It's test drive time

Test drove the Si4 Dynamic Coupe today.

What a machine!!!

Pros:
- Fantastic Engine, great power and throttle response. 100% feels like a truly great car.
- Dynamic Coupe looks absolutely stunning
- Sticks to the road, great around corners/bends for an SUV
- Magneride provides some entertainment when driving
- I WANT an Si4

Cons
- I can't afford an Si4.
- ..... I'm sorry I just can't find anything else wrong with it.

For those that have picked the Si4 - I truly envy you. It is a great engine, great handling, good power and response and a very fun car to drive. It is by far, the pick of the engines in my opinion.

Just a shame I can't afford it!

If you can... I don't recommend anything else but a Dynamic Si4!

Went for test drive on Saturday. I had the car for about 30 mins. There were a number of people in the showroom asking questions and want to go for a drive. As I was waiting for the car everyone was asking me questions as they knew I had ordered one.

Test Car = Pure Black SD4 Auto with tech pack and clear view with Almond interior and 20in style 6

Driving = the impression was very smooth and quite. There was no vibration or feeling through the pedals or floor pan. The steering wheel was a nice weight and a very good thickness. The wheel felt nice. Also driving with elbow resting on the door sill was comfortable. No grab handles though

Instrumentation = very clear and concise. Had a little play with trip computer but need to read up on that. Could not access the functions too well. My drivers seat was set higher than the lowest setting and with the steering wheel in the position it was, the speedo was a little obstructed between 50 to 70 kph. Fortunately the screen in between the speedo and rev counter had a digital speed display.

One thing I did notice was the blinkers and wipes were set a little higher than the current Subaru. A couple of times I went to use the blinker but missed. Just something to get use to

Seating = the drivers seat was very comfortable. I felt the side thigh bolsters and wondered if these would get uncomfortable on a long trip. One thing I would say, the lighter colour leather will show dirt badly without care as your thighs will rub on the bolster when getting out.

What I did notice from the drivers seat was the foot well was a little cramped when compare to the Subaru. My left thigh rested against the centre console when driving. The area just was a little cramped when compared to the current car. Not a deal breaker but just something I noticed.

Leather = given this was the Pure, the leather was a good quality. The dash felt nice. Whilst the rain leather is not as fine as the Prestige, I don’t think those Pure buyers will feel ripped off or fell it is a lesser product. Very happy with the quality.

SD4 = the car felt faster than the number suggest. The did not have a TD4 to drive, but for what I have heard and been told, in normal everyday driving there is barely any difference in the drivers seat feel. As most of my driving is city driving to and from work, I am happy to save the $4k. The gear box worked well with the engine and changes were smooth. I did notice a little lag with a rolling start before it found the right gear on light acceleration .

Overall = very happy with my choice and combination I have chosen. I think if you have the ebony interior you would need to pan roof. The almond with black combination was very smart, even without the pan roof.
Now have to wait till Feb. For those interested the specs of the tow bar have been released, but dealer did not know price. He will email the details over the next week. Also the carpet mats included with the tech pack do not extend under the pedals. They are very small and look identical to the rubber mats that was posted and discussed in the General section. I think I will need to look at some alternatives for better coverage.

Here's a few more pics of the Barbagello demonstration Evoques..... Coupe Auto Si4 and 5-door Auto SD4.
I drove both of them back to back, and was super-impressed by how they drove.
The Evoque is very photogenic, but nothing can prepare you for how GREAT it looks in real life. The flanks have so much sculpture and flare, it's all just absolutely stunning, in both 5-door and coupe shapes.
On test driving...i personally prefered the low down torque of the SD4,as it made for a slightly more effortless, and cruisey progress, while been just as fast in real world motoring.
Having said that, the Si4 had a really sweet engine note when on song, and suits the Evoques sporting qualities really nicely.
Also found the Adaptive dynamic suspension fitted to the coupe, definately gave a smoother ride when in normal mode,compared with the 5-door that was without, but that was still really good i thought.
Also of note, was the outright quality of materials of the cockpits, with fit and finish, both inside and out superb.
I left the place even more excited then i already was....this is an outstanding car, from the Pure to the Presige & Dynamic. Very exciting times for all Evoque lovers indeed!!!

It seems barbagallo now has a demo with a pano roof of anyone is interested. Beautiful I might add.

What colour/model is it?

Si4 Dynamic. Fuji White - Coupe. Body Colour Pano Roof.

Chrome 20" Alloys.

SD4 auto ,Pure White 5 doors. 30 minutes test drive, LR Trivette Alexandria, Sydney.
Exterior - Modern amazing look,silhouette profile,definitely the most stunning SUV on the market.Personal choice 5 doors for
practicality,Ferenze Red ordered not the boring white, black or silver grey
Interior - Cabin feels spacious with decent front and rear leg room,considering the car's small size.
Good quality leather seats, dash and control display thoughtfully laid out.
Meridian sound system (standard entry ) is quite good,coming from an audiophile.It should be better with upgrade
audio system.My dealer was using his iPhone3 streaming music via Bluetooth, sound amazing.
Overall close to luxurious standard!
Drive - Driving position could be a bit higher for me, compare to other SUVs e.g. Lexus RX, RR Sport...
No problem with visibility, better than I actually thought it would be, big side mirrors help.
Minimum noise level, not intrusive, adequate sound proofing from road noise.
Responsive steering, excellent handling, enough power for acceleration, 'Standing Start' take-off is excellent no
annoying pause. Smooth ride not too firm. Unfortunately no off-road testing!
Park assist is brilliant, No hands on the steering wheel and perfect parking.
So overall, I loved it. Used to big luxurious sedan ( Lexus LS ), I want a level of comfort, luxury in Practical Package, Evoque meets the criteria. Now its the waiting, hopefully mid January 2012 delivery , and getting the right trade-in price for my Lexus.
Finally, many thanks to Michael Morley from LR Trivette Alexandria Sydney.
Highly recommended!

Say occlusion....which version Evoque have you ordered?

(09-11-2011 01:34pm)benzina Wrote:  Say occlusion....which version Evoque have you ordered?

Order : Dynamic 5 dr SD4 Auto, Firenze Red,Vortex, Pano Roof,20" Style 6 wheels, Dynamic Tech Pack ,Park Assit, Surround Cam, Dual views, Adaptive Xenon, Keyless Entry

Took both the Si4 and TD4 out for a drive today.

Si4 Dynamic Coupe with Dynamic Tech Pack:

Cons - A little light touch on the acceleration pedal and the Coupe wants to launch itself forward. It may have just been the vehicle that I was driving but the acceleration seemed to get the power on too quickly for a comfortable take off. Limited rear view mirror range (this is countered by the side mirrors). Rear seat access may be a pain as the front seats take forever to move forward. A little noise from the wing mirrors (But this is really picky).

Pros: Excellent interior with the vehicle that I drove having the Velocity Oxford Leather. Electronic seats easy to manouver and very comfortable. Handles rock solid in Dynamic mode. Little roll on cornering at high speeds.

TD4 Pure 5Dr:

Cons - Some might say that the rear view is limited but as above the wing mirrors seemed to counteract the reliance on the rear view mirror. I found it deceptive as what I could see out of the rear view mirror was enough to give me the information on what was around me.

Pros: More headroom than the coupe (You all know that by now). Smoother acceleration through the gears. Quiet cabin. Hill decent was used and worked fine. Park assist is wonderful.

Both had the 380w Meridian Sound system and unless you wanted that front row rock concert thump it was more than adequate to need an upgrade.

I am biased and fell in love with the LRX when I saw it - I wanted one. There will be haters and I have already been told about reliabilty, parts, BMW and Audi are better etc...

They aren't!