Land Rover has officially taken wraps off the all new generation Evoque SUV at a gala evening in London. At 4.37m in length, new Evoque now looks more like a baby Velar. It is built on Land Rover’s new Premium Transverse Architecture, and brings with it improved interior space. A longer wheelbase has effected 20mm additional rear knee-room.
Overall storage space is improved. A larger glove box and centre cubby can house tablets, handbags and bottles. Boot space is improved by 10 percent at 591 litres, expandable to 1,383 litres when the 40:20:40 split second-row seats are folded.
With electrification being top priority for auto manufacturers, the new Premium Transverse Architecture addresses the urgency. Available as a 48-volt mild-hybrid at launch, a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Evoque will be made available in a year.
Testimony to new things to come, the mild hybrid powertrain (MHEV) is a first for the automaker and relies on an engine-mounted belt-integrated starter generator to generate and store energy in an under-floor battery. When speed is lower than 17km/h (11mph), the engine shuts off when brakes are applied. In getting started again/accelerating to above 17 kmph, stored energy is used, which automatically reduces fuel consumption. The mild hybrid ensures a quite and refined drive in city traffic and signals where one needs to decelerate more often.
New Evoque is available with three- and four-cylinder Ingenium petrol and diesel engines, Hybrid-electric power, 48-volt MHEV and a yet to be introduced, 3-cylinder PHEV. The PHEV 3-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine will return 200PS, and will get a 11.3kWh battery under the rear seat, and a rear 80kW motor that returns 108PS.
ClearSight tech uses front and mirror cameras to capture front and below car areas that can be viewed on the interior display as though one were looking through the bonnet. So now you can see the curbs, bumpers and potholes you go over upclose. ClearSight setup also makes seeing through a full boot easy as the rear review mirror functions as a HD display and uses the rear camera to make the footage available in realtime.
Akin to other Range Rover cars, new Evoque gets a dual display setup so infotainment controls can be split between both. With the order books open now, new Range Rover Evoque is available at a price of £31,600 onward in the UK. India launch will take place next year. Expect prices to be in the Rs 55 lakh range.
