Image via Complex Original
2013 Range Rover Evoque
Engine: 2.0L, Turbocharged 4-Cylinder
Power: 240 hp
Torque: 250 hp
Fuel Economy: 20/28/23
Price Driven: $54,488
The Land Rover Range Rover Evoque looks nothing like any other Range that has hit the market. And as iconic as Range Rovers are, this was actually a really good thing. The Evoque caught everybody's attention, and it has a gaze that grabs me every time I see one on the road. These SUVs have formed backgrounds filled with boxy, extremely tough vehicles that you can take anywhere. The Range Rover has established itself as a high-class ride, as well, but they still weren't really seen as the greatest city choice, due to their size and fuel economy. The Evoque changes that.
I'm not an extremely tall person (6'2"), but I felt like I was towering over the Evoque when standing next to it. It really is a compact SUV. It's the smallest and lightest Range Rover ever, and that shows in the 23 combined fuel economy. It handles well, with a very glued-down, car-driving feel and has solid power from the turbocharged, direct-injected four-cylinder engine sourced from Ford. But when it comes down to it, you can find SUVs with good gas mileage that handle pretty well on a lot of lots these days. You can't get Evoque looks anywhere else. Click ahead to find out which design elements really stood out to us.
The Clean, Straight-Cut Lines
It's extremely frustrating looking at a car and not having a clear focus. So many vehicles these days have flowing, curvacious lines along their doors (seemingly just for the sake of it) that lead your eyes straight into the wheel well, the door handle or some other part of the car you're not really interested in. The Evoque has three to four parallel lines that creat an easy sight line: One at the bottom of the windows that circles the entire ride, one right beneath the door handles that goes from headlight to tail light and one that cuts into the door between wheel arches. The car has an extremely smoothed and rounded look, yet it maintains a sculpted feel.
The Slim, Sleek Lights
A ton of designs these days are going with bulging lights that pull out of the body, creating an entirely new way to create unique shapes and corves. We like this a lot. We're glad manufacturers are getting creative. Range Rover did the opposite, however, and we love that, too. The lights aren't scooped into the body, but it's almost like a jungle cat that's shifted weight to the rear, lowering its head in preparation to pounce. The headlights aren't really inset, but the slim design kind of makes it look like there's a little lip over the lights. Part of this look is achieved through simply using smooth black surfaces around the lights to fill out the necessary space. Some might consider this wasteful, but it works really well here. The same goes for the rear.
Front and Rear Skid Plates
Something that might be lost in this car's sexy (there's a Victoria Beckham special edition for Christ's sake) and yet handsome appeal is that it's still a Ranger Rover. And Range Rovers are made to play in the mud. That's where the plates come in. Both in the front and in the rear, there are swooping panels that come up from beneath the car giving it a bit of a lifted and protected feel. They're not Dakar Rally level, but they do the job.
The Floating, Tapering Roof line
A lot of car guys use the term "rakish" to describe this look, which just means that it has a sloping, fastback feel. This is just furthered with the dark C-Pillar, which makes it look like the ceiling is floating.
The Enormous Glass Roof
All other design elements we've mentioned were looking at it from the outside. This one came from the inside and was possibly out favorite part of the build. With the push of a button, pretty much the entire roof is unveiled, leaving you with the desire to sit under a starry sky at all times. We were seriously tempted to just sleep in the car for the weekend ... then we realized we lived in New York City, the land of three stars.
