End of Term Report

This morning I traded my beloved Evoque: I bought my Evoque as a nearly new ex-LR management vehicle back in January 2014.

A Dynamic Lux in Orkney Grey (2.2ltr with 6 speed Auto), complete with many extras including a TV, at 10 months old it had just over 10,000 miles on the clock. I have just part exchanged her now 6 years old and with 46500 on the clock.


So here are my thoughts on over 5 years of ownership:

Stylish design. I think the design still looks fresh and I am pleased to see LR have evolved the design for the new Evoque. Personally I prefer the “circular” signature LED DRLs to the more modern “rectangular” ones.

Dealership experience (Guy Salmon – Portsmouth) good. I had a “gearbox fault” 3 months out of warranty which was a faulty Haldex. This was fixed FOC. Servicing was not cheap but was not overly expensive either although the cost of new front discs and pads made me wince. I changed the rear discs and pads myself for a fraction of the cost.

Drive has been enjoyable. From a standing start acceleration is brisk although I found the delay when coasting to a junction could feel embarrassing (I am not sure if it was waiting for a downshift or it was turbo-lag). Mid-range performance very acceptable for most driving and would pull well to close to top speed. Will cruise all day at 90.

MPG: A lot of my driving is shorter distance around town where 29MPG was normal, I would see 33MPG on longer runs over a tank, however I must add that I have got nearly 40MPG on a few long 150 mile runs consisting of mainly motorway driving

Comfort is good but not excellent. I find that I need to get out of the car after (ideally) a couple of hours, and certainly 3 hours. A short walk around and I am ready for the next couple of hours. By contract I have had cars where 4 plus hours is possible without effort. I have carried 3 adults (plus self) for longer journeys in relative comfort

Tyre wear on Pirelli tyres, very good 28k from the fronts, 45k from the rears.

Electronics, on a 2013 car, generally good. The SatNav is a bit slow and £200 for a new map I find annoying especially when my stand-alone Garmin comes with free lifetime of updates. I also had problems with the left steering switches not working when the lights were on. I had to replace the battery as it was dying after 5.5 years. I did get a few strange things with electronics (such as SatNav screen blank) none of which were permanent and turning the car off, letting it rest so everything powered off resolved these.

Loadspace, the boot is poor far too small. A weekend away for just 2 of us often fills the boot with additional clobber on the back seat. This has probably been the most disappointing thing of the whole car.

Reliability: She never let me down! I had a couple of glitches, a new Haldex Controller due to a “gearbox fault” was the only serious problem. I had 2 new wheels due to corrosion and new front bushes due to a suspension knock. All were covered under warranty.

So would I recommend an Evoque to friends? A most emphatic yes, but I would advise them to think carefully about their loadspace requirements. As I left her I sort of shed a tear, the end of an era, thanking her for being such a good car, so have I replaced it with another Evoque….. No

I thought long and hard about a F-Pace and Velar. I am not a fan of the Jaguar nor the Velar. The Velar styling just doesn’t quite work. The front is too stylishly smooth the back reminds me of a cheap Japanese 4x4 (I am not sure if it is the rake of the bodywork upwards from the rear wheels).

I have bought a RR Sport, gone mad and bought a 20 month old 4.4ltr V8 diesel Autobiography. I hope the great LR experience continues.

Great writeup! Thanks for sharing. I have 85K+ miles now on my 2012 Pure Premium. Knock-wood, the car has been very solid for me and has treated me well. Definitely not inexpensive to service - I cringe each time I bring her in . C'est la vie. Still love the exterior styling and interior appointments. Hoping to get her to well over 125K miles! Fingers crossed (wish me luck!).

Doody

Is your RRS the Aintree Green SDv8 Autobiography was that has a been introduced over on RRSport.co.uk?

Yes I introduced myself over there.