2020 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Review

The 2020 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque is redesigned from the ground up. You might not know it from looking at it — the styling is very similar to last year's model — but Land Rover says 99 percent of the parts are new. The only carry-over part? The door hinges.

The basic concept, however, is exactly what you expect from Land Rover. Even though the Evoque occupies the lower end of Land Rover's lineup, it's still a luxury SUV that's off-road-capable and comes equipped with the latest high-tech safety equipment. We recently spent a few days behind the wheel of an Evoque to find out how improved this new second-generation model is.

How Does It Drive?

One notable change this year is an updated powertrain. The standard turbocharged 2.0-liter is more powerful than last year and now produces 246 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque. Also available is a 48-volt mild hybrid version that ups the power output to 296 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. Both engines are connected to a nine-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.

On-road performance is excellent. The engine provides abundant power for highway passing, and the transmission shifts crisply and quickly. On steep grades, the programming is spot-on and picks an ideal gear rather than constantly upshifting and downshifting. Full-throttle acceleration brings about a slightly raspy sound from the engine, but it's not entirely unpleasant. Land Rover estimates an Evoque with the mild hybrid setup will have a 0-60 mph time of 6.3 seconds, or 7.0 seconds for the standard engine.

On curvy mountain roads, the Evoque is well-balanced and smooth. Body roll is minimal. One significant drawback, however, is the vague steering. The steering wheel is hefty and has a distinct on-center feel, which is good for both on- and off-road scenarios, but you feel very little of what the front tires are doing as you go around turns with enthusiasm.

Is It Comfortable and Spacious?

On the highway, the new Evoque is eminently smooth and quiet. Both the driver and front-passenger seats are well-bolstered and supportive. The rear seat has decent lumbar support and side bolstering in the outside seating positions, and the touch points in both rows are pleasant. Placing your elbows on the well-padded armrests in both rows will be a comfortable experience regardless of the length of the journey.

As a part of the Evoque's redesign, the wheelbase is now about an inch longer, with the overall length of the car staying about the same. That means the Evoque now has 33.8 inches of rear legroom (an increase of about an inch over the previous model), and the rear doors are about an inch longer, with more space to get in and out of the vehicle. Adults can now slide easily in and out, even if they do have to duck a bit with the low rear roofline. While the seats and ride quality are top-notch, the front footwells are decidedly narrow; people with long legs or big feet may feel a bit cramped.

Cargo space for the Evoque is 21.5 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, or 50.5 cubic feet with the rear seats folded. This cargo space isn't exactly cavernous, but it's on par with the segment and enough for a few large suitcases. The mild hybrid model's batteries are located under the front seats, so its cargo space is unchanged. Similar-size competitors include the Audi Q3, the BMW X2 and the Mercedes GLA.

Is It Good Off-Road?

Previously, the Evoque came standard with a basic all-wheel-drive system called Terrain Response. The Evoque is now equipped with Terrain Response 2, Range Rover's sophisticated traction-management system, which allows for the lockout of specific off-road modes. It has five driver-selectable modes designed to give the Evoque more capability off-road. Over rocks, through water and up hills, the Evoque is unflappable. With 8.3 inches of ground clearance, you've got enough space under the Evoque to get you over large rocks and ruts.

The hill descent and ascent control and hold functions make driving on steep off-road grades easy. Forget rolling back on a steep, slippery hill — just let the vehicle do the driving for you. On more rugged terrain, the Evoque can sense slip at each individual tire and adjust engine power to get you through precarious situations. Many Evoque drivers will never take their vehicle beyond the edge of the pavement, but they should. This SUV is fully capable in all but the toughest of off-road scenarios, and it's unique in its class in that regard.

What Is the Tech Like?

Inside the Evoque is a new infotainment setup, which Land Rover calls Touch Pro Duo. The top touchscreen controls functions such as navigation and music, while the lower screen handles climate control. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, both of which are new features on the Evoque.

The screens look great and are quick to respond to your inputs. But the two-screen setup's location and layout make it distracting to use. You have to take your eyes off the road to really see anything on the screens, and the icons are small and hard to spot at a glance. Some knobs and buttons reside directly behind the gear lever; you'll have a hard time using them to make climate or radio-volume adjustments on the fly.

Available safety equipment on the Evoque includes features such as lane keeping assist, forward collision warning with automatic braking, and a driver-attention monitor. There are also some unique tech features worth noting. The ClearSight rearview mirror is an available option that displays an excellent crisp, clear camera-created image of what's behind the vehicle rather than using the standard mirror view. It's especially useful if the cargo area is full of items that block your view.

Up front, you can get the ClearSight ground view, which is another camera-created image that displays what's directly in front of the Evoque. It essentially makes the hood and engine of the car transparent, showing the outlines of the wheels and allowing the driver to see what's underneath the front bumper. This tech is extra helpful in tight city quarters or if you're off-roading and trying to avoid particularly nasty rocks or ruts.

Should I Buy One?

The starting price for the Evoque is $43,645, including destination, and easily rises into the $50,000 range — some models get even closer to $60,000. Those numbers may be hard to swallow considering the abundance of more reasonably priced rivals. But you'll get quite a bit of capability and luxury for your money with the Evoque. For some, it will be worth the cost.

There are a lot of excellent choices in the small luxury crossover SUV class. The BMW X2, Mercedes-Benz GLC and Porsche Macan, for example, each have their own particular strengths. But nothing else possesses the Evoque's unique combination of on-road manners, off-road capability and plush interior details. If you're looking for the intersection of luxury and capability, start your search here. The 2020 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque goes on sale in the United States in the spring of 2019.

Ten years ago, the statement "The compact luxury SUV segment is really heating up" might have read like a bad Mad Lib. But the fact is, the segment brims with over 10 vehicles and billions of dollars of research and development are being funneled into transforming small, practical SUVs into statements of luxury. Introduced in 2011, the Evoque has managed to rack up more than 770,000 sales globally, but the time to reinvent itself has come. And while the all-new 2020 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque (we don't like typing that out any more than you like saying it, so from here on out we'll just call it the Evoque) might look about the same, it is most decidedly not.

From the Ground Up

Land Rover calls the Evoque's chassis its Premium Transverse Architecture and it was designed from the get-go to accept electrification; i.e., it can be had as a mild hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV). And though the Evoque has a nearly identical footprint to the outgoing model, the wheelbase is nearly an inch longer, giving the rear passengers a much-needed boost in kneeroom. Other spatial additions are seen through increased cargo capacity, up 1.2 cubic feet to 21.5 cubic feet with the rear seats up, and a larger glovebox and center console storage. The new body is also 13 percent stiffer than the outgoing model.

That mild hybrid system, a first for Land Rover, is integrated into the Evoque with a battery located under the floor and recuperates power via a belt-driven starter generator attached to the engine. While that system isn't capable of full EV mode, it does store enough power under deceleration to aid in acceleration and take some of the load off the gasoline engine.

The Dirty Bits

Powering the Evoque are one of two engine options. The first is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 246 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque. Of the six (!) trim levels available, this engine is standard on three of them: S, SE and First Edition. The second is the MHEV, which combines the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder with a shove of electrons for a combined output of 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Both engines operate through a nine-speed automatic transmission, and whichever powertrain you choose, maximum torque is available from just over 1,000 rpm, which should ensure effortless get-up-and-go. Land Rover figures the 246-horsepower setup will get to 60 mph in 7.0 seconds, with the MHEV tagging 60 in 6.3 seconds.

It wouldn't be a proper Land Rover if it didn't have some off-road credentials, and the Evoque should have the segment covered thanks to standard all-wheel drive and trick off-road tech. For the first time, the Evoque gets Land Rover's Terrain Response 2 system, which incorporates drive modes for varying terrain, from asphalt to sand to grass and even muddy ruts. And should the need arise (not all gentrified areas have proper drainage) the new Evoque has a wading depth of 23.6 inches. And when your escapades take you over paved surfaces, there's an optional adaptive suspension that's capable of monitoring surface conditions every 100 milliseconds to ensure a comfortable ride.

Substance and Style

Outside, the new Evoque mimics a lot of what the handsome Range Rover Velar has on offer. The design is clean and minimalistic, and slim LED lighting, both fore and aft, helps accentuate the horizontal lines and serve to visually lengthen the Evoque. Trim options abound, but the First Edition trim package includes burnished copper garnishments. Twenty-inch wheels are also available, naturally.

Inside, the interior has been rethought not in just its design but also in selection of materials. In a push to offer premium alternatives to the traditional leather upholstery, surfaces are made from wool blends, artificial suede, recycled materials and even eucalyptus. There are new color combinations, and many buttons are capacitive with an optional twin touchscreen as well as a fully digital instrument panel and a head-up display. As is expected, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility is standard, and there's available Wi-Fi as well as six USB ports placed throughout the cabin.

No luxury SUV, no matter how small, can get away without offering a full batch of driver aids. There's the usual lane keeping assist, automatic emergency braking and a trendy driver attention warning system, but there's also an interesting piece of technology that we first saw in 2014 on the Land Rover Vision Concept. ClearSight Ground View, what was known then as the Transparent Bonnet, creates a virtual view of what's directly in front of and below the Evoque thanks to a composite of various front and side-mounted cameras. While this tech could help you avoid treacherous oil-pan-bashing boulders, it can also show you the proximity of parking blocks, curbs, and those expensive succulents you just planted next to your driveway.

2020 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Release Date and Pricing

The 2020 Evoque goes on sale in the spring of 2019 and it can't come a moment too soon. In this competitive segment, fickle buyers aren't likely to look at a backmarker twice. The 2020 Evoque will be available in six trim levels, with prices ranging from $42,650 for the S to $55,800 for the R-Dynamic HSE with the mild hybrid powertrain. To ensure personalization, countless stand-alone options should be on offer, and stay tuned to Edmunds for more details as well as our upcoming expert review of the new Evoque.

The littlest Range Rover, the Evoque, is posh, good to drive, and most of all a very stylish compact SUV. That recipe made it unique back in 2012, but since then competition has poured in from just about every premium brand.

The Mercedes-Benz GLA has been around a while and will be replaced in the next couple of years, while BMW offers a much newer rival in the X2. Volvo has the practical and stylish XC40, Lexus offers the modern and efficient UX, and Audi's high-tech second-generation Q3 will be coming to the U.S. next year.

With so much competition, the totally redesigned 2020 Range Rover Evoque will have to be good. It's probably smart that Land Rover is evolving the Evoque's looks rather than changing them entirely, as that was a big part of the outgoing model's appeal. But this new SUV has some unique features to close the deal with shoppers drawn in by the attractive bodywork.

The entire Evoque — both the skin and all the bits underneath — is new, and a mild hybrid engine provides propulsion. Inside, we find high-tech infotainment features that bring a cleaner, even more modern look to the interior, along with some whizbang visibility aids. There's even smartphone integration, which should mitigate some of the frustrations we had with the old Evoque's infotainment. Taken altogether, the new Evoque looks to be an enticing take on the small luxury SUV formula.

Still a Style Leader?

Despite the technical progress, the bodywork is instantly recognizable as an Evoque and as a member of the Range Rover family. Its designers claim the previous generation earned a lot of love for its looks, so it would have been folly to chuck away that equity. Instead, they say, the new design is all about adding sophistication, polish and modernity. We've seen the vehicle and sat in it. And based on our first impressions, Land Rover looks to have succeeded.

The characteristic rising waistline, tapered roof, narrowing side glass, neat round wheel housings and clamshell hood are all there. The attention to detail and the pared-down look are new. Range Rover went down the same route when designing the Velar: Gaps are tightened, gutters frenched off, and door handles remain recessed until needed.

Range Rover's signature face is clear to see. So, too, are the familiar shapes of the light clusters, with their speed lines emanating from the corners. But the clusters are shallower and sharper-eyed than ever.

Screen Time

Range Rover's bigger models use a two-screen touch interface for climate and infotainment, with a useful pair of multipurpose physical controller wheels embedded in the lower screen. The same setup, and interactive driver's instruments, will be available in the Evoque. But there's no head-up display option.

Or do you reckon life's too short for learning the idiosyncrasies of a manufacturer's navigation, music and voice-control system? Then you'll be delighted to know this is — at last — the first showing of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in a Jaguar Land Rover vehicle.

Around the interior, the Evoque deploys materials well in keeping with its ambitions. Diamond-quilted leather looks good. But there are also alternatives chosen with customers' ethical stances in mind: Various cloths are animal-free, a combination of plant-derived fabrics are grown with little irrigation water, and synthetics are made from recycled plastic bottles. The factory is certified carbon-neutral, too.

X-ray Vision

OK, not literally "X-ray," but the Evoque's new ClearSight Ground View system has a similar effect. This system uses three cameras located in the front grille and door mirrors. The pictures are stitched together and perspective-enhanced, and the resulting feed is displayed on the main central touchscreen. You get a view of the ground beginning just ahead of the Evoque's front wheels as if the hood and engine were transparent. That's handy in tight parking lots as well as off-road.

Meanwhile, ClearSight Rear View is a 1.7-megapixel display filling the rearview mirror, fed by a camera at the tail of the car. The mirror is semi-silvered, so it can work conventionally, too. But switch it on and your rear view is magically wiped of passengers, headrests and tall cargo.

Fighting the Bloat

Most cars grow with each generation. Not the Evoque. Keeping it small for driving in tight city streets was always a priority. It's just 172 inches from end to end. The overhangs are shorter than before, emphasizing the compact stance. This also gives more rear kneeroom than before. But actually very few Evoques are used as family cars, so Land Rover prioritized trunk space, increasing it just a bit to 20.8 cubic feet.

Although the bigger Range Rovers are built of aluminum, the Evoque's new platform is high-strength steel. The engineers claim this enables the body's structural bones to be as compact as possible, while aluminum sections would have been bulkier.

Electrified Power

As with pretty much every rival, the Evoque relies on a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, mounted transversely. But the top-spec Evoque, called P300, adds a mild hybrid system. This 48-volt electric motor-generator stores energy otherwise lost in braking and gives a useful torque boost to the engine at very low rpm. It's claimed to save noticeable quantities of fuel in urban driving.

The P300 makes 296 horsepower, and Land Rover says it'll do 0-60 mph in 6.3 seconds. Meanwhile, the P250 version carries over the current engine without the hybrid system and makes 246 hp. Both the P300 and the P250 have a nine-speed transmission and standard all-wheel drive.

The suspension uses parts borrowed from the larger Velar, with the aim of improving quietness and comfort. As with the old car, adaptive dampers are available. They sharpen the car when you're being aggressive but relax when you do.

SUV Capability

The British manufacturer has always made a song-and-dance about off-road ability, even with its little crossovers. The Evoque has four-wheel drive as standard, directing its torque to the wheels with most traction. It can wade through nearly 24 inches of water. The Evoque doesn't get the fanciest off-road hardware found on its larger siblings, but it does receive Land Rover's Terrain Response system. This system detects the type of surface you're tackling and adjusts gears, throttle travel and tire slip to give you the best chance of getting through. And it's capable of climbing and descending 45-degree slopes.

The Evoque is rated to tow just shy of 4,000 pounds — though not on a 45-degree slope, obviously.

Behind the Wheel

Land Rover let us have a quick spin in a preproduction diesel model at the Evoque's reveal event in East London, where it had set up a little course under some railway arches. The new Range Rover Evoque sits on an all-new platform that claims to offer improvements in ride, refinement and handling thanks to rear-suspension technology borrowed from the Velar, second-generation Adaptive Dynamics and much besides. While we didn't go fast or far enough to judge for ourselves whether those claims are true, the short drive did confirm one thing: The Evoque still possesses a degree of off-road ability that far exceeds what anyone will ever ask from it.

Several big inclines proved the Evoque can still climb steep slopes (thanks to a 25-degree approach angle), while a strategically placed swimming pool demonstrated its almost 2-foot wading depth. Meanwhile, the new ClearSight Ground View tech — which uses cameras in the grille and on the door mirrors to give you a view through the bonnet of what is ahead and underneath the front of the car — is as handy off-road, where it might pick up a sharp rock invisible from the cabin, as it is for parking tightly against a curb. We used it to drive along a mock railway line, where it made staying on the narrow "rails" very straightforward. The short drive also revealed a comfortable driving position and driver's seat, and a familiar infotainment system that works as well here as it does in the Velar, Range Rover and Jaguar I-Pace. Other impressions will have to wait until we get a full drive of the new Evoque next year.

When and How Much?

The full U.S. unveiling is scheduled to happen around the Chicago Auto Show in February. At that time we'll learn equipment specifications and pricing, in time for U.S. sales to begin late spring 2019.