Range Rover strips down

Land Rover has taken interior reductive design to the max with the newly facelifted Evoque. The original compact luxury Range Rover has received a midlife refresh to make it smarter and more sophisticated, and features an ultra-minimalist cabin that embraces the digital age with the absence of any physical buttons on the dashboard.

The infotainment, climate control, and other onboard features are now entirely operated by touchscreens in a clean cabin that makes even Volvo’s famously minimalist interiors look cluttered by comparison. It isn’t necessarily the most user-friendly setup, as there are no quick-access buttons to often-used functions, but Land Rover says that at the beginning of every journey drivers are presented with a Pre-Drive panel for commonly used features such as window demisters and heated seats.

The infotainment is accessed via a crisp new 11.4-inch curved glass touchscreen, now situated higher and closer to the driver. With embedded eSIMs, the infotainment system provides access to a range of online apps, including Spotify and Deezer.

The cabin is made more inviting with a sliding panoramic roof. Regular over-the-air software downloads reduce the need to visit a dealer, while a remote app allows owners to check the vehicle status and remotely lock/unlock, condition the cabin, and schedule EV charging via a smartphone.

Vegans are catered for with new leather-free textile options, including a Kvadrat-wool blend and a Kvadrat and Ebony perforated Ultrafabrics blend with polyurethane textile inserts. Cabins also have sophisticated new detailing, including moon-light chrome and dark anodised aluminium.

Externally, the enhanced Evoque features a subtle evolution of its reductive design, retaining its coupé-like silhouette, smooth surfacing, and retracting door handles. It wears the latest family grille to provide a unified look across the Range Rover brand and offers eight alloy wheel designs up to 21 inches in size.

The new super-slim headlamps with signature daytime running lights have a jewel-like appearance and feature the latest Pixel LED technology on the high-end HSE and Autobiography models. These hi-tech lights feature three times as many LEDs as previously for enhanced visibility at night. They respond to the road ahead, illuminate dark corners and verges, and cast shadows around oncoming vehicles to avoid dazzling.

Prof. Gerry McGovern OBE, chief creative officer at Jaguar Land Rover, says: “Range Rover Evoque’s unique personality has put its indelible mark on the automotive landscape. Its sophisticated design and timeless sense of modernity continue to strike that all-important emotional chord.”

There is a choice of Dynamic SE, Dynamic HSE, and Autobiography models in diesel and petrol-electric hybrid variants. The P300e plug-in electric hybrid offers the best of all worlds with an electric-only range of up to 62km and is able to dust the 0-100km/h sprint in 6.4 seconds. On a home charger the car can be fully charged in around two hours, or in just 30 minutes at a public fast charger.

Owners not averse to mud splattering their luxury SUVs can confidently do so thanks to the Evoque’s intelligent all-wheel drive system, with modes for Grass-Gravel-Snow, Mud-Ruts, and Sand.

To prevent expensive mishaps, a sophisticated camera system provides digital eyes on the surroundings, including ClearSight Ground View, which simulates a see-through bonnet by displaying the terrain under the front bumper on the infotainment screen.

• From the August edition of Wanted, 2023.