While the wait may feel longer for some of us, Jaguar Land Rover Malaysia has finally unveiled the new Range Rover Evoque to our shores, available in the Evoque and Evoque R-Dynamic trim levels. Priced at RM426,828 and RM475,398 respectively (after 50% sales tax waiver mind you), the Evoque may seem like an overpriced fashion accessory to some Land Rover purist. However, this fancy accoutrement has plenty of well-endowed capabilities to match its beautiful appearance and quite frankly hefty price tag.
From the outside, the new Evoque is now styled to mimic its larger sibling, the Range Rover Velar, with slim headlights and taillights. Capped with a sloping roofline and rising shoulder lines, the Evoque is just as sleek and stunning to look at as the day it first made its debut. Following the styling cues of the Velar, the Evoque also features door handles that lay flush with the body to maintain those clean body lines. Adding to the already eye-catching body, the R-Dynamic trim features some burnished copper accents on the front and rear bumpers, giving it a subtle but classy flair.
Under that sleek body, Range Rover has given the Evoque a reworked chassis with additional 21mm in wheelbase, lending to an overall increase in leg and knee room. The cargo capacity has also increased by 10 per cent to 591 litres, with a much wider opening allowing for an entire set of golf clubs or a full-sized baby stroller to fit in comfortably.
The main upgrade to the Evoque comes in the tech department, with Nick Rogers, the Executive Director, Product Engineering of Jaguar Land Rover, saying: “The Evoque is now smarter than ever. The software that sits behind our infotainment system has been refined to provide a more intuitive customer experience. On top of that, we’ve added Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for seamless smartphone integration.”
The new Land Rover InControl Touch Pro Duo infotainment system dominates the centre console of the Evoque’s interior, combining two 10-inch HD touchscreens, in addition to the 12.3-inch digital driver’s display in-place of the instrument cluster. The result is a beautiful, ‘hidden until lit’ interior equipped with a state-of-the-art digital interface, and is available as standard for both the Evoque and Evoque R-Dynamic variants. The superb 11-speaker Meridian sound system will also be a standard feature throughout the Evoque range.
R-Dynamic variants add some additional tech goodies, in the form of the ClearSight camera systems. The segment-first ‘ClearSight Rear View Mirror’ transforms into a screen at the flick of a switch, mainly used when the driver’s rear visibility is compromised by either large cargo items or very tall rear passengers. This system utilises feed from a camera mounted on the top of the Evoque towards the back end, giving a crisp and unobstructed view and superior low light visibility.
The Evoque R-Dynamic also features the ‘ClearSight Ground View’ technology, a world’s first system that gives the driver a virtual view of the ground under the hood and front end of the Evoque. Serious off-roaders would give an arm and a leg for this feature when rock-crawling or traversing the jungles of Borneo. However, we’re pretty confident the only jungle the Evoque will be seeing is the urban jungle, with hipster youths utilising this system navigating tight parking spaces and high city-curbs.
The new Evoque also debuts the brands Smart Settings feature, a system that utilises an artificially intelligent algorithm to recognise the driver’s preference, from media and climate control, and even seating positions. The Evoque can recognise up to eight different driver profiles based on their key fob and mobile phone. After a few journeys, the Evoque remembers the driver’s preferred temperature settings, media preference and commonly dialled numbers, depending on the time or day of the week.
The Evoque is not just all show and no go. Range Rover has kept the familiar Ingenium line of 2.0-litre petrol engines with different tunes; 200hp/320Nm for the standard Evoque and 250hp/365Nm for the R-Dynamic variant. All models come equipped with the brand’s 9-speed automatic transmission, sending power to all four wheels with Driveline Disconnect technology. The system allows the driver to fully disengage drive to the rear wheels when cruising to reduce frictional losses and seamlessly re-engage when conditions require additional traction.
The Evoque also comes a standard with Land Rover’s Terrain Response 2 system for harsher conditions, capable of automatically adjusting the vehicles driving characteristics to match the terrain. With a best-in-class wading depth of 600mm, the Evoque is more than capable of handling the occasional KL flash floods, making it almost the perfect urban vehicle.
In conjunction with the launch of the Evoque, JLR Malaysia will be offering RM3,000 worth of accessory vouchers that can be used to purchase the Evoque’s original accessories for a limited time only. All Land Rover vehicles will be under the ‘Land Rover Care’ programme, which comes with a 5-year/150,000km warranty, a 5-year/65,000km servicing and a 3-year Roadside Assistance.
The Evoque has always been JLR Malaysia’s best-seller, being the entry-level model into the prestigious green oval’s ownership. This all-new Evoque has not messed with its predecessors winning formula of blending form with function and promises to be an even better choice for the young urban crowd it was always meant for.