Interesting road test coming up in What Car?

I've just been reading through the JULY issue of What Car? issued in May! In the next, August, issue published 28th June, they will have a group test of the Porsche Macan, Range Rover Evoque and Audi SQ5.................. well gents in the best What Car? tradition I think the UK car will be last. In What Car? they always are, and if there was a BMW X3 in the test that would be the sure fire winner over the fanciful VW's on the test. Sorry to be so cynical but HOW on this earth can a 2.2ltr Evoque hope to compete against two 3.0 litre cars? OK so yes a lot of people will have the Evqoue on their shopping list along with The Porsche and SQ5 (I had the SQ5 on my list of options but my experience of snooty Porsche Dealers a few years ago mean even if the Porsche is the best car in the test, on principal I would not cross a Porsche dealers showroom threshold - same as I won't with Mercedes dealers)

I would bet my last pound too that they will use the results taken from running their troublesome (in their eyes because they broke a parcel shelf support!) 6 speed Auto Prestige rather than the latest 2014 9 Speeder.

Me cynical?????? ....................... you bet!

With you all the way there Tim.

I agree,had the same issue with Porsche when I went in to enquire about the macan,nobody in dealership was interested didn't even acknowledge I was there.
Audi dealers in Scotland are a bit better but still couldn't get any more than 4% discount of an SQ5 anywhere so made a few calls and managed 10% from a dealer in the midlands and transporter delivery to my door.
Land Rover offered the worst trade in value by far against new evoque again with very little discount off list,didn't think much of the 9 speed auto on my test drive,probably shouldn't of drove it straight after the audi.
Way I see it is macan-new kid,expensive to spec up,ugly
SQ5-fantastic performance,good deals,boring looks
Evoque-becoming common,thirsty,slow

Problem with Macan is that it's sold out well into next year and the salesmen are too stupid to understand that it's not all about their next bonus. I've had exactly the same (non-)response from an LR dealer, stand up for your accolade Guy Salmon, Stratford Upon Avon.

The Macan is spec-sensitive IMHO. Needs big wheels and white is a no-no, as is the revolting brown.

Evoques are certainly becoming common though I hardly ever see a coupe these days, maybe one in 20 or more and I'm not talking just about my local area, the mix you see on the motorway is probably more representative. Wouldn't surprise me if the coupe was dropped. Not sure where LR is headed with the Evoque. The Autobiography turns out to be a diesel-only cosmetic makeover and options bundle.

As for this comparison, I daresay the Evoque will come last but keeping in mind the Macan is based on the Q5 platform (or the next generation of it), the two are really siblings. Pull a Macan apart and you'll find lots of VW/Audi branded parts.

So too in a Bentley. I visited the VW plant in Dresden a few weeks ago where they build the unloved VW Phaeton which is in decline even in the Chinese market. I was surprised then to see that, to keep themselves busy, they were building Bentleys on the same line; same people, same manufacturing processes, just different parts. But, stripped of all the chintz and the bolt-on wings it's not easy to tell a Bentley and its lowly VW cousin apart. I thought it all rather a cynical exercise in badge engineering and the image of craftsmanship in Crewe they like to promote is so much . So if someone tells you all Bentleys are made in Crewe, you know differently!

Vinny I share your opinions - both about porsche dealership and Audi. I don't think Evoques are all that common around Glasgow at the moment but give it a couple of years and I'm sure they will be. I drove a normal Q5 and it was OK but not as nice a ride as the evoque, and I agree about the boring looks. I'm sure the engine in the SQ5 makes up for that though!

Actually one LR dealer in Glasgow was almost as snooty as Porsche were, asking me "how I intended to finance the vehicle" was one of the first questions when I went in (I was 26 at the time and dressed in a t-shirt and jeans). When I said "cash, and not from you, thank you", then walked off, the look on the salesperson's face was priceless! I then went to Pentland in Edinburgh where they have been lovely. Neither Porsche nor the LR dealership in Glasgow won't be getting my business in the future after that. Plus I'm not sure about the macan's looks either.

I never even really looked at the x3 - their poor ability in snow put me off. When it last snowed properly here, which was before I got mine a year and a half ago, I saw plenty of stuck x5s and x3s which put me off a lot. Not sure if the newer generation are any better but I just don't see myself in a Beemer.

I thought about changing up to a 9-speeder but haven't driven one. I don't think I'll bother as the cost to change versus the actual benefit is probably quite a high ratio, and I've spent a bit of time and money getting mine just the way I like it.

I went to look at a new x5,nice from the outside but get in the drivers seat and its either very good or very bad.
Very good is the info/sat nav screen-super clear and looks almost HD quality compared to the evoque,its like an i-pad sticking out the dash.Then you look at the dials and gauges/switch gear and it looks like they haven't changed since the 80's surely something could be done to improve them.
I have the evoque on auto trader now as they still seem to be fetching good money hope it will go and I can give Audi a try next as nothing else catches my eye at the moment,its a fantastic driving machine but looks every other suv out there,as no performance evoque ever coming and rrsport now out my league since se model dropped my options are limited.There is a new facelift q5 out 2015/16 but sq model will be after that so might work out right for me trading it in 3 years.

Well you were spot-on Tim as the Evoque came last with 3 stars and in true What Car? tradition, they claimed they were testing a Dynamic version while the pictures show a Pure.

Surely it couldn't have been that difficult to source an actual Dynamic but it just sums up the shoddy What Car? approach these days.