Negative Consumer Reports Review

Hello everyone,

Consumer Reports just published a very negative report of the Evoque which I have to say really shocked me. Below is a summary. Anyone else on this forum seen this? I am very interested in the reaction of those who already own the car and have experience with the issues that they mention. Thanks in advance.

Cheers,

P.

FROM CR:
Land Rover's eye-catching Range Rover Evoque has quick acceleration, decent fuel economy, and a nicely finished cabin. But those high points don't make up for its many weaknesses. The Evoque's ride is choppy, its cabin is cramped and noisy, and its rear view is poor. A potentially bigger concern is its emergency handling. When pushed to its handling limits at our track, the tail slid out and the vehicle repeatedly lifted a wheel during our avoidance maneuver.

also

Despite good heft and quick response it [steering] lacks true road feel, and there's an artificial resistance as you turn the wheel off center that feels almost "sticky."

The cynic in me says it is a deliberate attemp at being contravertial in attempt to get people saying 'look at this negative report'.
Rear visibility has always been a 'known' issue, but fixing this would compromise the design, at which point you have lost the main selling point of the car.

Plus... Who are "consumer reports"?

Hi,

I don't have mine yet, but I did take one out for a testdrive. The official ncap avoidance test seems ok, don't you think?


Rear visibility didn't bother me too much while driving, but I did take the rear camera, and added the surround ones just in case the lady of the house has problems parking The side mirrors bother me a lot more as they can perfectly hide a small truck at intersections. On the upside they help with backward view.

The ride isn't that smooth on normal roads. You can feel the road, but the ride is a lot better on bad roads. At least compared to a normal car.
The cabin isn't sound proof, and was only slightly less noisy than our Golf V for example, but it didn't bother me.
I found the handling to be superb, it also felt like the Golf in corners.

What complete tosh! Like racingsnake says; who's CR?, surely that's what we are and it appears in complete contradiction to real owners reports in these well documented pages. And to say its cramped.....perhaps it is if you have four 6 feet 6" 25 stoners in the the car but I'm a big guy and I refute this entirely. Now if they'd have said the boot was a bit cramped I'd have agreed. I hope you enjoy your car Puchanix and Im sure you are being straight but I always get slightly scheptical when a newbie posts really negative comments right from the beginning, its as though BMW and Audi have infiltrated and are trying to recapture some of their sales losses.

(26-01-2012 05:00pm)ytshome Wrote:  What complete tosh! Like racingsnake says; who's CR?, surely that's what we are and it appears in complete contradiction to real owners reports in these well documented pages. And to say its cramped.....perhaps it is if you have four 6 feet 6" 25 stoners in the the car but I'm a big guy and I refute this entirely. Now if they'd have said the boot was a bit cramped I'd have agreed. I hope you enjoy your car Puchanix and Im sure you are being straight but I always get slightly scheptical when a newbie posts really negative comments right from the beginning, its as though BMW and Audi have infiltrated and are trying to recapture some of their sales losses.

This is not my first post, although I guess I am still a "newbie" . I asked about iPhone placement a couple of weeks ago. I have a Dynamic on order. So, no, I am no BMW or Audi infiltrator... Not sure if those of you asking who Consumer Reports is were asking literally... In case you were, CR is a VERY large publication in the US. Has been around for a long time and has a very large readership. They are often controversial and get tons of attention, as many years ago when they reported that the Susuki Samurai would flip in turns. Their review of the Evoque seems fairly "objective" rather than subjective to me, and while I agree some of the issues they report were already well known, others weren't, which is why I wanted more info. Anyway, thanks for the feedback.

Cheers,

P.

It's funny how the RRE has won so many awards and accolades around the world that only CR have come out with that slant on the car.

Seems to me they don't have a clue

My wife has an SD4 Dynamic coupe and it is in my opinion very sure footed. I have had some good fun getting round country lanes making good progress. Cannot fault the car, I won't bore you with stuff i have owned but did race single seaters so know a bit about set up and handling characteristics. Is it possible that they have softened the RRE for the U.S market as a lot of manufacturers do to fit with customer expectations?

I remember Consumer Reports cos they wouldn't recommend and had a lot of bad stuff to say about the iPhone 4 - arguably the most desired gadget and the phone that changed the phone (I think they're the US version of Which?, but probably less impartial). So I think the thought that they're saying it for publicity is quite likely. Say something negative about the most desirable car of the year and CR will get some publicity!

Read Motor Trend who actually has world class drivers and a good review. Especially from a group that loves BMW...

X6 has the poorest rear visibility. Take a chill pill man!