Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
source: ShutterStock
Imagine a group of dudes wheeling on their favorite fire trail or muddy depths. You’re probably picturing some old Cherokees, perhaps a newer Wrangler, and the odd-ball Samurai or small pickup. If you drink lattes and work in an office with macho suits, you might be imagining some big, burly Land Rovers or Raptors. You’d never be envisioning a small, zippy coupe on steroids. You’d certainly not imagine 4×4 excursions being executed… sexily.
But that’s exactly the case with the new Range Rover Evoque, the exotic young sibling to the bigger brutes of the same surname. The tiny Evoque might appear cramped, but it is surprisingly spacious inside and it’s a highly capable off-road machine that can cost as little as a premium-ish Touareg or as much as a decked out Porsche Macan.
While small diesel motors and manual gearboxes are optional and satisfy the “economy” version of the Evoque, those who want to hit some trails or trek to some remote sites must opt for the powerful 2.0 Si4 290 motor, delivering 286 horses. Mated to a hyper-efficient 9-speed gearbox, the Evoque makes short work of any great distance and it keeps the powerband readily available at just about any speed.
What makes the Evoque so capable for its small size is all the electronic magic stuffed into its sleek, arrowlike body. For starters, the Evoque gets MagneRide suspension, the same stuff found on some of the world’s most advanced 4×4 machines and supercars alike. This magnetic damping tech allows the Evoque to control damping and suspension travel hundreds of times a second in real-time, reacting to terrain and movement using 3D mapping.
What’s more impressive, though, is how the Evoque’s super-smart computer makes use of its comparatively advanced mechanics. Terrain Response allows the Evoque to adjust its entire driving configuration to accommodate grass, gravel, snow, mud, and even rock crawling. Selecting each mode causes the vehicle to modify suspension ride height and stiffness, throttle mapping, transfer case ranges, trans settings, traction control, dynamic stability control, and hill descent control. And finally, the Evoque boasts best-in-class water fording depths and 8.5” of ground clearance.
Electronic locking diffs are managed by Terrain Response, too. The end result is a small 4×4 machine that literally drives itself – you just press some buttons and control the wheel. The Evoque has done so well that it’s earned plenty of accolades across the 4×4 realm, including Truck of The Year and SUV of The Year. For all its tech and winnings, the latecomer Evoque gets an easy placement on our list.
