It is best if you look away from mere statistics with the Range Rover Evoque. The best part of £40k – the other side of £40k even if you don’t get too busy with options – is a great deal of money to spend on a car that is no bigger and no more powerful than a Ford Focus at half its price.
And even when you cast statistics aside and get down to the objectivity of driving, the Evoque still seems like an expensive car. Yes, it is well finished; yes, it is very refined; yes, it comes amply equipped and, yes, it has a breadth of ability few other cars have. But you’re paying not just for the tangible things, but also for intangible things like how it will make you feel. That leaves the Evoque with few direct rivals.
Anyone with this sort of money to spend is as likely to have a BMW 5-series wagon or Audi A5 coupé as they are a BMW X3 or Audi Q3. From that standpoint alone, while the Evoque’s touring economy of 35.8mpg is poor for a 2.2-litre diesel, it is not bad by the standards of most £40,000 cars.
Of course, if economy is more of a concern, the 148bhp eD4 Evoque, with only two driven wheels and a 75kg weight saving over the 4WD models, promises a more parsimonious 57.6mpg.
The Evoque is predicted to hold its value well, particularly in the first phase of its life where demand outstrips supply. But despite the inevitability of demand and supply, it’s hard to feel totally comfortable about the nagging suspicion that Range Rover is asking so much for the Evoque simply because people are prepared to pay it.
