20-10-2013, 11:35am
Hi Evoquers,
Yesterday I excitedly took out a Evoque for a 40 minute test drive. I really wanted to like this car but I must confess I left with real disappointment.
Now that I am in my 40's, I have started looking at cars from a different angle. My priorities have changed from small, fast and nibble to commanding, comfort and quality. Therefore, for some time now I have been looking at the Evoque because of its high position, good looks and "quality" price point. I am not the kind of person who takes many test drives... in fact I very rarely ask for a test drive unless I am already quite smitten with a car. I should also say, if I had a Evoque the 4 wheel drive / off road capability would be wasted on me.
Before I start, I want to make clear that there are MANY things that I really like about the Evoque. However, below I am going to talk about the issues I really didn't like, which may sound like I am having a go. However, I just wanted to make these points to see what the Evoque feel, to see if they are genuine points or am I just being overly picky?
Dashboard
My first reaction when sat in the driving seat was one of a disappointment looking at the dials. Yes the LCD section looked good, but the speedo and the rev counter not only looked cheap but I found hard to clearly read. In fact the speedo looks a bit "bling" for my liking. It seemed a million miles away form a simple, quality , easy to read speedo you get in a German car. At this price point the dials should ooze BMW not Renault?
Moving onto the center console (which was generally much better) again I was disappointed with the Sat Nav system. I have a 6 year old Honda civic and the built in Satnav in that is very similar (white background with just road lines on it). The only real difference is the Honda is 2D, where as the Evoque is the most unimpressive 3D system I have ever seen! Again, compare it to a BMW satnav, the graphics just blow the Evoque away!
BTW, I should also mention that I was impressed with the reverse camera system.
Then you get the Automatic gear knob (that pops up and down as you turn the car on and off)... and the multi-colour mood lighting. I have no Idea how much these unnecessary things cost.... but why add them at all? Surely spend the money instead on the fixing items I mentioned above????
Driving
I had only moved 50 feet in the car before I knew that I had issues. As I drove out of the showroom and gave it some revs, the noise from the revving diesel engine was near identical to Nissan Juke I had used recently (hire car). This is a car that is half the price point of the Evoque. Yes, I understand diesels are noisy but again at this price point I was expecting more isolation.
Then we get onto the Auto gearbox (which I know is hopefully addressed in the new 9 speed, so i won't go on too much). Yeah it has failings (which I found quite quickly). However, I found most failings can be easily overridden once you get into the habit of using the gear paddles to override the gears in certain circumstances (which you shouldn't have to do, but there you go). However, again I was pretty shocked at the quality of gear paddles. Maybe I was a bit heavy handed but I could feel the paddles bending and flexing as I used them. I have seen better quality paddles on a game console steering wheel. Again, not the quality I expect of the price point.
Finally I wasn't overall impressed with road noise and the quality of ride. Yes, it was by no means bad but I was able to compare immediately on the same roads with my 07 Honda Civic. Yes, the Evoque was better in both... but only slightly. Remember the civic was only a £17k car new (and is now 6 years old!) Again, I was expecting more at the price point. Maybe it was a little unfair to compare a road car with a car with full off road capability, so I also tried the "Range Rover waft" over a speed bump (one of those little rubber bastards)... again as the Evoque bounced quite harshly over the bump the Evoque left me disappointed. So disappointed that I had a look around to see if there was a "soft" suspension setting? I didn't find one if there is?
BTW, the one item I was impressed with was the handling. I expected to handle like a boat. It didn't, it took corners sharper than I thought possible!
In the end I came away really disappointed. I really, really wanted to like this car. However I just didn't think it was up to the standard I expect for a £35k + car (maybe £25k). I do intend to go back to try the 9 speed (when available) in the hope that some of the fixes will out weigh the failings... but for now I am really gutted that these issues are currently too much of an issue for me.
I really look forward to owners opinions on the matters I raised and hope no-one takes offense at my (perhaps over) critical issues. Am I expecting too much for this price point?
Yesterday I excitedly took out a Evoque for a 40 minute test drive. I really wanted to like this car but I must confess I left with real disappointment.
Now that I am in my 40's, I have started looking at cars from a different angle. My priorities have changed from small, fast and nibble to commanding, comfort and quality. Therefore, for some time now I have been looking at the Evoque because of its high position, good looks and "quality" price point. I am not the kind of person who takes many test drives... in fact I very rarely ask for a test drive unless I am already quite smitten with a car. I should also say, if I had a Evoque the 4 wheel drive / off road capability would be wasted on me.
Before I start, I want to make clear that there are MANY things that I really like about the Evoque. However, below I am going to talk about the issues I really didn't like, which may sound like I am having a go. However, I just wanted to make these points to see what the Evoque feel, to see if they are genuine points or am I just being overly picky?
Dashboard
My first reaction when sat in the driving seat was one of a disappointment looking at the dials. Yes the LCD section looked good, but the speedo and the rev counter not only looked cheap but I found hard to clearly read. In fact the speedo looks a bit "bling" for my liking. It seemed a million miles away form a simple, quality , easy to read speedo you get in a German car. At this price point the dials should ooze BMW not Renault?
Moving onto the center console (which was generally much better) again I was disappointed with the Sat Nav system. I have a 6 year old Honda civic and the built in Satnav in that is very similar (white background with just road lines on it). The only real difference is the Honda is 2D, where as the Evoque is the most unimpressive 3D system I have ever seen! Again, compare it to a BMW satnav, the graphics just blow the Evoque away!
BTW, I should also mention that I was impressed with the reverse camera system.
Then you get the Automatic gear knob (that pops up and down as you turn the car on and off)... and the multi-colour mood lighting. I have no Idea how much these unnecessary things cost.... but why add them at all? Surely spend the money instead on the fixing items I mentioned above????
Driving
I had only moved 50 feet in the car before I knew that I had issues. As I drove out of the showroom and gave it some revs, the noise from the revving diesel engine was near identical to Nissan Juke I had used recently (hire car). This is a car that is half the price point of the Evoque. Yes, I understand diesels are noisy but again at this price point I was expecting more isolation.
Then we get onto the Auto gearbox (which I know is hopefully addressed in the new 9 speed, so i won't go on too much). Yeah it has failings (which I found quite quickly). However, I found most failings can be easily overridden once you get into the habit of using the gear paddles to override the gears in certain circumstances (which you shouldn't have to do, but there you go). However, again I was pretty shocked at the quality of gear paddles. Maybe I was a bit heavy handed but I could feel the paddles bending and flexing as I used them. I have seen better quality paddles on a game console steering wheel. Again, not the quality I expect of the price point.
Finally I wasn't overall impressed with road noise and the quality of ride. Yes, it was by no means bad but I was able to compare immediately on the same roads with my 07 Honda Civic. Yes, the Evoque was better in both... but only slightly. Remember the civic was only a £17k car new (and is now 6 years old!) Again, I was expecting more at the price point. Maybe it was a little unfair to compare a road car with a car with full off road capability, so I also tried the "Range Rover waft" over a speed bump (one of those little rubber bastards)... again as the Evoque bounced quite harshly over the bump the Evoque left me disappointed. So disappointed that I had a look around to see if there was a "soft" suspension setting? I didn't find one if there is?
BTW, the one item I was impressed with was the handling. I expected to handle like a boat. It didn't, it took corners sharper than I thought possible!
In the end I came away really disappointed. I really, really wanted to like this car. However I just didn't think it was up to the standard I expect for a £35k + car (maybe £25k). I do intend to go back to try the 9 speed (when available) in the hope that some of the fixes will out weigh the failings... but for now I am really gutted that these issues are currently too much of an issue for me.
I really look forward to owners opinions on the matters I raised and hope no-one takes offense at my (perhaps over) critical issues. Am I expecting too much for this price point?