Some thought the Range Rover Evoque was never going to fly. “A luxury Range Rover that’s not an all-out, rough and ready, road-domineering 4x4 – and it costs around £30,000? You must be bonkers,” said the cynics. But the Range Rover Evoque has fashioned itself a solid place in the crossover market, becoming the benchmark for manufacturers who look to launch their own compact SUV.
Once again defying the naysayers of the Evoque, Jaguar Land Rover is giving its crossover a new convertible option.
But before you start wondering whether anyone else has ever made a convertible 4x4, let’s not forget about all of those soft top army vehicles you may have seen in the movies or on the news which are, oh yes, Land Rovers!
The Evoque Convertible, however, is the world’s first luxury SUV convertible. We had a browse around the new Range Rover Evoque Convertible with Land Rover Chief Designer, Andy Wheel.
So it’s an Evoque with the roof cut off?
Essentially, yes. That is exactly what the Evoque Convertible is intended to look like – a topless version of the three-door coupe model. However, lopping the roof off is not as easy as it sounds. To retain a structurally sound car, engineers have had to redesign and strengthen the A pillars.
Also, when it comes to structure, high-strength steel has been built into the doors and extra under-body bracing has been added for ensured rigidity. There are a few other nifty design features throughout as well, like the LED headlights and indicators, which are integrated along the same strip, instead of side by side.
What of the roof?
Designers wanted to make sure that the folding roof mechanism didn’t eat into practicality too much or weigh too much, so they have utilised an “acoustic insulated” fabric Z fold set-up. The hinge for the boot is actually built into the boot lid, again, to conserve space in the boot.
Although the fabric roof is concealed beneath panels and is totally concealed when folded, there is still only space for two passengers in the back and boot space stands at less than the Evoque Coupe at 251 litres. This boot capacity, however, is the same with the roof either up or down.
Press a button on the centre console and the roof takes 18 seconds to fold down – and 21 seconds to fold back up. This can be operated at speeds of up to 30mph.
Price?
As the new flagship model in the Evoque range, the convertible model is the most expensive, starting at £47,500 – which is £15,300 more expensive than the Coupe model and £17,300 more than the standard five-door Evoque.
Go for the top trim, HSE Dynamic Lux, and prices increase to £51,700. Prices can also get much steeper if you start customising the likes of the alloy wheels and the paint job.
Is it still a Range Rover at heart?
Well, to quote Andy Wheel, “Even though we’ve done a soft top, we haven’t gone soft.” That approach means the Evoque Convertible should offer all the off-roading prowess usually associated with the Range Rover badge.
Just like any other Range Rover, the convertible comes with a host of intelligent technology to enhance off-road performance, such as Terrain Response – which adapts everything from engine responsiveness to traction depending on road conditions to ensure composure. It also features a Wade Sensing system and is capable of wading in water of up to 500mm.
The Evoque Convertible will also be available with the new 2.0-litre Ingenium TD4 diesel, mated to an automatic gearbox. This engine offers 178bhp and a heady max torque figure of 430Nm. This means it is capable of reaching the 60mph mark in 9.7 seconds and hitting a top speed of 121mph. Efficiency wise, it claims a combined 49.6mpg and emits 149g/km of CO2.
