canadian info?

did some googling and found an article on the evoque from a canadian perspective.

Quote:There is a restrained feistiness to the folks from Land Rover as they count down the days to the launch of the 2012 Range Rover Evoque ($46,995 base).
Other than the original 1940s Defender, a true Jeep knock-off, says chief designer Gerry McGovern, this car is the most important in the company’s history.

“It will change the urban landscape,” he says without a hint of modesty, pointing to the Evoque’s massive wheels, rearward-diving roofline and the rising beltline, which form a kind of sideways “V” and really is unlike anything else in this compact SUV class.
Everyone at Jaguar Land Rover understands what’s at stake here. While they point to 20,000 Evoque pre-orders for something that won’t hit Canadian showrooms until October, the big picture has JLR aiming to sell three times that number each year. Or more.
Nothing short of the healthy future of Land Rover is on the line here. The first all-new Land Rover model since India’s Tata conglomerate bought JLR from Ford in 2008 is a tangible expression of what Land Rover and the Range Rover sub-brand want to be.
“The Range Rover will revolutionize the way people see our brand,” says JLR’s Canadian boss, Lindsay Duffield. I said feisty, correct?
Still, the Evoque must change the Land Rover quality story. The Land Rover brand finished third from the bottom in the latest J.D. Power and Associates three-year Vehicle Dependability Study. Lousy long-term quality scores suggest problems for the kind of truly profitable future the brand wants.
The good news from Land Rover’s perspective is that the brand in Canada finished seventh among luxury brands for resale value in the 2011 ALG Retained Value Awards.
The Evoque design does, though, look to be a winning effort and the drive is excellent. We’ll only get AWD Evoques in Canada. The four-door hatchback version – which will be the volume model – starts at $46,995, while the coupe/hatchback has a base price of $52,595.


And the only engine choice for Canada will be the 240-horsepower, direct injection, turbocharged four-cylinder. No diesel-powered Evoques for Canada and no stripped-down loss leaders, either.
The Evoque, the smallest Range Rover, will compete in a growing pool of small SUVs, with the main target surely being the $38,500 BMW X1. A forthcoming Audi Q3 (no pricing yet) will surely offer competition, too. I’d argue the Range Rover is prettier than either.
It is also light (1,680 kg for the four-door) and aerodynamic (0.35 coefficient of drag). Land Rover derived the Evoque from the LR2 (known as the Freelander in most of the world), though Mike Cross, Jaguar Land Rover’s ride and handling engineering guru, says the engineers made some serious modifications. All of its major suspension parts were redesigned for lightness and better geometry and it is the first SUV anywhere to use MagneRide adaptive dampers.
This rig is pretty fast, too. The gasoline version, with its 2.0-litre, direct injection, turbocharged engine and six-speed automatic transmission, will do 0-100 km/h in a tad more than seven seconds. The gas engine, by the way, is bought from Ford, where it’s sold as the EcoBoost four-cylinder and is used in the new Explorer. It is excellent.
Indeed, the car-based Evoque is a study in how engineers take weight out of a car using lightweight materials such as aluminum for the bonnet, roof and suspension components, and composite plastics for the one-piece tailgate. These moves have helped the engineers reduce weight by about 100 kg versus the Land Rover LR2.
The cabin is comfortable and looks smart, with excellent seats, soft-touch plastics, flush-fitting switches and rich leather. The designers have gone with sporty aluminum trim and sensible instruments and controls. Attractive features include a start button on the dash beside the twin-dial instrument layout. A bigger screen for navigation, phone, audio and all the rest sits above the console. There is a surprising amount of cabin and cargo space for a car less than 4.4 metres long, though rear-seat legroom is tight.
Land Rover engineering types wax on about the Evoque’s packaging and they might have a point. The car offers class-beating ground clearance, a commanding driving position and good head room while riding 100 mm lower than the Freelander. Access is simple and car-like, despite the ground clearance.
Land Rover engineers are particularly excited about the Evoque’s MagneRide adaptive damping system. The Delphi-developed system uses metallic particles in the damper fluid to react when a magnetic field is applied, stiffening the damper to tie down body pitch and roll. The computer-controlled system can change the damping force up to 50 times a second.
My first road-going impression is of an agile yet tall vehicle that has no trouble handling corners and can manage some pretty tough off-roading, too. This Evoque suggests Land Rover types might just have good reason to be so feisty.
Tech specs
2012 Range Rover Evoque
Type: Compact SUV
Price range: $46,995-$52,595 (freight $1,270)
Engine: 2.0-litre, four-cylinder
Horsepower/torque: 240 hp/340 lb-ft
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Drive: All-wheel
Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 10.7 city/ 7.1 highway; premium gas
Alternatives: BMW X1, Mini Countryman, Acura RDX, Infiniti EX35

got it from this forum
http://www.rrevoqueforum.com/threads/ran...ation.327/
alotta canadians there.

Hello fellow Canuck!
Thanks for posting yet another positive review - the internet seems awash with them these days. I didn't need to read too many (or listen to James May more than once) before I strode into my local dealership (stealership??) with the intention of trading in the sporty Audi I've only had for 6 months. That is how impressed I am!
Seeing 3 Evoque variants in the flesh at a local launch two nights ago just consolidated my decision. Think it is the perfect vehicle for this country. A sporty, yet ultra-capable compact SUV. Visually stunning form and function also. The BMW X1 just makes me grimace - I would have never given up the Audi for it.

I see the article also mentions that the engineers are "excited" about the Magneride suspension. I was reading with interest another thread on this forum from an anonymous worker at Halewood actually calling the suspension jarring. I know how often I used the magneride type dampers in my Audi - barely ever, just on a road trip on some smooth twisties in California! Yes, wonderful handling is assured - but I think all prospective buyers should look at their local road conditions and driving style and not just tick every box on the option list right!?

Well, have had my little rant - just wanted to say hi from the West Coast!

The Magneride is always active, you don't switch it on and off in the Evoque.

There is a Dynamic setting which comes with the Magneride option which obviously can be switched on and off and which firms everything up. But like I said, magneride suspension is always on, in all suspension settings.

Hmm, that's odd - I finally had a chance to test drive a Dynamic Coupe today, and my companion was part of the team who have been doing the road trip around the US and Canada since early August. He told me that the suspension on the Dynamic feels exactly like the Pure until the Dynamic setting is activated. When we turned on the Dynamic the steering firmed up as did the suspension in the same way it does on my Audi. I was convinced that this chap knew what he was talking about from the many intimate weeks of long distance driving vehicles and what was apparent to me today. Maybe the presence of the magneride is very subtle even if it's constantly on. Regardless, the roughness is not something I'm after - might upset any lipstick application
I think I'd like some more feedback though from other drivers too!

Yes it is odd that after all that time driving the car he still doesn't know how the AD's work. As previously posted, the AD's is always active and is constantly changing the suspension to adapt to your driving style and road surface. There is of course also the dynamic setting, which will make the ride very firm.

I don't think he didn't know how the active dampers work - just that he didn't notice a difference in normal mode from the standard suspension on the Pure he also drove. He is also far more experienced driver than I, having driven high end supercars (said he was the first driver of the R8 when it arrived in the US).

Maybe he was echoing the same opinion as the anonymous Halewood engineer on this forum:

"In my experience of driving magna ride, its too harsh when in dynamic mode and unless you corner at 70mph then you will probably hate it, however the dials do glow red when you do. In normal mode it is as comfortable as regular shocks. "

So no, I'm not going for the ADs! Not paying for something I can't notice under normal circumstances and won't like the effect of when I turn it on.

I loved the magnetic dampers in my Mk2 Audi TT quattro -- the sportier setting was a blast.

It is true that the AD is always on - either less firm or firm.

Can't be as stiff as my good old Disco 2. I have been looking more and more at downsizing to the Evoque but haven't gotten to the point of going to drive one yet. I will post up what I think after I visit the local LR dealer.

Cedric

Have they arrived at your local dealership Cedric? I think you might be happily surprised by the car!
I know they are due in Vancouver end October but I am yet to see one on the road here. Looking forward to my delivery end November!!
Diana

I haven't seen any on the road in montreal, but there are maybe 6-10 cars that have been delivered. There is one in each Land rover showroom as well