First and probably last drive!

My eagerly awaited test drive took place today, an Evoque prestige 5 door SD4 Automatic from Newcastle dealer.
I think this car looks great, the interior is well equipped and a very comfortable place to be, the road and engine noise are well controlled, the performance is very good, all together it was very close to what I had hoped it would be. But for me some thing spoilt it.
The car wallowed and rolled in a way I was not expecting, when the road was smooth and straight it was reasonably settled but with every bump or pot hole in the road I felt the car became unsettled and the body roll apparent, in corners this roll got worse, a slight flick of the steering wheel induced an uncomfortable wallowing feeling that I am not used to. When I moved into the rear seat so my wife could drive I actually felt worse, I have never in my life suffered car sickness but this wallowing feeling made me feel nauseous.
I so wanted this car to meet my expectations and in many ways it did but the ride is just not acceptable for me.
The salesman said no one else had passed comment on this, (someone has to be first), but I really was uncomfortable with this.
We left the dealers in my Mercedes and drove along part of the test route where I had been commenting on the "wallowing", the Merc was as solid and stable as it always is.
I was gutted, I have never looked forward to a test drive as much as this one before, I was so disappointed I cancelled my order.
Before any one comes back at me with the obvious comments " it's a 4x4, the centre of gravity is high etc etc " I am an engineer, I understand the physics, but I have also driven a BMW X1 and Audi Q5 recently and neither of them act the way this evoque did on the road.

I hope you all enjoy your cars when you get them, whenever I see one I'm sure the thought of "if only" will come to my mind.

For now the search for my next car must start again.

Why didn't you try a car equppied with Adaptive Dynamics, it is supposed to make the car much more stable and decrease roll?

I have driven a prestige coupe sd4 and have been telling everybody how solid and planted it felt on the road and how flat it cornered,just shows you each persons perception of handling is.
Driving a bmw 123d coupe at the moment and test drove an x1 23d which was shocking I thought,it couldnt make up its mind if it was a car or an suv it ended up being neither.Each to their own as they say!

Fair play, I'm sure it's not for everyone. I really like my brothers E Class but for the fact that it makes me feel older than I'd like to. I've not driven the x1 just based on the dreadful looks but a test-drive in the q5 showed a nice well built car with really hard ride.
Hope you find what you are after.

One has to wonder - a first post being a profound jab at the handling of the Evoque. You don't work for MB do you? Maybe a little scared of the Evoque sales sweep??
I mean, I'm sure most of us have read probably a 100 reviews from experienced international reviewers who get to test a lot of different makes and if "wallowing" was ever mentioned I would have remembered that! Also the great positivity from the folk who have test driven Evoques on this board, including myself. For my test, I stepped out of my sporty Audi coupe directly into the Evoque and appreciated it for it's wonderful ride and character. Did I miss something? Is James May being paid off?
Perhaps you've experienced an Evoque suspension failure?

*Woman scorned alert, don't continue reading if faint of heart* Mr or Ms poster, sticking with your MB and leaving your Evoque for an enthusiast will I'm sure be appreciated. Your engineering background has you favoring MB, but from my artist's viewpoint I would never consider that brand with its conflicting design elements and ostentatious badge. But each to their own

Must admit i dunno what this blokes on if he honestly thinks the X1 handles better than the Evoque????

For a first post, WTF ?

I have not had the opportunity or time for a test drive yet.

But I was not to worried about the handling, as there has been nothing but praise for it in the motoring press.

I am more concerned about engine power compared to the BMW 2.0d which is a gem.

(18-09-2011 12:25am)andyuk Wrote:  Must admit i dunno what this blokes on if he honestly thinks the X1 handles better than the Evoque????

I am getting an evoque and didnt have a problem with the ride/handling however i can imagine the bmw would probably be better, BMW do after all have a reputation for making fine handling cars, Land rover dont.

(18-09-2011 07:29am)ED209 Wrote:  

(18-09-2011 12:25am)andyuk Wrote:  Must admit i dunno what this blokes on if he honestly thinks the X1 handles better than the Evoque????

I am getting an evoque and didnt have a problem with the ride/handling however i can imagine the bmw would probably be better, BMW do after all have a reputation for making fine handling cars, Land rover dont.

BMW with their best 4x4 can't match even a 2wd evoques off road ability

(18-09-2011 08:20am)Jonathon555 Wrote:  

(18-09-2011 07:29am)ED209 Wrote:  

(18-09-2011 12:25am)andyuk Wrote:  Must admit i dunno what this blokes on if he honestly thinks the X1 handles better than the Evoque????

I am getting an evoque and didnt have a problem with the ride/handling however i can imagine the bmw would probably be better, BMW do after all have a reputation for making fine handling cars, Land rover dont.

BMW with their best 4x4 can't match even a 2wd evoques off road ability

Maybe but i was not talking about off road ability, i was talking about on road ride/handling