This is the five-door version of the Range Rover Evoque, which has made its debut at today's Los Angeles motor show.
When the Evoque was unveiled as the Land Rover LRX concept in 2008, the idea was to combine the sportiness of a two-door coupé with the capability of a compact soft-roader. But after bosses decided the acclaimed “white space” concept was worthy of production, they decided a more practical, family-friendly version would be needed to maximise sales.
The five-door is identical to the three-door in most dimensions and details, including the same aluminium roof pressing. The big difference - apart from the number of doors - is roof height. The five-door’s roof is 30mm higher and set flatter than the three-door’s, which slopes gently towards the rear.
To allow the roof changes, the windscreen is lengthened by 60mm and the five-door gets an all-new, slightly deeper, composite tailgate. The higher roof improves headroom by 30mm in the front and 40mm in the rear cabin.
The five-door also has a little less tumblehome (the inward slope of the body sides), improving rear shoulder room by about 50mm. In common with the three-door Evoque, the five-door’s driving position is quite different from the Freelander’s. The driver’s seat is around 30mm lower, while the gearchange is about 60mm higher. The taller model weighs around 30gk more than the three-door.
Land Rover has announced for the first time that all Evoques get MagneRide adjustable shock absorbers (controlled through an enhanced Terrain Response system) to improve on-road handling without compromising off-road performance.
The five-door Evoque gets the same engine line-up as the three-door (148bhp or 187bhp 2.2-litre turbodiesels and a 237bhp 2.0 petrol turbo) and is available in both two and four-wheel drive.
The lower-powered, front-drive diesel three-door returns real-world fuel consumption close to 50mpg, with CO2 emissions below 130g/km. The five-door, which has slightly more frontal area as well as the extra weight, is expected to be rated below 135g/km.
As with the three-door, there will be three trim levels: Dynamic, Prestige and Pure. The Dynamic (with body-coloured lower panels instead of the classier black of the others) appears to be the closest thing to an entry-level Evoque.
The price difference isn’t clear between three and five-door; earliest indications are that it won’t be significant. Land Rover says prices will start at around £30,000, which means plush models will hit £38,000 (going to over £40k with options).
Thanks to: Autocar