Time for a Little Luxury on the Land Rover Estate
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North Windham, Vt.
A FEW years ago, Land Rover found itself in a quandary. Research indicated that a lot of people adored the mystique of the company's Range Rover line of premium S.U.V.'s. But there wasn't any Range Rover they wanted to buy.
The two existing Range Rover models were big, heavy, thirsty and expensive. "We knew there were people who wanted something smaller, lighter and more efficient, but still wanted it to be a Range Rover," said Andrew Polsinelli, the general manager for product planning at Land Rover.
The 2012 Range Rover Evoque is the automaker's solution to that problem. It is also a huge change for the company. With an overall length of less than 172 inches, the Evoque is about two feet shorter than the standard Range Rover. That makes it almost seven inches shorter than a 2012 Honda CR-V, which is not a competitor but a common reference point. With an unloaded weight of 3,900 pounds, the Evoque weighs about 1,600 pounds less than the lightest Range Rover, the Sport.
The Evoque's turbocharged 240-horsepower engine is also the first 4-cylinder gasoline engine Land Rover has offered in the United States since the 1974 models.
While a top priority of Land Rovers and Range Rovers has always been their potent off-road abilities, the Evoque's bias is shifted more toward on-pavement handling, according to Karl Richards, the principal engineer.
That is a significant change for Land Rover, which -- like Jeep and other companies with a big S.U.V. footprint -- is trying to appeal to a public less interested in off-road adventures and to appease regulators who are demanding much more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The Evoque is also within reach of more consumers, though they still must be rather well-to-do. The least expensive four-door model is $43,995 and the least-expensive coupe is $1,000 more. That is about the same as a heavily optioned Land Rover LR2, previously the company's cheapest model, and roughly $5,700 less than the most basic LR4.
My primary test car was the fancy Evoque Prestige four-door with a base price of $52,395. (I subsequently spent several days in a coupe.) Surprisingly, such common luxury-car touches as heated front seats and a heated steering wheel cost an additional $1,000. The rear-seat DVD player was $2,500, satellite radio was $750 and an "ebony headliner" was $275. The total was $56,920.
First Published February 5, 2012 12:00 am
