It turns out that, yes, the zombie apocalypse is imminent. The tv show/videogame/movie phenomenon will become real as swarms of reanimated victims consume all that lay in their path. Our cities will crumble, our infrastructure will collapse, and the dead shall walk the earth.
Still, if I’m going to get around town, I might as well do it in style.
For a while now, Land Rover has been the last word in conquering the world with four wheels, especially when it means doing so in luxury. But can their latest entry, the 2.0 liter Si4 powered compact CUV live up to the family name? Land Rover was kind enough to build an off-road playground smack in the middle of Manhattan to show the Evoque certainly can.
With a classic Defender looming like a sentinel above the course (made of dirt, sand and buried taxis), It’s apparent that this latest offering is styled for the urban wilderness and shares little with the Rommel-hunting desert warrior of old. Victoria Beckham was a design consultant on the vehicle, and it looks like her input was put to good use. The Evoque is certainly a good looking car, and it’s probably this attractiveness that may make people think it’s all form and little function. Indeed, if I was told to go off-road in something Posh Spice had a hand in designing, I’d offer to walk.
The joke would be on me, because the Evoque keeps up with its contemporaries with surprising ease. The 4WD electronically controlled suspension with MageRide technology handles the courses’ uneven surfaces with s a simple turn of a dial. Different settings through the Adaptive Dynamics control system adjust the ride and engine output for the most optimum performance on the given surface. I take the Evoque on a serious incline, expecting the engine to mount it, but with more effort than it apparently needed. The engine is a 2.0 liter Si4 with direct injection, giving the Evoque 240 hp to overcome any obstacles. This is mounted to a 6-speed manual with optional paddle shift controls. On a straight line of tarmac, Land Rover claims a 0-60 of 7.1 seconds and a top speed of 135 mph.
At the hill’s peak, I can see not only the city block around me, but I can see the railway-cum-pedestrian park above me through the Evoques panoramic roof, a full cabin’s length that lets passengers see the sky and stars above them as if they were riding in a drop top. I can even see the hill drop away from me, as well as the edges of the trail with cameras that give me a full 360 degree view beneath the cars’ edges. Now I can see the drop awaiting me, and I almost wish I didn’t. It’s quite an angle, but as I’m thinking of what the best way to descend would be, the Land Rover driver next to me tells me to dial in the hill decent assist all the way to its most sensitive setting then says “no gas, no brakes.” Surely some brakes? Nope. We step off the edge, and I stop breathing.
With frighteningly little input, the Evoque gently coasts down the dirt hill and places us gently at the base, not slipping in the dirt nor plummeting rapidly. It’s impressive and reassuring to know that Land Rover hasn’t chucked their soul for the sake of style and fuel economy. The evoque is expected to get 32.5 miles per gallon in combined urban/extra urban driving. The Evoque starts at $43,995 and with different packages can rise up to $52,395. What you get is a surprisingly capable and sexy 4WD mini Rover that easily lives up to the heritage.
Words & Photos By – Alex Kalogiannis
All of me wants to hate this “truck”. It is especially easy to hate when surrounded by it’s iconic brethren. I think to myself, would this vehicle have withstood the test of time, as an icon of the British imperial might, like its distant forefather did. I will not even comment on that the fact this is LITERALLY a footballer’s wives car.
This is why I am shocked it handled so well. It seems like not only have the sweater-vest types over at Land Rover managed to create a great inner city haul, but an honest off road legends, that should feel no shame in wearing the Land Rover badge.
I guess the truth is that for every one Land Rover sold with the intention of conquering the great outdoors, 10 more are purchased to conquer the mall parking lot, soccer practice and yoga classes. This might be the unfortunate truth that force the bean countered in Britain to produce this little number.
In a time when many great automotive maker have forgotten what makes them great, leave it to the British to remind you that the sun may have finally set, but it is always darkest before the dawn.