It's less expensive than either the Range Rover Sport or Vogue, but that doesn't mean the new Evoque is any the less a Range Rover, says a Land Rover spokesman.
According to Land Rover's Marketing and Public Affairs Manager, Tim Krieger, the Evoque is "not an entry-level Range Rover". During the car's local launch last week the company's presenters — Krieger and local Product Manager Brett Lewis Driver — stressed that the new, small Range Rover is, if anything, a technology leader in the range.
While it's based on the Freelander's platform — itself a development of Ford's EU-CD platform that also underpins the Mondeo — the Evoque features aluminium, composite materials and plastics to reduce the car's weight by around 100kg from the hypothetical kerb mass without those exotic materials. Lewis Driver also highlighted the company's attention to "quality and craftsmanship" during development of the new SUV. So by no means is the Evoque some downmarket and dowdy effort aimed at badge-conscious buyers, although up to 90 per cent of Evoque sales are likely to be conquests — buyers who are not trading in another Land Rover and have not previously been Land Rover owners.
"The new car will allow the Range Rover brand to become more attainable," Krieger explained. "It's the first Range Rover to promote fresh new values, such as exciting design and environmental credentials, which is very relevant to our conquest audience.
"We see the target customer for the [three-door] Coupe as being single and urban professionals; the five-door slightly different — couples and young families, with an age bracket of between 30 and 45 years of age, with a 50/50 male/female split. This is a big change for the Range Rover brand, which has predominantly been a male-skewed brand up to this point. But we really see this car being very relevant to female buyers — and certainly, early indications of pre-sale orders really confirm that.
"We're expecting a 90 per cent conquest audience for this vehicle," he continued, "simply because of where it sits in the marketplace... [buyers] may never have considered one of our cars before and certainly may have never come into any of our showrooms. So it's critical that we get it right."
The Evoque's entry-level variant, the front-drive ED4 will join the range in March next year, priced at $49,995 for the Pure grade, rising to $63,495 for the Evoque ED4 Dynamic and topping out at $65,495 for the Evoque ED4 Prestige. Designed as a frugal, eco-friendly model for buyers who require the packaging but not the offroad ability, the Evoque ED4 is powered by a 110kW four-cylinder turbodiesel that produces 380Nm of torque and uses 5.0L/100km of fuel in combined-cycle testing. Only one transmission is available with the ED4 engine, a six-speed manual.
4WD models are already here, in dealerships and ready for purchase, although as we mentioned in our report last week, the rush is on and Land Rover dealers are being trampled in the stampede for the new model. Krieger advises that unless the buyer is satisfied with a conventionally-specified model, obtaining the Evoque with exactly the right mix of equipment will involve a wait of months. Sticking with the corporate line that the Evoque isn't just a cheap entree to Land Rover driving, the company expects the larger part of Evoque sales will be at a price point around $75,000 to $80,000. A vehicle driven by motoring.com.au last week would have cost over $107,000 to buy, with all the options fitted.
The lowest priced variant of the Evoque range is the lower-output diesel Evoque TD4, which is also available in three grades: Pure ($53,395), Dynamic ($66,895) and Prestige ($68,895). The TD4 engine is also a turbodiesel developing 110kW, but the peak torque figure rises to 400Nm. Fuel consumption is 5.7L/100km with the standard six-speed manual transmission or 6.5L/100km with the optional six-speed automatic, which adds $2480 to the purchase price of Pure ($55,875), Dynamic ($69,375) and Prestige ($71,375).
A higher-output diesel, the Evoque SD4, adds $4000 to the purchase price of the TD4 models — $57,395 for Pure, $70,895 for Dynamic and $72,895 for Prestige. Peak power is 140kW and torque is bumped up to 420Nm, for a fuel consumption figure of 5.7L/100km (manual) or 6.5L/100km (auto). Prices for the auto-equipped models are $59,875 (Pure), $73,375 (Dynamic) and $75,375 (Prestige).
Topping the engine variants is the petrol Evoque Si4, which is powered by the 177kW Ford EcoBoost powerplant expected to be launched here early next year under the bonnet of the locally-manufactured Falcon. In the Evoque it produces 340Nm of torque and posts a combined-cycle fuel consumption figure of 8.7L/100km. Only one transmission is available with this engine, the six-speed automatic that is optional with the SD4 and TD4 diesels. Pricing is $60,395 (Pure), $73,895 (Dynamic) and $75,895 (Prestige).
All the prices quoted above are for the five-door models, with the three-door variants asking an extra $1500.
Standard features across the range include: Electronic power steering, electric park brake, keyless entry, push-button starting, Hill Start Assist, LED fog lights, 17-inch alloy wheels, 225/65 R17 tyres, leather trim (partial for seats), manual adjustment for seats with electric height adjustment for driver's seat, climate control, touch-detecting map lights, electric windows, electrically-adjustable heated mirrors, cruise control, manually-adjustable steering column, MP3-compatible eight-speaker single-disc CD audio and Bluetooth connectivity.
Despite the price difference between the two, the Prestige doesn't build on the specification of the Dynamic. The specification between the two trim levels is more akin to Sport (Dynamic) and Luxury (Prestige) grades. Both the higher-grade models come with xenon headlights and 19-inch alloy wheels (in two different designs), shod with 235/55 R19 tyres. Externally the three levels can be distinguished by 'Brunell' grey grille and quarter panel fixtures for the Evoque Pure, black trim for the Evoque Dynamic and bright-finish trim for the Evoque Prestige. In the case of the Evoque Prestige, a chrome-look finisher running along the beltline is limited to the five-door models, not the three-door Coupes.
Inside, the Evoque Dynamic and Prestige variants come with (different styles) of full leather seat trim, electro-chromatic mirror, (different) aluminium finish for the centre console, mood lighting, electrically-adjustable front seats with memory and an 11-speaker Meridian single-slot audio system with input ports for iPod and USB. Rain-sensing wipers, auto-on/off headlights, power folding external mirrors and puddle lamps are also features in the two upmarket grades.
Safety features fitted as standard for all models include: Dual front airbags, kneebag for the driver, side-curtain airbags, anti-lock brakes with EBD, stability control, traction control, roll stability control, Emergency Brake Assist, Trailer Stability Assist and emergency hazard lights under heavy braking.
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