Whilst the recently-released Range Rover Evoque is a winner in every sense of the word in anybody’s eyes, this spectacular new vehicle has started to gather critical acclaim. We are sure this will only be the first of many awards. Motor Trend has named the Range Rover Evoque SUV of the year for 2011.
The prestigious award stringently tests ten of the world’s top SUVs in their new evolutions. The entrants this year were very diverse. However the job of the extensive panel of judges is not simply to compare the cars to one another. Each vehicle is tested, judged and scored on their independent performance across six groups of criteria. These are Advancement in Design, Engineering Excellence, Efficiency, Safety, Value, and Performance of Intended Function.
All the unique selling points of the vehicles are tested, to make sure that the cars deliver what they promise. The Evoque truly exceeds these expectations. The power of this new all-road leader is superb. What is amazing is the twenty-percent reduction in engine emissions despite the hike in power available.
The criteria are easily surpassed by the Evoque, bringing into play reduced noise pollution inside the cabin, yet the trademark Range Rover growl still emanating outside.
Contenders are tested on standing start acceleration, stopping, and steering and stability tests. For performance and handling, given the Evoque’s characteristics, it is no surprise that it scored top marks. As Motor Trend says ‘The Evoque runs on a turbocharged inline-4-cylinder engine. The motor has an output of 240hp and 251lb-ft of torque. Performance numbers are quite nice as well, measuring a 0-60mph time of 7.0 seconds in Dynamic trim and 6.7 seconds in Pure trim.’
The car instantly delighted when the judges saw the ‘spectacular’ exterior and sat in the luxurious and comfortable interior. ‘A fashion statement with ability, and fun to drive’, the Evoque certainly captured their hearts and minds.
The Evoque represents Range Rover’s offering to a completely new breed of 4×4 driver. Building on Range Rover’s legendary dominance of off-road vehicles, the Evoque meets the needs of a new generation of driver. Motor Trend recognises this as they declare that “The Evoque is meant to appeal to the buyer who ranks style, content, and fuel efficiency above approach and departure angles’’ They agreed that it really does take all-road driving into ‘new territory’.
All of the ten judges drive and evaluate all the cars much harder than their owners will drive them, so this is a really well-deserved win. They put the cars through a series of real world experiences. After this they still declared that this is a vehicle that ‘moves the needle forward, into the next day’. They agreed it is a vehicle that sets the standard for what SUVs should be in the future.