Bumper 40-page issue Celebrating 26 years of service to the car buyer INSIDE VOL. 26.
NO. 8 – 2021
€2.00 (incl. VAT)
RANGE ROVER EVOQUE PHEV – Above and Beyond
By BRIAN FAHEY
W
alking towards my test Range Rover Evoque PHEV, I click the unlock button on the key and two things grab my attention. Firstly, the very trendy “animated” indicator lights that flash with the now familiar, Audi inspired, Knight Rider style motioned flash, something that I as a kid of the eighties, think is very cool indeed, thanks to Michael Knight and his famous Trans Am. Secondly, I think to myself, have they given me the wrong key, have they given me the key to a Velar. Looking straight on at the front end of the second generation Evoque, with its bulbous front bumper, smart chromed grille and sleek headlamps, it is hard to deny that it is strikingly similar in looks to its bigger brother the Range Rover Velar, which as a fan of the Velar, I do not have a problem with at all. SOPHISTICATED STYLE The similarities with the Velar continue around the side with flush door handles that glide out from the door when the car is unlocked. Around the back too are more similarities, with wraparound tail-lights joined up across the rear of the tailgate with a shiny black trim housing the Range Rover lettering.
All very sophisticated and grown-up looking, the Evoque has definitely matured well with this latest incarnation, especially when seen beside the outgoing model. INTERIOR When the original Evoque was launched in 2011 it set the standard not just for cars in its
class but for interior quality in any mainstream production car on the road. With reports of fashionista Victoria Beckham being involved in the choosing of interior materials and design, it was a watershed moment in the motor industry, with the involvement of the fashion world in the design process of a car, and then actually bringing that car to market with their input in place on the finished product. Ten years later and with Land Rover having a reputation for driving their cars further upmarket with each new generation, the second coming of the Evoque was not going to be an easy job for the Coventry based outfit, but I am pleased to say that they have not disappointed at all. The quality of the interior in both design and choice of materials is leagues ahead of any of their rivals in this class and is comfortably up there with the standards set by its big brothers the Range Rover, Sport and Velar.
The options lists seem endless, from choices of materials for seats, door trims, headliners, and dashboards, to interior and exterior colour combinations, hours can be lost while deciding on the perfect Evoque for yourself. The award winning Pivi Pro infotainment system in my test car was a joy to use. With two 10-inch touchscreens, it scrolls through the menu’s smoothly and briskly for everything from climate control, sat nav, parking assists and the audio system, which now comes with Apple Car Play and Android Auto. POWER UNIT The Evoque is now on sale with more engine options than ever previously available in our market, with both petrol and diesel options offered and mild hybrid technology available on many. My test car was the P300e PHEV plug in hybrid which comes
with a 1.5 litre 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine pumping out 200BHP and an electric motor adding another 105BHP giving a combined power output of 305BHP and allowing for a reported 0-100km/h time of 6.4 seconds, this car can really move along when asked to. With CO2 emissions as low as 44g/km and a reported EV only range of 55km, although I averaged 35km per charge, the PHEV makes a lot of sense on paper. Company car owners will love it for the low BIK, and for anyone on regular shorter journeys, school runs, commutes to work, will all benefit from the cheaper running costs. Land Rover quote a WLTP combined fuel consumption figure as low as 2L/100km, but this will vary greatly depending on how much the EV mode is in use. Expect north of 8L/100km if driving on petrol only. Continued on page 2
New Peugeot 3008 Hybrid – PAGE 4 – —•—
Answering your EV Questions – PAGE 14 – —•—
Crossover to the Opel Crossland – PAGE 34 – —•—
Stay healthy with PhoneSoap – PAGE 41 – —•—
World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims – PAGE 42 – —•—
Quiz Time
– PAGE 45 –
DID YOU KNOW...?? From 1909 to 1927, Ford built more than 15 million cars. Initially, the Model T took 12 hours to assemble. However, with the help of the assembly line technique, this time was cut to 8 minutes for each car in 1913, and finally in 1927, during the last years of production of the Model T, the factory was delivering a completely assembled car in just 24 seconds!