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My review after 9 days and 1000 miles - Asty - 11-05-2013 09:06am
Mauritius Blue, SD4 Pure, Tech Pack, Cirrus Leather.
I'm not one to choose a bottom of the range model, but this is a company car and only just scraped into my allowed list, probably due to good residuals. When my alternate choices are A4, 320d Sport, Accord, ....., why would I not go straight for the Evoque?
Had last minute nerves about the choice of colour as very few people choose blue, but it looks great in real life with the light interior - even the wife gives it a double thumbs up. Arrived home without telling her anything about it, so you can imagine the look on her face She was straight in it and off up the road! Initial Impressions
First check was the touch screen. Happy with the responsiveness, but a little slow with postcodes when it recalculates which letters/numbers are valid for next input. Next check, the radio. Having DAB in car is a revelation and appears to sound better than equivalent FM stations but that might just be cos they're louder. Next check a phone call. The wife has always moaned that I sound like I'm on Mars in previous cars. Not so with the Evoque. Calls are almost as good as direct from the handset.
Driving
Very quiet for the type of vehicle. It makes you want to ease away from standstill, but then gives you the midrange to push on later. I'm not used to a 4x4 but can this car corner! I drive a quiet A road to work and know every bend and max cornering speed for an Accord, 320d, and Z4 35i. Ok, I'm lying about the Z4 - I'm too scared to corner balls out in that! But the Evoque with 4WD grips way harder than the exec saloons and you just don't realise how fast you're going sometimes. Couple that with an uneven road surface and the difference is even more pronounced. It takes a moment to settle into a bend (Adaptives would help here) but once set it really does corner well. A big thumbs up. Motorway driving is effortless, cabin quiet, and consumption adequate up to 70. Any faster and the huge bulk coupled with power/wind resistance being a cubic formula causes mpg to drop. 36-38mpg at reasonable speeds, 30-33mpg when pushing on, 38-41mpg while bubbling along at 40 in traffic.
Build Quality
Everything feels well put together and solid. The doors requirer a firm slam to close fully and I wish the boot would close fully when you pull down on the internal handle as it invariably part closes which is a pain. Auto boot is another option I would have specced given the choice.
Comfort
Front seat legroom is excellent and the seats well made. Not had rear passengers yet, but I'm sure rear space is adequate for occasional use. The boot is smaller than expected and being unable to folder the rear seats fully flat means less flexibility, but that isn't the point of this car. I have issue with the under thigh sections which I have no idea why they exist other than to cause discomfort to some drivers (several I have spoken too). This is a big problem but I'm finding ways to alter my driving position to work around it. I just shouldn't have to. The (tiny) wife has complained the passenger seat isn't height adjustable, but that's the crap you have to put up with when you don't spec extras. It's something that should be standard on £30k+ cars though in my opinion. I'd be surprised if a child could see over the dashboard.
Overall
My initial impressions were good, and nothing (seats excepted) has changed my opinion in the first 1000 miles. This car was chosen to cope with the commute to work, trips to the south of France, a snow covered sloped driveway, and crossing the peak district in visit relatives in winter, and I have every confidence it will cope admirably.
RE: My review after 9 days and 1000 miles - XFullFatTim - 11-05-2013 09:46am
Before next winter you should treat your good lady to a full day out at an LRE centre to give you an idea of all the things your A4, 320 and dream Z4 wouldn't even get near to doing and that your new car handles with ease. You don't even use your own car and she gets to take you too as a guest!
RE: My review after 9 days and 1000 miles - brianthedog - 11-05-2013 05:21pm
(11-05-2013 09:06am)Asty Wrote: Having DAB in car is a revelation and appears to sound better than equivalent FM stations but that might just be cos they're louder.
I completely agree, an unexpected delight, even though I can only get BBC stations around here.
RE: My review after 9 days and 1000 miles - Asty - 11-05-2013 07:21pm
(11-05-2013 09:46am)XFullFatTim Wrote: Before next winter you should treat your good lady to a full day out at an LRE centre to give you an idea of all the things your A4, 320 and dream Z4 wouldn't even get near to doing and that your new car handles with ease. You don't even use your own car and she gets to take you too as a guest!
Which LRE centre should I go to? The Halewood one is close and a lot cheaper than others. Cost is not an issue, I just want the best.... for the wife of course
RE: My review after 9 days and 1000 miles - PhilSkill - 12-05-2013 12:03am
(11-05-2013 07:21pm)Asty Wrote: Which LRE centre should I go to? The Halewood one is close and a lot cheaper than others. Cost is not an issue, I just want the best.... for the wife of course
Halewood one is quite small although has an awesome slope, you wouldnt want all day there, better off touring the factory, Eastnor castle is a fabulous course.
RE: My review after 9 days and 1000 miles - brianthedog - 12-05-2013 11:44am
(11-05-2013 07:21pm)Asty Wrote: Which LRE centre should I go to? The Halewood one is close and a lot cheaper than others. Cost is not an issue, I just want the best.... for the wife of course
Check out Dunkeld - just look where it is on the map! Spectacular scenery and, although I did not stay, the hotel looked like a great place to spend a weekend.
The 'experience' is an excellent way to discover what these vehicles are capable of - much more than I expected. I got a half day voucher from my dealer, if you don't have one find out why not.
RE: My review after 9 days and 1000 miles - XFullFatTim - 12-05-2013 08:10pm
I second both suggestions so far as i have done Dunkeld 4 times now and it never gets boring, even though I do some pretty serious off road stuff in my Defender. My last visit there was in December 2012 for the Scottish launch of the new Range Rover.......... We got to drive there as LR said it would be safer than using the roads around Gleneagles Hotel! When we got there I think they had 2nd thoughts with up to 15" of snow on the ground and ice under it in places! All done with aplomb in a £100,000 car! Dunkeld is a good centre to include in a holiday in Scotland and the adjacent Dunked Hilton Resort is a very nice, if expensive place to have an overnight stay, there are other nice hotels in the area too. The LRE at the Solihull factory is a good one too and has the legendary "Jungle Track" as well as things tat are not on the other LRE's lie driving up and down flights of steps, driving over a balanced bridge and testing he suspension travel on the Elephants Footprints! All the non-factory LRE's are pretty good fun to do. If you can screw a voucher out if your dealer it is well worth paying for the upgrade to the full day as it allows you to try one of the other Range Rovers or stay with an Evoque for the ret of the day. There is a link to the LRE's from the LRUK website. If you want to do the Halewood factory visit there are details here
http://babyrr.com/forum/thread-3423.html