Potential move from Disco 4 to Evoque

Hi there

I currently drive a LR Discovery 4 that is well appointed for serious off-loading, but...in the 18 months I've owned it, it has never been off-road...the most it has done to display its phenomenal all-terrain skills is negotiate ice and snow as though it wasn't there.

I find its practicality very useful but most of the time, it is just me in it alone.

Soooooo, whilst the Disco 4 is a great vehicle, I'm just not using it to its potential and I'm finding myself increasingly tempted by the new Evoque - which appears to tick all the boxes I want a family car to do.

The Evoque's on-road ability appeals to me mostly - the Disco is very comfortable and has reasonable 'go' for a nearly 3-ton car but when I drive my wife's Mini Cooper S I realise I miss being able to corner relatively quickly. I don't expect the Evoque to match the Mini in this respect but from what I've read, it is a whole lot better than the Disco - especially the Dynamic version.

Indeed, the more I look at it, the Evoque seems to suit me more; appearance, on-road manners, still has reasonable off-road ability should I need it and enough space for two teenagers in the back when needed.
When shopping for my first 4x4 I based my decision upon having used my Dad's Disco 3 and finding the Disco 4 much better to be in than the Freelander 2 which I liked the size of but the Disco felt better for me in every other respect.

My question to the Forum then: has anyone gone from LR Disco 4 or RR S to the Evoque and what do you think? Miss anything?

(04-12-2011 10:53am)Coolbanana Wrote:  Hi there

I currently drive a LR Discovery 4 that is well appointed for serious off-loading, but...in the 18 months I've owned it, it has never been off-road...the most it has done to display its phenomenal all-terrain skills is negotiate ice and snow as though it wasn't there.

I find its practicality very useful but most of the time, it is just me in it alone.

Soooooo, whilst the Disco 4 is a great vehicle, I'm just not using it to its potential and I'm finding myself increasingly tempted by the new Evoque - which appears to tick all the boxes I want a family car to do.

The Evoque's on-road ability appeals to me mostly - the Disco is very comfortable and has reasonable 'go' for a nearly 3-ton car but when I drive my wife's Mini Cooper S I realise I miss being able to corner relatively quickly. I don't expect the Evoque to match the Mini in this respect but from what I've read, it is a whole lot better than the Disco - especially the Dynamic version.

Indeed, the more I look at it, the Evoque seems to suit me more; appearance, on-road manners, still has reasonable off-road ability should I need it and enough space for two teenagers in the back when needed.
When shopping for my first 4x4 I based my decision upon having used my Dad's Disco 3 and finding the Disco 4 much better to be in than the Freelander 2 which I liked the size of but the Disco felt better for me in every other respect.

My question to the Forum then: has anyone gone from LR Disco 4 or RR S to the Evoque and what do you think? Miss anything?

I have gone from a D4, to an Evoque. Main reason was that I was not utilising the D4's full potential as an excellent off-roader and fuel economy was starting to become an issue. Like you, most of my driving was with just me in the vehicle. Excellent vehicle, but so is the Evoque! Took a test drive and was hooked.

Evoque is due next week, so will update this post, when I've done a proper evaluation of Evoque, compared to D4, after some serious miles.

(04-12-2011 12:13pm)JRL2W Wrote:  I have gone from a D4, to an Evoque. Main reason was that I was not utilising the D4's full potential as an excellent off-roader and fuel economy was starting to become an issue. Like you, most of my driving was with just me in the vehicle. Excellent vehicle, but so is the Evoque! Took a test drive and was hooked.

Evoque is due next week, so will update this post, when I've done a proper evaluation of Evoque, compared to D4, after some serious miles.

Your thoughts would be much appreciated

Yes, the D4 is a fantastic vehicle but really needs to be used seriously off-road to fulfil its potential. I was doing approx. 80 miles a day but that has dropped to an average of only 16 miles per day on A and B roads mainly so it isn't even getting used much generally. The boot space is enormous which is great but a roof box on the Evoque would take care of any space issues. And I've used all 7 seats twice in 18 months. If I still lived in Africa, the D4 would be my first choice but here in the UK...it just doesn't get used by me as LR intended.

I still need to have the test drive but have seen one up close and it looks very good, inside and out. A saving on running costs would be most welcome too and from what I'm gathering, the Evoque will be cheaper to tax, service and insure, let alone fuel costs.

I have gone from a 2.7RRS to a petrol dynamic and i have to say that i miss the RRS mainly for the space inside and the arm rest on the side of the seat.The evoque is a completley different vehicle as its more car like,its doing less miles to the gallon than the RRS,but we dont buy Range Rovers to worry about fuel economy.

The Evoque is doing less mpg than the RRS? Please tell us more to prepare future owners! Of course you are right that we don't buy the brand for fuel economy but isn't the Evoque the most "Fuel efficient Land Rover ever"?

(04-12-2011 06:10pm)Evoqess Wrote:  The Evoque is doing less mpg than the RRS? Please tell us more to prepare future owners! Of course you are right that we don't buy the brand for fuel economy but isn't the Evoque the most "Fuel efficient Land Rover ever"?

Yes its doing less than the RRS in diesel form,the diesel Evoque is probably the most fuel efficient in diesel form compared to the rest of the Land Rover models,But as a whole i am not happy with these figures as i was told that it would return better MPG than my Range Rover Sport by the salesman,saying that we used to have a new shape petrol VW Beetle auto and that was returning 19 so i should of learnt my lesson.The thing about having a petrol vehicle is you have not got to worry about the DPF as it has not got one.

(04-12-2011 05:30pm)anton Wrote:  I have gone from a 2.7RRS to a petrol dynamic and i have to say that i miss the RRS mainly for the space inside and the arm rest on the side of the seat.The evoque is a completley different vehicle as its more car like,its doing less miles to the gallon than the RRS,but we dont buy Range Rovers to worry about fuel economy.

I'll test drive both but the Si4 Dynamic is the one I'm liking best so far - fuel economy has to be slightly better than the D4 and I had a BMW Z4M before that so I'm used to poor fuel economy. I'm not expecting to do a serious amount of mileage anyway so the petrol would be fine methinks.

i have went from discovery4 to sd4 pure auto evoque. Nearly cancelled my order twice having had RR sports and discoverys for 7yrs.
Bad point
interior space
people staring, pointing, putting thumbs up all the time

Good points
Twice the MPG if you drive it right.
Half the road Tax,
More responsive driving
Tows my horse box just as well as disco4
Easy to park
Even with £4000 worth of extras still £8000 cheaper than disco

We've got a D4 and an Evoque.
Both very capable but completely different. Ifyou're worried about not utilising the D4 full potential as you don't do enough off reading, the same will be true of theEvoque. As that is also a very capable off roader.
I would purely look at it from the practical side. We took a trip to Costco in the evoque, and where the D4 would swallow everything we bought with ease, with space to spare, we found ourselves having to stick the pram in the back seat with some of the shopping, as the boot couldn't take it.
So far, I've found that my SD4 auto isn't returning that great mpg either compared to the disco, so swapping it on those grounds would be a false economy, as the depreciation cost of swapping cars would dwarf the small gain in fuel economy.
For driving pleasure/style/interior ambience etc though, the Evoque is streets ahead. I'm loving it at the mo

(05-12-2011 10:17am)Craig_d1 Wrote:  For driving pleasure/style/interior ambience etc though, the Evoque is streets ahead. I'm loving it at the mo

This would be my primary reason for changing. I have been told by a Dealer that I have nearly £4k equity in the D4 at the moment on P/X and if I've done my sums right, the loss I would make on the D4 is very small and not worth worrying about and the Evoque has to be cheaper to run overall anyway.

If I spent a significant amount of time off-road I would definitely keep the D4 and whilst I do like its space, it is seldom used.

I'm really looking for something that would be more 'fun' to drive on the tarmac but also capable of taking my wife and two teenagers to Belgium twice a year on the annual trip to see their Grandparents. The Evoque and a roof box would suffice, I reckon since we have done that trip many times in a BMW 3-series Touring.
The fact that the Evoque will surely deal with icy, snow conditions a few days a year will take care of the 'need' for a 4x4 for me.

I bought the D4 because I had used a D3 on safari in Southern Africa several times and it was amazing. I then went on a LR Experience Day and was hooked on the D4 and its awesome prowess. So it was a purchase based unfortunately upon having a car that could do amazing things I would never actually see it do...Not that I regret it, it is still a great car I enjoy using but the Evoque looks to be a 4x4 I would enjoy even more!