Overview

RIGHT from the start in 2011, Range Rover’s Evoque had plenty of cut through with its distinctive and funky appearance characterised by the unusual tapering glass house and truncated profile. It’s hunkered down stance held lots of appeal for buyers in three and five door variants who elevated the model to a ‘best seller’.

Copied relentlessly, the Evoque’s looks and class set it apart from pretenders in the medium size SUV segment even with a cooking variety Ford EcoBoost engine at launch.

Today, with Gen 2 Evoque in five-door config’ only, the desirability factor remains; though the entry price for the slick SUV has ratcheted up a tad starting from $79,640 plus on-road costs for the 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol SE – with the test vehicle, an HSE P300e plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model starting at $105,060 + ORCs.

It plays in arguably the most competitive new car segment in Australia (Medium SUV) with numerous competitors but unusually, not many premium PHEVs apart from the Lexus NX450h+ AWD from $90,923, the Volvo XC60 Recharge Ultimate from $101,990 and maybe a stretch down to the likes of Peugeot’s 3008 PHEV from $84,790 and a trio of new Mazda CX60 PHEVs from $72,300….all plus on road costs.

The test model was only added to Range Rover’s line up last year and heralded the deletion of diesel engines from the Evoque range.

The P300e tested is no wimpy urban SUV runabout boasting some 227kW and 540Nm outputs combined from a 147kW 1.5-litre turbo petrol three-cylinder engine and an 80kW electric traction engine running in parallel driving through an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Like some other hybrid offerings, including the Toyota RAV4 AWD, the Evoque P300e’s rear axle is electrically driven while the front is by the petrol engine. The vehicle can run as a pure ICE, an EV or a parallel hybrid using both petrol and electric motors.

As a premium vehicle, the Evoque P300e comes well equipped with a raft of luxury kit that includes features like a 10.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, paddle shifters, heated power-folding exterior mirrors, dual-zone climate control, leather-wrapped steering wheel, wireless phone charging, and much, much more.

Then, there’s keyless entry and start, rain-sensing wipers and auto Matrix LED head lights, auto high beam, power, gesture tailgate, 20-inch alloy wheels, 14-way power driver seat with memory, 10-way power passenger seat, extended DuoLeather upholstery, All Terrain Progress Control, Terrain Response 2, twin touchscreens and a 14-speaker 650W Meridian sound system.

On the safety side of the equation, the Evoque HSE P300e does equally as well with: AEB, blind spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, rear cross-traffic alert, traffic sign recognition and adaptive speed limiter, safe exit warning, driver attention monitoring, adaptive cruise control and a reversing camera with front and rear parking sensors.

We really like the configurable dynamics and the optional black exterior pack that adds $1680 to the bottom line.

Driving Impressions

The imposing looks certainly live up to their promise with this vehicle as it provides sporty performance and handling coupled with a high level of luxury and…street cred’.

Park it next to some more prosaic brand and you’ll notice straight away that the Evoque stands out on just about every score. It’s bigger than you think, offering ample room inside for five and their luggage and has a ‘stance of entitlement’ sitting on the drive.

The first 60-odd kilometres come tailpipe emissions-free and the P300e’s PHEV system continues to contribute to fuel economy and performance even when the battery charge is all but depleted.

So much so that on test, which included a broad mix of driving, the P300e clocked 740km on one tank with possibly more remaining. It won’t do the claimed 2.1 litres/100km, but something in the 5.0s is achievable measured over a tankful of fuel.

If you’re lucky enough to find a 50kW auto club charger, it takes less than an hour to get back those 60-odd clicks of electric driving. At home with a smaller appliance it would take somewhat longer to recharge the 15kWh lithium-ion battery located under the rear seat.

With 227kW and 540Nm on tap, the P300e is never left wanting in the acceleration department especially as ‘gobs’ of torque is instantly available through the EV function. Range Rover claims a 0-100km/h sprint in 6.4 seconds for the P300e.

The little three pot petrol engine (essentially Land Rover’s petrol 3.0-litre straight six cut in half) thrums away almost silently pushing the portly 2157kg P300e along at a decent clip aided by a slick shifting eight-speed auto transmission that is virtually imperceptible in operation.

Select Sport mode, point it at a winding road and the P300e acquits itself with credit hunkering down through tighter turns, maintaining a flat attitude at the limit and refusing to flinch over corrugated tarmac. Sharp steering response is aided by the big, sticky tyres and configurable dynamics.

As expected, the P300e ultimately understeers when provoked with the front outside wheel losing grip.

Driven thus, you can watch the fuel consumption readout increase quickly with a similar opposite effect on available EV range. Cruising at speed on the freeway is achieved in near silence and cossetting comfort as the Evoque dispatches kilometres past its truncated rear end.

Around town, the P300e is a real smooth operator, nimble and responsive, easy to access, park and load. In this environment, full EV mode comes into its own apart from frightening unwary pedestrians. But the idle-stop function is annoying and defaults to ‘on’ every time.

Though we didn’t do it, the P300e can tow up to 1600kg braked or 100kg more than a Toyota RAV 4 Hybrid AWD. Taken off road – just a little bit, we found the test vehicle to be good to a point.

You wouldn’t go bush bashing or anything like that but dirt and gravel roads up to the farm, to the mountain resort, skiing or any ‘sensible’ off road driving fall within the car’s capabilities thanks to the drive system, ground clearance and Terrain Response that optimises the vehicle for a range of off road driving environments.

Like all Rangeys, the Evoque provides a quiet ambience inside to go with the luxury accoutrements and superlative Meridian 650W, 14 speaker premium audio system complete with a sub’ under the seat.

The cabin is a good place to be for all occupants as the P300e has decent size seats for four, five at a pinch, supple upholstery and a generous mix of technology and luxury.

Evoque has evolved with this Gen’ 2 model a better proposition all round compared with the first effort. The march of technology has seen significant benefits implemented on Evoque together with much improved ‘green’ credentials, luxury, capability and style.

The only real criticism applies to all Land Rover products and that is the vast options list that can hike the price alarmingly.