WHEN Land Rover releases a front-drive vehicle it serves as a reality check and an admission that its customers do not necessarily need mountain goat-style off-road ability.

If taking four-wheel-drive away from a Range Rover seems like sacrilege, what about when the said Rangie is as stylish as the Evoque? Surely peppering that slick exterior with the scars from bush bashing is also some kind of sacrilege?

Or perhaps nothing is sacred in this brave new world of climate change, diminishing oil reserves and, let’s face it, SUVs being ‘so hot right now’ for city-slickers.

We spend a week with the most frugal Rangie to find out if it is heaven or hell.