Buying a 2nd hand Evoque

Looking at one of these for the other half maybe.

Thinking about a 2014 onwards 3 door automatic..

Any thoughts on what to avoid or look out for, also approved used Land Rover or just any old garage?

Depends on your budget of course. You'll get a better warranty with Approved Used. Having said that, there's plenty out there in the second hand market.

They're generally pretty reliable.

Look for a Full LR Service history (last couple of years are on line, there is no service record book), check if it has the optional 3 or 5 year service agreement, if you can find one go for a Dynamic Lux Plus Auto - plus pack is very rare but worth having as the seats are very comfortable. Check that you can live with the slow front seat motors and the poor access to the rear (once in there is tonnes of room but getting there can be a test for older passengers). 2014MY were the first of the 9 speed autos - really nice gearbox but clunky shifts are not unknown - the shift should be silky smooth and almost imperceptible. For a 3 door you should pay less or the same as a 5 door as for 2014/2015 LR made them the same price, 3 doors were not a big seller (LR reckoned that they would sell more 3 doors than 5 doors originally and then priced the 3 door too high.......) do not pay 1c more "because it is the Coupe version" there never was a "coupe" Evoque, originally they were all going to be 3 doors like the LRX design exercise! Most important - go for the most unmolested, most original car you can find ie OEM wheels and trim, anything with big wheels or lowered suspension might look nicer but you should pay less for it as it will now be a "modified" car and more expensive to insure. If you can find one, the 2 litre petrol will be cheaper than a diesel as they were considered to be less desirable due to their rather heavy thirst and in the UK IIRC they are all autos, however they have the benefit of NOT having a a DPF clog up if you do a lot of very short journeys. If you want to try a little greenlaning then I would recommend going for an auto (you can still drive in manual mode if you want with the paddles) as offroad can take a heavy toll on the clutch on a manual, it is a Range Rover so it should be an auto anyway! Before signing over any money check all the "toys" still work, they can be expensive to repair out of warranty. Remember that Lux models (but not Plus) are a separate model in the price guides and will cost a bit more than a non-Lux with all the toys as extras and Lux pack is available on Prestige and Dynamic cars. The Dynamic suspension/ steering function was also available as an option on Prestiges, it does make the car ride flatter in spirited driving on twisty roads and has the Magneride struts as part of the pack. Be aware that the 3 door was also available as a 4 seater or a 5 seater - 5 seaters have a split/fold bench rear seat, 4 seater has 2 bucket seats that split/fold in the back (4 seaters are very very rare!). Due to the small boot a set of roof rails and crossbars are worth looking for - they are expensive dealer fit options. Remember that there was also a 2WD ED4 version with a reduced power map in the ECU so watch out for de-badged cars at non franchised dealers!
There are a couple of special edition versions - Metallic Black and metallic Scillian Lemon Yellow cars and also more recently the "Ember" edition - Metallic Black and Firenze red. IIRC there were only 300 of each made but they are not worth any more than a "standard" car. Also there is the exceptionally rare Beckham Edition.......... IIRC 100 were made, only 3 RHD versions were ever sold in the UK the rest are LHD and mostly sold in China and Russia, they cost £80,000 new and £92,000 if you opted for the optional bespoke leather luggage............
Evoque has also been subject to customising by Kahn and Overfinch, the modification are of dubious taste and durability and are really something very personal - beware of cars badged as Overfinch but only having a set of oversized Overfinch wheels - a full on Overfinch is a new interior, body kit and ECU remap. Neither Kahnised or Overfinched cars are worth 1p more than a standard car, possibly a lot less........... it will have cost a vast amount to have a bespoke Kahn or Overfinch Evoque built, but often the changes make them harder to sell on so use the "non standard" argument as a negotiating point.....
There is no "must have" option as the cars are quite well specced, but especially on a 3 Door with an Ebony interior, the panoramic roof makes the interior a much brighter place to be (pano roof was standard on Lux pack cars) they are all fixed glass roofs, there was no opening "sunroof" version.
I don't think it was available between 2013 and 2016 but there is an optional Cherry deep purple hide dash topper - it isn't very popular. Beware of the Tan interior, it is lovely BUT it is a rather Orange version of Tan......... I had a Tan Plus Pack interior on my last 5 door Dynamic and speak from experience!

My own Dynamic Lux Plus 3 door in Fuji with Ebony Interior - it was a 6 speed auto


Plus Pack Seats - also had full leather dash topper and door casing trim


Santorini Black Pretige 3 Door


Fuji White with Black Contrast Roof Dynamic and Shadow Chrome wheels


Tan Plus Pack seating

Excellent advice.

Also definitely take the car on a decent test drive - 5 minutes is not enough, you are spending a large sum of money, take your time and enjoy the experience.
The seating position is lower than you might expect on a Range Rover, combined with high window cills, this can make for restricted vision - as does the small rear window.

The early 9 speed box combined with the last of the 2.2 engines doesn't in my experience work well together, massive turbo lag effect when pulling away from junctions - not saying it is turbo lag, but you can count to 4 slowly, before the engine revs pick up - dealer says they are all like this and who am I to say they are wrong.

Many LR dealers are now offering 24 hour unrestricted test drives so another reasons to look there. Have you tried feeding in your details to the LR Approved Used section - you can search on distance away, engine, spec, colour, age, model and price

Thank you for the info, I'm off to auto trader for a nosey.

Thanks @XFullFatTim, fantastically detailed review!

I'm 1.5 years into my RRE ownership, Dynamic Lux MY2013. Love the car but have been thinking about an upgrade to the RR Sport. What were your thoughts? Mostly pragmatic or just fancied a bigger RR?!

Thanks!
PC

(03-07-2017 09:14am)XFullFatTim Wrote:  Look for a Full LR Service history (last couple of years are on line, there is no service record book), check if it has the optional 3 or 5 year service agreement, if you can find one go for a Dynamic Lux Plus Auto - plus pack is very rare but worth having as the seats are very comfortable. Check that you can live with the slow front seat motors and the poor access to the rear (once in there is tonnes of room but getting there can be a test for older passengers). 2014MY were the first of the 9 speed autos - really nice gearbox but clunky shifts are not unknown - the shift should be silky smooth and almost imperceptible. For a 3 door you should pay less or the same as a 5 door as for 2014/2015 LR made them the same price, 3 doors were not a big seller (LR reckoned that they would sell more 3 doors than 5 doors originally and then priced the 3 door too high.......) do not pay 1c more "because it is the Coupe version" there never was a "coupe" Evoque, originally they were all going to be 3 doors like the LRX design exercise! Most important - go for the most unmolested, most original car you can find ie OEM wheels and trim, anything with big wheels or lowered suspension might look nicer but you should pay less for it as it will now be a "modified" car and more expensive to insure. If you can find one, the 2 litre petrol will be cheaper than a diesel as they were considered to be less desirable due to their rather heavy thirst and in the UK IIRC they are all autos, however they have the benefit of NOT having a a DPF clog up if you do a lot of very short journeys. If you want to try a little greenlaning then I would recommend going for an auto (you can still drive in manual mode if you want with the paddles) as offroad can take a heavy toll on the clutch on a manual, it is a Range Rover so it should be an auto anyway! Before signing over any money check all the "toys" still work, they can be expensive to repair out of warranty. Remember that Lux models (but not Plus) are a separate model in the price guides and will cost a bit more than a non-Lux with all the toys as extras and Lux pack is available on Prestige and Dynamic cars. The Dynamic suspension/ steering function was also available as an option on Prestiges, it does make the car ride flatter in spirited driving on twisty roads and has the Magneride struts as part of the pack. Be aware that the 3 door was also available as a 4 seater or a 5 seater - 5 seaters have a split/fold bench rear seat, 4 seater has 2 bucket seats that split/fold in the back (4 seaters are very very rare!). Due to the small boot a set of roof rails and crossbars are worth looking for - they are expensive dealer fit options. Remember that there was also a 2WD ED4 version with a reduced power map in the ECU so watch out for de-badged cars at non franchised dealers!
There are a couple of special edition versions - Metallic Black and metallic Scillian Lemon Yellow cars and also more recently the "Ember" edition - Metallic Black and Firenze red. IIRC there were only 300 of each made but they are not worth any more than a "standard" car. Also there is the exceptionally rare Beckham Edition.......... IIRC 100 were made, only 3 RHD versions were ever sold in the UK the rest are LHD and mostly sold in China and Russia, they cost £80,000 new and £92,000 if you opted for the optional bespoke leather luggage............
Evoque has also been subject to customising by Kahn and Overfinch, the modification are of dubious taste and durability and are really something very personal - beware of cars badged as Overfinch but only having a set of oversized Overfinch wheels - a full on Overfinch is a new interior, body kit and ECU remap. Neither Kahnised or Overfinched cars are worth 1p more than a standard car, possibly a lot less........... it will have cost a vast amount to have a bespoke Kahn or Overfinch Evoque built, but often the changes make them harder to sell on so use the "non standard" argument as a negotiating point.....
There is no "must have" option as the cars are quite well specced, but especially on a 3 Door with an Ebony interior, the panoramic roof makes the interior a much brighter place to be (pano roof was standard on Lux pack cars) they are all fixed glass roofs, there was no opening "sunroof" version.
I don't think it was available between 2013 and 2016 but there is an optional Cherry deep purple hide dash topper - it isn't very popular. Beware of the Tan interior, it is lovely BUT it is a rather Orange version of Tan......... I had a Tan Plus Pack interior on my last 5 door Dynamic and speak from experience!

My own Dynamic Lux Plus 3 door in Fuji with Ebony Interior - it was a 6 speed auto


Plus Pack Seats - also had full leather dash topper and door casing trim


Santorini Black Pretige 3 Door


Fuji White with Black Contrast Roof Dynamic and Shadow Chrome wheels


Tan Plus Pack seating