, 2011, 7:14pm

What a motor this is

I love the Evoque. There you go, I have declared my passion for this amazing new Rangey. This will sell so well that LRRR will have trouble keeping up with demand.
Shame it's so expensive but then, if I win the Euromillions Friday night, I'll have at least one.

By bob809 on 14 April, 2011, 10:33am

As most British B-roads are so badly maintaained .....

Does this mean that, to get a decent ride in an Evoque, you have to switch on the terrain response system when traversing the potholed and patched back roads in order to avoid getting your brain beaten about?

By Wyllie3 on 14 April, 2011, 10:49am

looks like a Tonka Toy, that somebody has trodden on, and crushed the roof. How about some interior views showing what it's like to lookthrough a letter box slot masquerading as a window, and with a sill line somewhere around neck/ear level ?

By deshill1 on 14 April, 2011, 11:38pm

Try it standing up!

Is it true that Land Rover won't allow magazines to photograph an Evoque with somebody standing beside it? I note your correspondent is squatting - thereby not showing it's proportions.

By cfhughes on 17 April, 2011, 1:43pm

TRY IT STANDING UP

IT'S STILL A BIT TALLER THAN ITS MAIN COMPETITION..

By liverpool on 17 June, 2011, 9:27pm

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Pictures

Range Rover Evoque corner
Range Rover Evoque header
Range Rover Evoque rear
Range Rover Evoque mud
Range Rover Evoque pan
Range Rover Evoque head on

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FIRST OPINION

    The baby Range Rover’s off-tarmac abilities have been largely ignored until now. With those coupé looks, it’s easy to forget that the Evoque is still a Land Rover and will be bought by a healthy share of owners for its prowess in the rough. Of course, you get a cockpit more like that of a sports saloon than a 4x4, but it still combines off-road capability with the sort of luxury that generations have come to expect from a Range Rover.

 

AT A GLANCE

    Price: £28,700
    Engine: 2.2-litre 4cyl turbodiesel
    Transmission: Six-speedmanual, four-wheel drive
    Power/torque: 150bhp/400Nm
    0-62mph: 10.8 seconds 
    Top speed: 115mph
    Economy: 49.6mpg 
    Emissions: 149g/km
    Equipment: Terrain Response including Hill Descent Control, leather cockpit, dual-control air-con, Bluetooth connectivity
    On sale: September
     
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