Welcome to the Family!

2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 5-door Dynamic

So, today I stopped by Ray Catena Land Rover where they were throwing a big welcoming party for the newest member of the Range Rover family: the Evoque. When I first heard of it, I thought, "Well this car can't be an addition to the Range Rover line. It's small and there's no 5.0-liter V8 under the bonnet." After receiving a tour of the car from one of the people who helped design the Rover Evoque who came all the way from Northern England, I've finally realized why it doesn't need a V8. It has enough power as it is. All Evoques, Coupe or 5-door, are powered by a 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbo-4 engine producing 240 horsepower, about as much as the Acura RDX. Don't think for minute that this is a terribly slow car. It will do 0 to 60 in 7.1 seconds. That's 0.1 second faster than the standard HSE Range Rover/Range Rover Sport. It's also more fuel efficient than the big Rovers with an EPA estimated 28 MPG. It's also the cheapest of the big Rovers with prices starting at a reasonable $43,000. With that, you get Satellite Navigation, Bluetooth, iPod/USB docking, comfortable leather seats, a 380 to 825 watt Meridian 11 speaker sound system with subwoofer (get ready DJs!), and a full panoramic roof. The Evoque comes in 3 flavors: Pure if you want something basic, Prestige if you're looking for a little more umph in your physical presence, and Dynamic if you're just seeking to wow the crowd. I'd go with Dynamic since it's the best looking. Another brilliant option that's been on the big Rovers for some time: surround camera system. I got my first glimpse of it while sitting in the Dynamic Evoque Coupe. Basically, there are 5 cameras all around the car: 2 on the front bumper, one on each side mirror, and the traditional reversing camera. So, in the main menu of your center console, you can pull these cameras up to see the world around you. It's like directing a film without the overly expensive equipment. Simply fantastic! So, there we are; the newest addition to the Range Rover family looks and is equipped brilliantly. The remaining question: does it drive like a Range Rover? I'll find that out later. Stay tuned!