09-04-2013, 04:33pm
Well today saw the end to my 13 month ownership of a Range Rover Evoque, and whilist I have mixed emotions I thought I would share my last thoughts. Please remember these are my own personal thoughts and experiences and I appreciate some will have not, nor will have the same issues.
I will start with the Good
- What a great look car, the design is fresh and is a real eye catcher, I will miss the weekly hand wash and polish i gave her, because the design and shape is something special.
-Off-road capability - whilst I never used my own car off-road, i was amazed at the capability when I took a day in at one of the Landrover off-road centres in Yorkshire. The ability of this car is quite unique.
-Depreciation - I am still shocked at the price i managed to sell my car for. I hope the values remain good for another couple of years for anybody else looking to sell. I suspect I might have caught the market at the right time, and the right buyer.
The Bad
- Quality of some of the interior plastics and not what I expect on a £30k+ car. I have seen better on less none prestige manufactures.
- Large wing mirrors - I recent weeks I have started to notice more the "blind spot" these create especially at junctions and roundabouts, whilst I think the design needs a large mirror the embrace the cars overall design they are certainly an issue and hope they get addressed in future models.
- MPG - I know this is well documented on here and various other forums, and manufactures figure are always very high, but I really struggled to get even close to the published figures. In my opinion a real let down given some of the competition like BMW and Audi with better fuel efficient engines.
- Technology - A major let down. The sat nav is poor compared to my BMW, the screen reaction times are slow, bluetooth connection was eh well somewhat erratic and generally I feel it is some way behind BMW, Audi systems.
- Lack of passenger heigh adjustable seat on a £30k car, come on JLR please get your act together.
- Servicing costs - I little higher than I would have expected, put not a major issue to complain about.
- Rattles - There are a number and thats all I will say!!
- Exclusivity - I know the car is popular but it seems to have lost some of the special exclusivity. I can see 4 within 0.5miles of my house and the other day i drove to Hull and back and counted 46! and that wasn't including the one on the two car transporters that I passed.
and finally the Ugly...
- Dealers (and one of the main reasons why I sold now). Hunters Preston should be ashamed to be a Landrover / Range Rover dealer. There service from the day I placed the order to the final customer engagement with a warranty issue is nothing more than appalling. I will never and deal with them again. For me they have played a major part in the decision to sell the car. They just don't understand customer service, from rude and incompetent staff to the way they general organise themselves. I would love to be the dealer principle for 3 months as I would certainly change the way they deal and more importantly retain customers. A real let down. I didn't feel privileged to be a customer compared to that way I have been treated in the past at BMW.
and finally............
I must say a big thank you to all the forum members on Baby RR, I joined early in 2011 when i placed my order and must say I read the forum everyday, and it is the best car forum i have ever used. This is down to the members and the admin team. It is full of knowledge people, who are polite and respect others tastes, choices and decisions. I am glad I met some of you at the factory visit in March 2012. A great day out and a pleasure to meet and discuss all things RR.
I will pop in and keep checking on you all and wish you all the very best in your baby RR's....
I will start with the Good
- What a great look car, the design is fresh and is a real eye catcher, I will miss the weekly hand wash and polish i gave her, because the design and shape is something special.
-Off-road capability - whilst I never used my own car off-road, i was amazed at the capability when I took a day in at one of the Landrover off-road centres in Yorkshire. The ability of this car is quite unique.
-Depreciation - I am still shocked at the price i managed to sell my car for. I hope the values remain good for another couple of years for anybody else looking to sell. I suspect I might have caught the market at the right time, and the right buyer.
The Bad
- Quality of some of the interior plastics and not what I expect on a £30k+ car. I have seen better on less none prestige manufactures.
- Large wing mirrors - I recent weeks I have started to notice more the "blind spot" these create especially at junctions and roundabouts, whilst I think the design needs a large mirror the embrace the cars overall design they are certainly an issue and hope they get addressed in future models.
- MPG - I know this is well documented on here and various other forums, and manufactures figure are always very high, but I really struggled to get even close to the published figures. In my opinion a real let down given some of the competition like BMW and Audi with better fuel efficient engines.
- Technology - A major let down. The sat nav is poor compared to my BMW, the screen reaction times are slow, bluetooth connection was eh well somewhat erratic and generally I feel it is some way behind BMW, Audi systems.
- Lack of passenger heigh adjustable seat on a £30k car, come on JLR please get your act together.
- Servicing costs - I little higher than I would have expected, put not a major issue to complain about.
- Rattles - There are a number and thats all I will say!!
- Exclusivity - I know the car is popular but it seems to have lost some of the special exclusivity. I can see 4 within 0.5miles of my house and the other day i drove to Hull and back and counted 46! and that wasn't including the one on the two car transporters that I passed.
and finally the Ugly...
- Dealers (and one of the main reasons why I sold now). Hunters Preston should be ashamed to be a Landrover / Range Rover dealer. There service from the day I placed the order to the final customer engagement with a warranty issue is nothing more than appalling. I will never and deal with them again. For me they have played a major part in the decision to sell the car. They just don't understand customer service, from rude and incompetent staff to the way they general organise themselves. I would love to be the dealer principle for 3 months as I would certainly change the way they deal and more importantly retain customers. A real let down. I didn't feel privileged to be a customer compared to that way I have been treated in the past at BMW.
and finally............
I must say a big thank you to all the forum members on Baby RR, I joined early in 2011 when i placed my order and must say I read the forum everyday, and it is the best car forum i have ever used. This is down to the members and the admin team. It is full of knowledge people, who are polite and respect others tastes, choices and decisions. I am glad I met some of you at the factory visit in March 2012. A great day out and a pleasure to meet and discuss all things RR.
I will pop in and keep checking on you all and wish you all the very best in your baby RR's....