To Evoque or not to.....?

As some members will know I've had a lot of problems with my RRE since delivery in May 2012, it's now spent more than 8 weeks in the dealership with persistent rattles which are still unresolved. LR have agreed to replace the vehicle.

The stipulation is that the replacement vehicle must be Land Rover or Jaguar product. With the numerous dealer visits I've systematically driven several Evoque and Freelander vehicles and one brand new RR Sport - it's a company lease vehicle so tax/Co2 burden/emissions is a consideration.

I have to say all the loaner vehicles have been excellent (well that's not strictly true - the Sport struggled a bit in the build quality department).

The Evoque as risen in price a fair bit in the last year and the latest FreeLander seems like a worthy competitor. I'm tempted to get a test drive of the latest Freelander...has anyone driven one back-to-back against an Evoque?

I really like a lot of the Evoque - an amazing audio system, great handling and of course a stunning external appearance. The negatives (I'm sure I was just unlucky with the quality on mine) are the small boot - getting a shotgun in the boot means folding a seat down, the Freelander is just that bit bigger.

(12-01-2013 12:59am)Straydox Wrote:  As some members will know I've had a lot of problems with my RRE since delivery in May 2012, it's now spent more than 8 weeks in the dealership with persistent rattles which are still unresolved. LR have agreed to replace the vehicle.

The stipulation is that the replacement vehicle must be Land Rover or Jaguar product. With the numerous dealer visits I've systematically driven several Evoque and Freelander vehicles and one brand new RR Sport - it's a company lease vehicle so tax/Co2 burden/emissions is a consideration.

I have to say all the loaner vehicles have been excellent (well that's not strictly true - the Sport struggled a bit in the build quality department).

The Evoque as risen in price a fair bit in the last year and the latest FreeLander seems like a worthy competitor. I'm tempted to get a test drive of the latest Freelander...has anyone driven one back-to-back against an Evoque?

I really like a lot of the Evoque - an amazing audio system, great handling and of course a stunning external appearance. The negatives (I'm sure I was just unlucky with the quality on mine) are the small boot - getting a shotgun in the boot means folding a seat down, the Freelander is just that bit bigger.

You can get the same audio system in the FL2 now also.....think the FL2 will be more expensive in the long run though. Although it's initially cheaper, it wil have much poorer residuals. They review the FL2 vs the q5 and Volvo xc60 in the latest autoexpress. In it they said residuals were 46% after 3 years. That coupled with the fact that the FL2 is being replaced in2014/15(again from the mags) prob means you'll be safer with the Evoque. And as much as I like te new interior of the freelander, it's still not a patch on the Evoque

For quite a while now Freely2 has been known as the baby Range Rover, a lot of people rate it's comfort and quality better than it's bigger brothers. Take a read over on http://www.freel2.com our sister forum for F2 owners

The Fl2 is a good car I've had two of them. To me it felt more solid than the Evoque and now on the XS model upwards you can get the 380 meridian sound system. I thought about going back to the Fl2 but had the SD4 auto the other day as a loaner and you do notice how much roll it has compared to the Evoque in corners. Overall the Fl2 is good but for a drivers car it has to be the Evoque.

In this weeks auto express there is a comparison of the new FL against the Q5 and Volvo XC60, I know it doesn't fully help you but it wil give you a comparison.

If it had a lower CO2 i too would have looked at the freelander 2 as I like the rugged look and the shape.

(12-01-2013 09:58am)J77 Wrote:  The Fl2 is a good car I've had two of them. To me it felt more solid than the Evoque and now on the XS model upwards you can get the 380 meridian sound system. I thought about going back to the Fl2 but had the SD4 auto the other day as a loaner and you do notice how much roll it has compared to the Evoque in corners. Overall the Fl2 is good but for a drivers car it has to be the Evoque.

Totally agree here. As a lot of you may know my SD4 Prestige auto is in for repair at the moment and I have been driving a 62 plate FL2 HSE SD4 auto.
My car has magneride and whilst the FL is comfortable the roll is quite pronounced and I'm getting about 4mpg less than the Evoque but that probably has something to do with the fact the FL2 has only done 2500 miles.

As a direct comparison I would say the FL does have a bigger boot but the interior is less plush and it's noisier inside. My model has the Alpine stereo in it and I have noticed the DAB is not as good as the Evoque - cuts out in places where my Evoque DAB does not. There is no access for IPOD and the music and telephone is run off the old green screen rather than the screen where Sat Nav lies. I would say the the Sat Nav is better though!

I tend to drive my cars quite hard so for me the Evoque wins every time. It just puts a smile on your face where an FL2 in my mind just gets you there, albeit well and comfortably.

N.B car come back on Monday - yipee

Agree, FL2 is some how more popular than BabyRR. Sport ranks top on the list in NA.





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Straydoxs, have you thought about the 2.2ltr Jag XF, comes with the ZF 8 speed auto, drawback is RWD only

Thanks for all the constructive input guys, appreciated. Tim - I have considered the 2.2 Jag, yes and especially the estate version - its on the company car list too and it's a lovely looking vehicle as well.

After years of having convertible cars and the shooting (only clays) hobby resulting in visits to muddy shooting grounds the need to get something with decent ground clearance the Evoque has ticked most of the boxes.

Checking out the FL2 forum (thanks for that link too Tim) it's clear that the build quality issues that beset my Evoque also live in the Freelander too (maybe not much of a surprise given they are assembled on the same track at Halewood).

I'm inclined towards ordering another Evoque in a different colour/interior and make it as different as I can. A Firenze or Galway 5 door Prestige with the Almond interior - not bothering with the Pano roof and surround cameras (almost pointless in practice) and but having the electric tailgate with the 825w Meridian/spare wheel/dipping mirror.

Griff: By the sounds of it your 62 plate Freelander is a 2012 model. The 2013 model has an upgraded interior which includes Meridien audio with IPOD connectivity, as well as Bluetooth audio streaming, Hard Disc Sat Nav.

Having driven both a 2013 Freelander 2 HSE and a 2013 Evoque Prestige, I'd say the Freelander is more practical, better off road and a good vehicle while the Evoque is better on road and feels more luxurious (hence the RR badge).