Skip advert
Advertisement

Range Rover Evoque - Practicality, comfort and boot space

The Range Rover Evoque is more practical than before, but it’s still a bit cramped in the rear

Practicality, comfort and boot space rating

3.9

How we review cars
Price
£43,660 - £58,865
Find your Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
Offers from our trusted partners on this car and its predecessors...
Or are you looking to sell your car?
Value my car
Fast, no-nonsense car selling
Value my car
Advertisement

The Range Rover Evoque may look much like the old car to the untrained eye, but with just a few Velar-inspired tweaks a near decade-old design has been brought right up-to-date. The car has a longer wheelbase than before to try to free up some more rear passenger space, but that sloping roofline still poses an issue for taller occupants.

Advertisement - Article continues below

In the front, a good driving position is easily found using the standard electrically adjustable front seats and driver memory settings.  All versions come with heated front seats.

Rearward visibility isn’t fantastic thanks to that narrow rear window and slim glasshouse, but the optional ClearSight rear-view mirror and 360-degree surround camera system (both standard on Autobiography) help to solve this issue. The former uses a roof-mounted camera to display an uninterrupted, widescreen view of the road behind or – at the push of a button – can be returned to a conventional mirror. Parking sensors front and rear are standard.

There are four generously sized storage bins, a large cubby under the centre front armrest and a useful rubberised tray on the centre console that’ll happily store a phone or wallet – cupholders are located beneath this.

Size

The Range Rover Evoque measures 4,371mm long, 1,649mm tall and 1,996mm wide (2,100mm including mirrors). For comparison, the Volvo XC40 is a few millimetres taller and longer, but a shade narrower at 1,910mm wide (excluding side mirrors).

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

The BMW X2 is lower, measuring just over 1,526mm tall, but it's roughly the same length and width as the Evoque – 4,360mm and 2,098mm including mirrors, respectively.

Leg room, head room & passenger space

There’s enough space in the Evoque to sit one six-footer behind another, but despite a small increase in leg room over the original car, the rear-seat occupant will still feel a little hemmed-in.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Longer journeys may become uncomfortable for adults in the rear as a result; sitting three abreast will also prove pretty cosy as the car tapers towards its rear. The sloping roofline will annoy anyone much over six feet tall. Rivals like the Volvo XC40 and Audi Q3 do a much better job of rear-seat packaging.

A pair of ISOFIX child seat mounts are fitted to the outer positions of the rear bench.

Boot

In the boot, there is 472 litres on offer with the seats up, which isn’t particularly outstanding compared to rivals. For example, BMW quotes 470 litres for the X2 and Lexus 545 litres for its NX. Thanks to clever packaging, however, the boot space doesn’t change for the plug-in hybrid model. 

Fold the seats down, and there’s 1,156 litres of space to play with. The rear seats fold on a 40:20:40 split via a handle in the boot. In true Land Rover tradition, there’s a huge selection of practicality-boosting accessories to add – including seat-back stowage, a rubber mat for the boot and a rear bumper protection cover for when loading.

Towing

The Evoque lives up to its badge when it comes to towing. There’s a choice of an electrically deployable tow bar or a detachable item, along with Land Rover’s Advanced Tow Assist, which helps demystify the dark art of reversing a trailer using the rear view camera.

All Evoque models can tow an unbraked trailer of up to 750kg; choose an automatic gearbox and diesel engine combination, and there’s up to 2000kg of braked trailer towing ability. The entry-level diesel with two-wheel drive and a manual gearbox is limited to 1,600kg as are the plug-in hybrid models. Maximum tow ball weight across the range is 100kg. 

If you need more towing capacity, you’ll need the four-wheel drive 40 TDI Audi Q3, which can pull up to 2,200kg.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Which Is Best

Cheapest

  • Name
    1.5 P160 S 5dr 2WD Auto
  • Gearbox type
    Auto
  • RRP
    £43,660

Most Economical

  • Name
    1.5 P270e S 5dr Auto
  • Gearbox type
    Auto
  • RRP
    £49,590

Fastest

  • Name
    1.5 P270e S 5dr Auto
  • Gearbox type
    Auto
  • RRP
    £49,590
Senior news reporter

A keen petrol-head, Alastair Crooks has a degree in journalism and worked as a car salesman for a variety of manufacturers before joining Auto Express in Spring 2019 as a Content Editor. Now, as our senior news reporter, his daily duties involve tracking down the latest news and writing reviews.

Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Car Deal of the Day: fuel-sipping Toyota Yaris Cross with new tech for £257 per month
Toyota Yaris Cross - front tracking

Car Deal of the Day: fuel-sipping Toyota Yaris Cross with new tech for £257 per month

Toyota’s recently updated, highly efficient hybrid SUV is our Deal of the Day for 2 November
News
2 Nov 2024
New Suzuki e Vitara revealed: Japanese brand’s first EV only offers 248-mile range
Suzuki e Vitara reveal - front

New Suzuki e Vitara revealed: Japanese brand’s first EV only offers 248-mile range

The compact Suzuki e Vitara electric SUV will be available with four-wheel drive, and should arrive next summer
News
4 Nov 2024
Renault Scenic Iconic Long Range long-term test: head-to-head with the Ford Explorer
Renault Scenic long-termer - header

Renault Scenic Iconic Long Range long-term test: head-to-head with the Ford Explorer

First report: French SUV joins the fleet and takes on Ford’s new Explorer
Long-term tests
2 Nov 2024