The Range Rover Evoque 2019 stands out not only for being more technological and efficient, but for being a much more capable SUV outside the asphalt. In short, it can be said that the new Evoque is more Range Rover than ever.
Noted by Land Rover itself as its most important model, Evoque has sold 800,000 units in its first generation in a total of 127 markets and has served to open the brand to a new audience: 80% of buyers of the compact SUV, they were not customers of the brand.
It is clear that renewing a successful model is always a challenge and the British brand has done it based on three essential pillars: maintain the design line, which it does although getting quite close to the Velar, inject more Range Rover DNA and reduce consumption and emissions
In this way, the Range Rover Evoque 2019 has a complete mechanical range consisting of up to six micro hybrid options (three petrol and three diesel between 150 hp and 300 hp), supported by a 48V motor-generator and a small ion battery -lithium. All are associated with a nine-speed automatic transmission and are 4×4, incorporating the second generation of the Terrain Response 2 all-wheel drive, which allows you to move like a fish in the water on any terrain. Something that distinguishes him in his segment.
While all these options is where we find that pure Range Rover DNA that brings it closer to its older brothers, there is also room for a front-wheel drive variant without mild-hybrid technology, associated with the 150 hp diesel engine and with manual shift.
And there will be more: in 2020 there will also be another basic option associated with a three-cylinder petrol, also with front-wheel drive, as well as a plug-in hybrid version that will sit on the throne as the most ecological.
All mild-hybrid variants enjoy an ECO environmental label in our market, except for diesel access, which has a C mark. The advertised plug-in hybrid will have a ZERO label.
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Range Rover Evoque 2019: Passing pending subjects
In this second generation of the Range Rover Evoque, the English manufacturer has sought to improve the pending issues of the first delivery and one of them was habitability. And is that the compact SUV has been criticized by tradition for having a little used space for a model of its size. Undoubtedly, in this new release has been able to make up.
Access to the front seats, and especially to the rear, has improved significantly, which has been achieved by lowering the center of gravity as well as the height of the model. Although we are not talking about major changes, it is 1.1 centimeters lower and 1.0 centimeters wider, the distribution of the interior architecture has improved significantly.
It also grows in battle, and despite doing so in just two centimeters, the cabin in general is more comfortable and spacious, both in the front and rear seats, with more slack for the legs in case of the latter. Similarly, the capacity in the trunk has improved compared to the outgoing model, covering 591 liters according to the brand, which can reach up to 1,383 if we lower the rear bench.
In addition, the driving position is much more comfortable and, although you still have to sense quite the end of the hood in more committed maneuvers, the new system Clar Sight Groud View, which operates at low speeds and makes the hood invisible. Throwing on the display located in the center console a 180º image of what is in front of us thanks to a camera located on the front grille and two on the mirrors lateral. This technology, however, is not available in all versions.
Another of the pending subjects of the Range Rover Evoque was the rear visibility. And since the rear window is still quite small, because it maintains its roof fall that give it that coupe look, Land Rover has found medicine in the incorporation of a digital interior mirror as Toyota RAV4 has also done.
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Thanks to the camera located on the roof antenna (which repels rain and mud), the rear-view mirror becomes a screen, in which distance and brightness can be adjusted, offering a very clear view of everything that happens behind the car. Although at the beginning something strange is done, the definition is excellent and you end up getting used to it.
And although it is designed for those moments in which the central rear seat is occupied, we have always carried it always active, since in general it looks much better than with the normal mirror. We have been left to see if indeed, as Land Rover promises, it operates in conditions of low visibility, since we have only been able to drive it during the day.
It also has several holes to locate mobile devices with non-slip surface: a fairly large one under the new Touch Pro Duo screen (from which the different parameters of the car are handled and also equipped with the Velar) and two other sides where the smartphone can be located both in the passenger seat and in the driver’s seat.
With regard to the boot, it has holes behind the rear wheels (one with a net to prevent the load from moving), it equips an elastic band on the side for the same purpose, as well as a four-point anchored net that covers almost the entire loading surface. However, despite promising 591 liters, with the rear tray placed the capacity is somewhat lower, plus it does not have double bottom, hole that completely occupies the spare wheel.
To all this is added the use of new renewable and natural cutting materials that are added to the leather for the upholstery, the door panels or the dashboard. This is the case of eucalyptus fiber, Kvadrat wool or Dynamic cloth, the latter two conceived in a combination of textiles with recycled plastic.
The high quality materials go hand in hand in each cabin, where smooth, rubbery and soft touch surfaces predominate and combine with the pure minimalism owing to its digital configuration.
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At the wheel of the new Range Rover Evoque
We have driven only two versions of the Range Rover Evoque 2019: the 2.0-liter, 249-hp, four-cylinder, and 2.0-liter, 240-liter four-cylinder diesel intermediate. It is true that both will not be among the best-selling versions in our market, but they are quite representative of this new era of the Evoque.
In terms of dynamics, Land Rover has sought to improve its compact SUV in two aspects: the comfort of walking on the asphalt and its capabilities outside it. Conceived in the new Premium Transverse Architecture platform, the Evoque stands out for a very comfortable driving on the road.
Different factors contribute to this; on the one hand, the suspension has been revised for this purpose: thus, the rear, multibrazo type and that separates the lateral and longitudinal forces, allows greater control and agility at the wheel, while the MacPherson forward with Hydrobush system minimizes steering wheel vibrations when we drive at high speeds.
In this way, the suspension is remarkably soft and comfortable, effectively absorbing the irregularities of the terrain, including both potholes and bumps. On the other hand, work has also been done on the reduction of the sound in the cabin , thanks to the chassis that is 13% stiffer, as well as the auxiliary frames also more rigid, which also contributes to this improved comfort.
On the other hand, it incorporates Active Driveline technology, which is an electronic torque vectoring system that balances its distribution between the axes in order to improve cornering and steering response, or the Adaptive Dynamics system. Which combines intelligent sensors and variable dampers adapting to each situation by monitoring the road conditions every 100 milliseconds, and which materializes in the Dynamic mode that offers the possibility of configuring to taste.
In general, the two mechanics that we have tested are quite linear and not very sharp, not giving the feeling that you have a propeller around 250 hp, which contributes to the automatic, also optimized, 9-speed transmission. The Evoque does not like throttles, but we step on the pedal progressively: the change takes a while to respond when we request greater speed, for example in overtaking on two-way tracks. For these cases, better to pull manual and lower gear to be more thrust.
The diesel versions also have an AdBlue catalyst, in order to tie their emissions even further, with a 17.2-liter capacity tank.
The behavior with both thrusters is very even, although it should be noted that the option of diesel, due to the higher torque (500 Nm compared to 265 Nm of gasoline) does show a greater thrust, so it feels better.
Broadly speaking the Range Rover Evoque 2019 is very balanced, offering excellent dynamics on both fast roads and more demanding routes, such as twisty mountain passes: the direction is soft, but accurate and you can always choose a little more fun in this scenario passing to the sequential change activating the gears using cams.
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Who said a compact SUV could not be comfortable?
To that comfort on the asphalt we must add how much the Range Rover Evoque is capable of outside it and in this generation it has taken a notable leap in this aspect, offering off-road benefits despite its condition of SUV. Not surprisingly, we are talking about a Range Rover and this is much more appreciated in this second generation.
The new Terrain Response 2 all-wheel drive is offered as standard, for the first time, in all 4×4 variants that, as we have already pointed out, have been 90% of the new Evoque family. This system includes six driving modes (seven if equipped Adaptive Dynamics) that are Comfort and Eco (designed for asphalt in urban environments or outside them), as well as Gravel-Grass-Snow, Sand, Mud and Furrows and the new mode Auto , which automatically manages the distribution of torque between the two axes according to the demands of the terrain.
This translates into the fact that it can undertake steep terrain without problems, including those where furrows and slopes reign everywhere. In fact, in most of the off-road routes we toured, and which were not few (around 20% of the total), most of the time we had activated the Auto mode, which showed us its excellent performance.
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So much so, that in this way we went mainly for gravel and land, as well as for a small stretch of stream. And we do not speak of fording it, but of circulating through it between stones and grooves, through which water flowed, and leaning on some points in a single wheel. It also helps that the new Range Rover Evoque, with a ground clearance of 21.2 centimeters, has an exit and attack angles of 25 degrees in the front and 30.6 degrees in the rear, thus increasing its capacity wading in 600 mm compared to 500 mm in the previous model.
Similarly, with the Evoque 2019 we face two generous slopes of up to 30º of inclination on gravel, where we were able to verify the effectiveness of its All Terrain Progress Control (ATPC) systems on the rise and the descent control for the descent.
In the ascent, in the most inclined zone we were invited to release the brake and rely on its active control of slope, which remains completely anchored even in areas of less grip as was the case.
On the other hand, in the descent we could verify the effectiveness of the descent control, which can be limited in speed and that operates without us stepping on the accelerator to the top that we select from the steering wheel (the same command that we use to adjust the Cruise Control). In the case of this slope we set it to the minimum (operating almost as a reductive) and let it be done.
The new Range Rover Evoque is equipped as standard with Pirelli Scorpion 245/45 All Season, which helps to manage muddy and sandy soils.
In the case of the 240 hp diesel, we also tasted the good work of the Clear Sight Ground View system that it had equipped, although it is disconnected as soon as we raise the speed. And is that the Range Rover Evoque can travel more than happy by land and gravel …
It is true that the Evoque customer profile is not the same as that of an all-terrain vehicle and that it is normal for it to run essentially on the road, however, the SUV has shown us after this first contact that is developed without modesty in moderately demanding trialleras. Therefore, we can say that he is getting even closer in this second generation to his older brothers.
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The most technological Evoque
Beyond improving dynamism, comfort and 4×4 skills, in this second generation the Range Rover Evoque stands out for equipping a whole technological arsenal at the service of comfort, safety and connectivity.
Inside the screens dominate, combining a multimedia touch screen that emerges from the dashboard with the new Touch Pro Duo 12.3 inches, located in the lower part of the central tunnel. From this one the air conditioning is controlled, the heating of the seats, the conduction ways or the control of descents among other parameters, as it happens in his medium brother.
If you are looking for analog buttons, you will not find them in the new Evoque, except for the two roulettes that are integrated in this screen and a small selector for the volume. It should be noted, however, that this system is sometimes somewhat slow, taking time to respond slightly when we select the different parameters.
On the other hand, the new Evoque has two instrumentation according to version: an analogue supported on a configurable digital screen, or a fully digital, also configurable, which is much more comfortable if, for example, we have activated the browser, since it replicates the image of the multimedia display thus preventing us from moving our eyes towards the center console.
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The Evoque 2019 has retractable handles that extend when we stop or open the car, to hide once we start the march.
In addition, the new Evoque can adapt to different profiles through the Smart Setting system (eight in total), being the first Land Rover to launch this technology. Through artificial intelligence and complex algorithms, it keeps and remembers preferences of adjustment in the column of the steering wheel or the position of the driver’s seat, as well as temperature, multimedia options or phonebook. However, it requires a previous configuration job.
Finally, there is no lack of driving assistance technologies, such as the lane maintenance system, the automatic emergency braking or the fatigue detector. It also equips cruise control, as well as adaptive speed limiter, whose effectiveness we test on Greek highways characterized by continuously changing speed.
On the other hand, we miss technologies such as adaptive speed control or blind spot detector, although it is true that the side view mirrors are quite generous and this is reduced to the extreme.
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