Auto Express – July 30, 2019

72 SpecialIssue http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

ROADTESTS AudiQ3vsrivals

MODELTESTED:Range RoverEvoque D180 R-Dynamic S

PRICE:£40,515 ENGINE:2.0-litre4cyl, 178bhp

THEsecond-generationEvoqueisoursmall
premiumSUVchamp,soit’stheonetheQ3has
tobeat.We’retestingtheD180insportyR-DynamicS
trim(ourpicturesshowanR-DynamicHSE)tomatch
theAudi–theEvoquecostsfrom£40,515.

Design &

engineering

THEfirst-generationEvoque
capturedtheimaginationofalegionof
buyers,shiftingmorethan800,000examples.Asa
result,LandRoverhasn’trockedtheboatwiththe
styling,bysubtlyevolvingtheshapetotautenup
andmodernisethesmallestRangeRover’slooks.
However,underthatsharperskinthere’sanew
platform.It’scalledPTA,orPremiumTransverse
Architecture,whichisanevolutionofLandRover’s
D8platformthat’sbeendesignedtoacceptmild
andplug-inhybridtechnology.
This2.0-litreD180unitboasts178bhpand430Nm
oftorque.That’s9bhplessthantheAudibut30Nm
moretorque;thelatterisoftenthemoreimportant
figureforadiesel,andbecausetheEvoqueisalso121kg
heavierthantheQ3,itneedsittomatchtheAudi.
Themild-hybridpowertrainwithits48velectric
systemdoesatleastmeanefficiencyshouldbe
improved,sinceitallowsengine-offcoastingatupto
11mph,whileitalsoprovidesupto140Nmoftorque
togiveasmallboostduringwhatLandRovercalls
“transientacceleration”.Thinkpullingawayand
mid-speed,lightacceleration.Powerissenttoallfour
wheelsthroughanine-speedautomaticgearbox,a
developmentforthisgenerationofEvoque.
Interiorqualityhasalsotakenanoticeablestepon.
Thecabinistheplushestofthistrio,andthematerials
aregood,befittingoftheRangeRovername.While
it’s£2,400morethantheAudiand£2,280pricier
thantheVolvo,iteasilyfeelsmorepremium,which
goespartofthewaytojustifyingitspricetag.This
pricegapislessenedwhenyoufactorinthatsome
oftheEvoque’skitisoptionalonitsrivals,plusLand
RoverisfocusingheavilyonPCPfinance.
ThelistofstandardkiteveninR-DynamicS
specincludesa10-inchtouchscreenwithnav,while
AppleCarPlayandAndroidAutoarebothfittedas
standard–apreviousLandRoverweakpoint.Youalso
getfullleather,heatedseats,goodsafetykit,parking
sensorsandareversingcamera,LEDlightsand
climateandcruisecontrolincluded.Unfortunately,
itemslikeadigitaldash(£500)areextra.

Driving

LANDRover’sD180dieseliseven
morerefinedthanAudi’s40TDI,and
despitetheEvoquecarryinggreatermass,
themotor’sextratorqueisnoticeable.Itpullswell
fromlowrevs,withthemild-hybridboostsubtly
helpingoutinthebackground.Thenine-speed
gearboxdoesagoodjobofmakingacceleration
feelpotentenoughthankstohavingmore–and
thereforeshorter–ratios.Inaddition,itkeepsa
lidonenginerevs,andchangesupsmoothly.
Youcanseethebenefitofthoseshorterratiosand
theextratorque,becausetheEvoquewasquicker
thantheVolvoinallofour50-70mphin-geartests.
Infact,theRangeRovertook7.5secondstocomplete
thistestinseventh,whereastheVolvodiditin

Testers’ notes

“MostcarsinthisclassareboughtonPCPfinance,

anddespiteitshigherlistpricetheEvoquelooks

likegoodvalue(seeopposite).LandRoverispushing

thismethodofpurchaseheavilywiththenewcar.”

SeanCarsonChiefreviewer

thesametimeinsixth.ThePTAplatformmeans

theRangeRover’sridequalityisverysmooth.It

doesn’tironbumpsout,butreactstothemwith

arelativelysofttouchthattheQ3sometimes

lacks.TheXC40sitsbetweenthetwo.

TheEvoque’sweightdoescomeintoplaythough,

andwhileithelpssmoothouttheride,makingthe

carfeelrelativelysettled,thisisn’tthemostdynamic

machine.Thesteeringhasaniceweightandthere’s

goodgrip.Butthen,asSUVs,thesecarsaremore

aboutluxuryinanaffordablepackagethanhandling,

whichiswheretheRangeRovershadesitsrivals.

Practicality

ANincreaseinsizeforthissecond-

generationEvoqueisn’taspronouncedas

withtheQ3,andwhilethatshowswhenit

comestorear-seatspace–theEvoqueisalittlemore

crampedthantheAudi,withslightlylessheadand

legroomduetothelowrooflineandstyling–the

472-litrebootisstilladecentsize.

That’s12litresmorespacethantheVolvooffers,

andenoughroomforfourpeople’sbags.Asitstands,

youwouldn’twanttocarryfivepeopleforanymore

thanshorttrips,becausethebackseatisn’tthebiggest.

There’satwincup-holderandstorageareabehind

thegearlever,withacoverthatactsasatrayforyour

phone.Behindthisthere’sabig,liddedbinand

armrest.Thegloveboxanddoorbinsarereasonable.

Ownership

ARESULTof20thinour2019owner

satisfactionsurveyforLandRoverisn’t

exactlygreatforacarwearingaRangeRover

badge,whilethebrandisn’texactlyknownforits

reliabilityeither.Butlet’sfocusonsafety,because

theEvoqueR-DynamicSgetsautonomousbraking,

lanekeepassistandtrafficsignrecognitionfor

afullfive-starEuroNCAPrating.

Blind-spotwarningisavailableaspartofa£1,000

DrivePack,whichalsoaddsadaptivecruiseand

high-speedemergencybraking.

Running costs

THERangeRoverbadgeholdsplenty

ofweightontheusedmarket,andour

expertspredictthattheEvoquewillholdon

tothemostmoneyofourtrioafterthreeyearsor

36,000miles.It’spredictedtoretain55.3percent,

or£22,401,althoughtheAudicomesclosewitha

retainedvalueof52.4percent–or£19,976.

TheVolvotrailsthesetwoanddoesn’tbreak

50percent,retaininganexpected48.6percentof

itsvalueafterthreeyears,whichequatesto£18,575.

ȗȗ 4 L 4 L

score

4.1

ȽȽ 4 L 4 L

score

3.9

ȎȎ 4 L 4 L

score

4.0

ȽȽ 4 L 4 L

score

3.9

ɃɃ 4 L 4 L

score

3.8

No sliding seats, but 472-litrebootisstill bigger than XC40’s

Rear seatsare slightly cramped when compared to the Q3’s

RangeRove

Premium compact SUV is aclass act tha

Running costs

36.4mpg (ontest)

£71 fill-up/£455 or 37%tax

Practicality

Boot(seats up/down)

472/1,156 litres

!

Braking

70-0/60-0/30-0mph

50.9/37.5/9.9m

Performance

0-60mph/top speed

9.5seconds/127mph

Se