Overland Journal – August 01, 2019

OVERLAND JOURNAL FALL 2019

27

OVERLAND NEWS SCOTT BRADY

The Evoque has alwaysbeen a compact crossover utility

vehicle(CUV )withanemphasisondesignandperformance,

whilestilldelivering respectablefuel economy andtheLand

Roverpromiseofall-roadcapability.For2020,LandRoveris

launchingtheMKIImodel,which is almost 100 percent new,

yetremainsvisuallyfamiliar.

ONTHEROADAnyRangeRovershouldbea pleasuretopiloton

pavement,consumingmileswithbrand-honoringaplomb,and

thenewEvoque is no exception.Road noise was noticeably

lower,andsteeringfeelwasexcellent—amajorimprovementin

tuning and weighting, particularly on center. The 2.0-liter,

turbochargedI4is eagerunderheavyacceleration,andtheturbo

spoolsquickly,producinga 7-second,0-60runwiththenon-

hybridvariant,anda 6.3timeforthemildhybrid.It feelsfaster

than these numbers indicate,particularly when gearholding

withthepaddles.I foundtheEvoqueto exhibitexcellentgripon

twistingroadswithonlymildundersteer.Thevehicle(likemost

performance-orientedCUVs)benefitedfromlatebrakingand

late apexto takeadvantage ofsetting thefront end andthe

AWDdrivetrain.ThedetailandclarityofthenewClearview

rearviewmirror is somethingto beholdand oneofthemost

impressivenewtechnologiesI haveexperiencedas a testdriver.

ASANOVERLANDERI amnotgoingto pretendthattheEvoqueis a

Defenderonthetrailorthebestchoiceto loadwithgearfora trip

aroundtheworld,butit doesdoa betterjobof backcountrytravel

thanmostCUVs.Inparticular,thevehiclecanbespecifiedwith

18-inchwheelsandtallerprofiletires,whichincreasepuncture

resistanceandallowforsomeairingdown.Thisnewmodelalso

comesstandardwithTerrainResponse2 withfivedrivingmodes:

General,ECO,Sand,Grass-Gravel-Snow,andMudandRuts

andanelectronicallycontrolledtorque-on-demandrearaxle.This

is complementedbyhilldescentcontrol,hillholdcontrol,and

now crawl control. I tested all of these systems on mixed terrain

Land Roverhas made its most

popular vehicle better.

The 2020 Range

Rover Evoque

andwitha widerangeof tractionsurfacesfromsandandmudto

loamysoilandgravel.Groundclearanceis a respectable8.3inches,

andapproachanddepartureanglesare 25 and30.6degrees

respectively,whichwillcausemorethana fewstalwartmodelsto

blush(a200-SeriesLandCruiserhas8.9inchesofground

clearanceanda 24-degreedepartureangle).Suspensionarticulation

is limited,sotractioncontrolworksovertimeto maintainforward

progressin cross-axleterrain.Slowspeed control was betterthan

expectedbecauseofthe4.7:1first

gearandfinaldrive(axle)ratioof

4.54:1.Themaximumtorqueof 269

pound-feetis alsoavailableaslow

as1,300rpm—thisisnota

replacementforproperlowrange

gearingbutis impressivefora CUV.

Thefordingdepthis nearly2 feet.

Overall,theEvoqueis a styl-

ish crossoverwithfarbetterdirt

performance than most CUVs.

It willbepopularwiththosewho

commuteinthecitiesorwantthe

economy,value,andperformance

ofa crossoverbutenjoyoccasional

dirtforaysandwintertripstothe

skislopes.Itis alsoentirelysuit-

ableforloadingupwithcampinggearanddrivingtheMojave

Roadontheweekend—justpacka goodcompressorandtire

repairkit.It is easyforoverlanderstodismisscrossoversoutof

hand,buttheyoftenmeettheneedsofsometravelersandata

loweroverallpurchasepriceandcostof operation.I stillremem-

berbeinginthemiddleofMongoliahundredsofmilesfrom

thenearestcity,witha traditionalSUV,only to be passed on the

grassysteppesbya local in a crossover.

LANDROVERUSA.COM

PROS

Excellentoff-highwayperfor-

mancefor a crossover

Fun to driveat speedon

dirt and pavement

20 percentmorepayload

capacitythana Tacoma

Morepayloadand towing

capacitythana Jeep

Wrangler(gasp)

CONS

Limitedinteriorspace

aft of the driver

Passenger-ratedtires

easilypunctured

Limitedgroundclearance

at the quarter panels