The negatives

Picked-up my Dynamic Coupe Si4 a week ago today and, whilst the Evoque is undoubtedly a fabulous car, I have discovered many things that have disappointed me. Had I known these before I may have added/removed options or chosen a different car altogether. For that reason, I'm listing them here, but, of course, these are just my opinion (and maybe I'm wrong if anyone wants to correct me on my findings). But if you don't want to hear bad stuff about the Evoque, then read no further!

SatNav - If you're used to a TomTom, you'll hate it. It's confusing, no options like 'avoid part of route', difficult to see what route it's going to take you, doesn't tell you the speed limit of the road on which you're driving etc, only 5 favourite locations (simply listed as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). I'd rather have a Tom Tom any day.

iPhone - Connect it via Bluetooth for the phone and you can't hear the music in the 'iPod' music option and therefore don't get track names, playlists etc. etc. There's also no obvious phone-shaped place to put your phone.

Noise - I'm surprised how much engine/road noise there is. I was expecting it to be much, much quieter. Two people so far have commented that it sounds like a diesel. I kind of agree.

Sound System - is fairly awful really (compared to my outgoing Mondeo) FM reception is patchy, bass is very wooley.

Climate control - passenger and driver temps can't be linked, so you find yourself constantly adjusting both temperatures.

Rear access - The seat movement to access the back seat is PAINFULLY SLOW and very embarrassing.

Pan roof - it's great but it means that there's very annoying 'ghosting' in the rear view mirror.

Power fold mirrors - can't be folded on demand, like when getting into a tight space/garage so seem quite pointless to me.

SWYS - Nice idea but, like Voice Control on the iPhone, rarely works and it's quicker to input manually.

Main beam - selecting it on the stalk requires quite a hard push which I'm still not used to. Quite a lot of effort to perform something that one could do hundreds of times during a journey.

It's a good car and I'm loving it, but had I test driven it before I bought it, I think I would have gone off looking elsewhere to double-check the competition didn't have something better.

Mirror folding can be done on demand by pressing both mirror buttons down at the same time and they will fold at any speed too.

A downer for me is the amount of effort required to press the horn (as much as is required to work the main/dip beam switch Tekno mentions), in fact finding it the first time was a problem as it isn't clearly marked that you press main boss of the wheel. Other cars I' owned recently it has been much easier to press and is way better marked - FFRR and RRS have two metal bars on the wheel and Defender has a well marked icon on the end one of the stalks - Evoque....................... a camouflaged icon! BTW I'm not middle eastern taxi driver who drives round with my hand on the horn, but when I need to hoot it, it really needs to be used and I don't want to have to exert about as much force as it needs to activate the airbag!

I agree with the SWYS comments - why LR persists in putting voice activation into their cars I just do not know, it works but you are much quicker to operate whatever manually.

SatNav - this has long been a criticism of LR satnavs. But then many people who come to LR's from BMW's and Audis say that it is streets ahead of their factory fitted systems. Just keep using your TomTom, at least that can be updated easier than the LR system so at least you can have all the latest maps

You say the "sound system" is pretty awful - or do you mean that FM Radio reception is crap? Have you tried using the DAB? I can get better DAB reception than I can FM reception, in the FFRR I never used the DAB where I live because it was hopeless, now it's the other way round I have only one small area locally where I cannot get a DAB signal. I have fine FM reception so it may be worth getting the dealer to check that there isn't an antenna problem.

Is there anything that has really impressed you?

Tomtom does have a lot of small extra features that are missed when you go to a fixed system. 3D views in cities or their custom traffic system for example. On the other hand, fixed systems JUST WORK (don't say you've never had to reset your Tomtom - don't even get me started on Tomtom's Bluetooth functionality) and are usually much quicker to get a signal or recalculate a route. Moreover, they're integrated with your music system and you don't have to fiddle with chargers, cables and windscreen holders. Both types have pros and cons. I do hope LR can catch up with the latest Audi systems in the near future though (3D views, Google maps integration, max speed display, etc.).

I think the Meridian sound system is great, but then I do prefer natural sound over pumped up basses and compressed sound profiles that most people seem to prefer these days. If the Mondeo's system is anything like a Focus system, then I personally think it's rubbish with anything but pop music.

By the way, Tim, I tried the power fold mirror trick on a demo car and it didn't work, at least not while driving. Maybe it's part of a dealer enabled/disabled feature?

It could be a dealer enabled thing, but have just been out and the mirrors on mine fold when the car is in motion, moving forwards and in reverse and when stopped with the engine running.

(30-09-2011 09:40am)XFullFatTim Wrote:  You say the "sound system" is pretty awful - or do you mean that FM Radio reception is crap? Have you tried using the DAB?

I mean the FM reception is poor (I actually wonder if the radio is even connected to the aerial). Have tried DAB but my favourite station isn't on there. I also mean the speakers/amp are not very good. Bass is messy, mid range is hollow and the top-end is a bit lacking. I'd say it's slightly worse than my Mondeo and certainly nowhere near what I was expecting/hoping.

Am I right about the climate controls?

As for impressed - oh yes, of course. Pan roof, ambient lighting, driving sensation, gear selector etc. But for £43k I was expecting something sensational which I don't think the Evoque quite is. Feels more like a £30k car once you're sitting in it and look past its unique bodystyling.

Interesting comment about cabin noise. Some say it is very quiet car, some say noisy... Who knows....

Sounds like you might have a dickey stereo system Tekno based on the comments of others.
Should your dealer check it out?

Hey, £4x,000 will only buy so much car. Maybe all the hype has convinced you the car should have the build quality of a Mercedes, the performance of a Porsche, the hush of a Rolls Royce, the totty-magnetism of a Ferrari and the sound quality of the Birmingham Symphony Hall. Back in the real world, the car is a compromise and someone somewhere has had to make some decisions which you don't like.

Gorjan, there is a disappointing amount of tyre noise, it isn't loud but it's there and made worse by the lack of wind and engine noise (mine is a diesel) ! I put it down to the Continental tyres and their tread pattern which I have always found noisier than Pirellis and Michelins. Tenko which make of tyres is on your car?

There is less sound deadening material in the Si4 than the SD4. So it has been reported that the petrols are noisier than the diesels - strange.
The 825W Meridian is superb in mine - go to your dealer and compare it with one of the showroom cars - there might be a fault.
There are two climate controls so that driver and passenger can have different .... "climates" ..... for want of a better word. It's no great hardship to turn two knobs instead of one. They can only be 4' different anyway, so you can't have one max and one min - they are always within 4' of each other.
Mirrors can be folded on demand.
Rear access is agonisingly slow in the coupe - (ok in the 5 door though).
I put my Blackberry behind the centre console - fits a treat.
Horn is very hard to press. When I tried at first nothing happened, and I thought it was a fault - but it just needs lots of effort - strange as most other things are easy!
Sat Nav is ok for me so far- set destination and follow instructions, (but I agree a £100 TomTom probably does the job better).
I've only used SWYS for selecting tracks on a CD and it's worked 100% so far. Yet to try other functions.
Loving it so far, but it's only day 2.
ANT