All-New Range Rover Evoque Debuts Looking Like a Little Velar
The style-first Range Rover Evoque surprised when it arrived in 2011. Startlingly close to the LRX concept that preceded it, the three and five-door crossover’s sharp lines and small size helped carve a new segment into the crowded crossover class. Now it’s time for an all-new model. With more style, more tech, and more sustainable materials.
Land Rover has revealed the new Range Rover Evoque in London, broadcast on the automaker’s social media channels. While it’s not quite world’s largest Lego stage built for the Discovery, Range Rover was quick to show off the car’s off-road prowess, driving it almost immediately over ramps that put a wheel in the air and then through a deep water ford.
The new Evoque isn’t a massive change stylistically from the current model. The basic shape is similar, though with a more Velar-like nose and new flush-mount door handles. The sides and corners are sleeker than before, much like the latest Discovery.
ALSO SEE: How the Land Rover Discovery Helped Me Get Engaged
Inside, the new Evoque uses new materials that are an alternative to traditional leather. Kvadrat wool and Dinamica suede, and even a Eucalyptus textile and Ultrafabrics that use recycled plastics and natural materials. Every new Evoque will contain up to 72.8 lbs (33 kg) of natural and recycled material.
At 172.1 inches long and 75 inches wide, it’s nearly identical in exterior dimensions to the old one. But Land Rover says the new platform means 0.8 inches more legroom, six percent more luggage space, and a generally larger interior.
Two powertrains will be available at launch. Both use a 2.0L turbo four, but one adds a 48-volt mild hybrid system to the Evoque. The base engine produces 246 hp and 269 lb-ft of torque. The mild hybrid harvests energy under coasting and deceleration, plus it allows more use of start-stop engine shut off, and at speeds up to 11 mph. And it makes 296 hp and 296 lb-ft. Both powertrains get four-wheel drive and use a nine-speed automatic.
New technology features include a ClearSight Ground View camera that uses front-facing cameras and the infotainment screen to let you virtually see through the hood to the ground directly in front of the vehicle. Useful in the bush and useful when parking in town. It also offers a rear-view camera mirror that projects a rear-facing camera into the central rear-view mirror. The camera and screen combo gives the driver a wider field of view and can let them see around cargo and passengers. It’s also designed for better low-light performance.
There are rear-seat tablet holders with charge ports for rear passengers, and up front, Land Rover’s InControl Touch Pro Duo infotainment system will be on the options list. That combines a pair of 10.0-inch screens with a 12.3-inch digital dash and a full-color head-up display.
More details about the 2020 Range Rover Evoque, including pricing and timing, will come at the Chicago Auto Show in February.
Evan moved from engineering to automotive journalism 10 years ago (it turns out cars are more interesting than fibreglass pipes), but has been following the auto industry for his entire life. Evan is an award-winning automotive writer and photographer and is the current President of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. You'll find him behind his keyboard, behind the wheel, or complaining that tiny sports cars are too small for his XXXL frame.
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