Gearbox Issues

Just wondered what owners thoughts were on the quality of the auto box?

I have a 5-door SD4 Dynamic auto and must admit that I find the gearbox a let down on an otherwise excellent car. I have previoulsy owned BMW's and Audi's with auto and DSG and would have to say that the Evoque is a fair way short of these in smoothness, in particular at low speeds and around town. I find that the change down from third to second is very jerky unless I am very very gentle on the throttle. Then I find that the engine will drop to quite low revs before decideing to down shift and then there is a destinct lurch through the drivetrain followed by a surge of acceleration depending on how much throttle you apply.

Also, as mentioned by many reviews I find the gearbox will hunt up and down the ratios, seeminlgy not sure about what gear to be in?

I find this quite a frustration, especially when there is talk of the Jag 8-speed auto being used in the future which is apparantly much better quality. With the length of time and investment that LR have put into the Evoque you would think they would have done this from the start?

Otherwise I have to say the car is fantastic but the initial feelgood factor is beginning to wear thin with the auto box behaving like it does. It makes smooth driving in towns quite difficult, something I've never experienced in a BMW or Audi.

Any thoughts??

There has been a software upgrade for the gearbox control unit so you might want to check if your car has it.

As for the quality of the box, at least part of the problem is the drive for economy where the gearbox will avoid "holding on" to a gear and will change up where possible to improve economy.

any link to the software upgrade?

We have an x3 8 speed gear box auto. Great bit of kit. Only thing the evoque has on this gear box is that the x3 is noisier at higher speeds

Hi, I'm not completely sure if you are talking of being in drive or using the paddles. Personally I find it a reasonably smooth box; not the best, but nice and smooth generally.

As with almost every car, certainly with ones as pretty as this, there are compromises and having owned a number of nice cars (I'm not talking of super cars ) I haven't yet found the perfect all around car. That said, I think the evoque is a really good car,which in time will become a great one.

Personally, If I were Landrover and wanted to improve the car, I'd make the evoque with a meatier engine and yes I agree an 8 speed auto. The boot is far smaller than the head-line figures suggest but it's a decent compromise given its looks, however,if an xl version could be made which gave a larger boot, which could be moved forward/backwards to produce a bigger boot/rear passenger area, this would be useful to me for one,provided the looks would be just as good.

Or is this just the new RRSport?

I'm pleased to report that I have a smooth shifting SI4 auto! I had read some earlier reports about roughness so have been extra vigilant. I'm also pleased to say that I'm having trouble noticing any turbo lag (hello DSGs of the past!) at all. I am using a touch more gas than in the TTS though but that's probably from the greater weight / higher urban revs of the Evoque?? Or something like that

And YTShome - from all reports the SI4 is perfectly tune-able if you are needing more HP!
I think it's important for potential buyers to factor this into their initial buying decision.
If you are a speed demon who might need a bit of extra oomph (LR warranty be damned) - how about making some concessions on your initial spec if you are on a budget? Like sat Nav and upgraded Meridian vs 300 HP ha!
I'm inspired by Jason, my TTS hero in San Francisco with his 400 HP TTS project. Fantastic 14 webisodes on You Tube for the car enthusiasts out there:

http://www.fourtitude.com/resources/proj...index.html

Thankfully the Evoque is pressing all my buttons or I might well be having TTS pangs!

The Evoque's gearbox is rubbish compared to my Audi A5...but I'm not surprised...it was the same in the FFRR. I got used to it in the FFRR and I'm sure I will in the Evoque as well...it should be better given that this is a premium car, but I haven't really complained about it as I suspect that there are good mechanical reasons (something to do with torque and power to weight...I have no idea by the way, I'm just making this up and waiting for someone to tell us the real justification!).

(15-11-2011 10:14am)Token Wrote:  The Evoque's gearbox is rubbish compared to my Audi A5...but I'm not surprised...it was the same in the FFRR. I got used to it in the FFRR and I'm sure I will in the Evoque as well...it should be better given that this is a premium car, ...

I find this odd...as the box was brilliant in the RRS...I am though also waiting for the 8 speed box to appear in the RRE....if I haven't gone back to the RRS by then!

(15-11-2011 12:12pm)defender_uk Wrote:  I find this odd...as the box was brilliant in the RRS...I am though also waiting for the 8 speed box to appear in the RRE....if I haven't gone back to the RRS by then!

Interesting indeed as my (2006) RRS auto box has been not perfect since day one (in the first/second gear). The California stop sign start has simply been not possible. Many other RRS owners reported the same jerkiness behavior in first/second. The rest of the gears have been great. On the other hand someone pointed how great VW/Audi DSGs and autos were - I personally do not like them at all. Can this bad/not bad reporting be a matter of personal opinion? My smoothest auto tranny was in (2001) BMW 330i.
While I have a deposit on RRE since 3 weeks ago chances are I will finally test drive one today and I hope adding to this tread about my findings.

I have the freelander SD4 auto at the moment and find it to be very smooth.