Press Report : Land Rover reveals UK price for the Evoque

David Jolley, Automotive News Europe, 5 April 2011

Range Rover Evoque
Range Rover Evoque

The Range Rover Evoque’s starting price will be £27,955 (about 32,000 euros) in the UK, Land Rover said.

The SUV will be offered in both five-door and coupe body styles and will go on sale in September. Customers will have a choice of two 2.2-litre turbodiesels, one that offers 148bhp and the other 187bhp, and a 2.0-litre petrol engine with a performance rating of 237bhp.

All variants will be offered with six-speed manual or automatic transmissions, and, for the first time in a Range Rover, the option of front-wheel drive as well as four-wheel drive.

Body styles

Land Rover says the sporty Range Rover Evoque three-door coupe will be fitted with two individual rear seats, with customers having the option of ordering a three-seat bench if preferred.

The Evoque five-door model, with which the automaker is targeting traditional SUV customers and families, has a roofline that is 30mm taller than the coupe’s to offer extra head and shoulder room for rear-seat passengers.

[Source: Automotive News Europe]

Clive Goldthorp

17 Comments

  1. Cheaply? That’s because they expect customers to raid the extensive options list as I doubt the base model is very well specced. A bit like offering a piece of wood that’s been primered, but needs a gloss coat…

    Do traditional families have £30,000 to spend (borrow) on a car these days?

  2. The Evoque is an interesting alternative to the Disco – certainly more chic for the fashion conscious buyer. After all, who needs towing capacity?

  3. The spec on the Evoque, even the entry level model, is actually not that poverty spec. Land Rover, in line with every other manufacturer who invests time and money in developing accessories alongside the cars themselves, will make further money on the optional enhancement packages and accessories – that is the way the motor industry works.

    At the end of the day, Range Rover is a premium brand and that is reflected in the pricing and equipment of the Evoque. Admittedly this model is too expensive for me to consider, had I have been in the market for a new car, and I would personally rather have seen further enhancement to the Freelander (such as a new 3-door version) than another model range bearing the Range Rover name.

    However, having said that, the Evoque will undoubtedly sell in large numbers, be a commercial success for Land Rover and, just as importantly, further secure British manufacturing jobs. Good luck to it!

  4. How do they do it so cheaply? Let’s not forget the car is closely related to the Freelander, which is, in turn, based on a modified Ford platform. The engines are Ford/PSA units which are manufactured in their millions for installation in Ford, Peugeot and Citroen cars. There are massive economies of scale and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

    Indeed, if BMC/BL/ARG etc. had adopted a similar approach instead of having bespoke, small value platforms and component sets for Austin, Morris and Triumph vehicles they might still exist today!

  5. Paul :
    How do they do it so cheaply? Let’s not forget the car is closely related to the Freelander, which is, in turn, based on a modified Ford platform. The engines are Ford/PSA units which are manufactured in their millions for installation in Ford, Peugeot and Citroen cars. There are massive economies of scale and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

    Indeed, if BMC/BL/ARG etc. had adopted a similar approach instead of having bespoke, small value platforms and component sets for Austin, Morris and Triumph vehicles they might still exist today!

    I agree with your comments. Jaguar Land Rover also announced late last year that it is currently looking to reduce the number of platforms it produces, whereby new generation Jaguar and Land Rover models will share the same basic platform architecture, albeit with obvious engineering changes to meet the needs of each company. This will present further improvements to economies of scale in the medium and long term.

  6. I believe this price is probably about right – more expensive than a Freelander but without the unjustifiable premium that BMW and the like try to extort. I think we’ll be seeing loads of these on the streets very soon thereby keeping UK factories and employees working. Great news!!

  7. I have the same problem with my Elise, although the easy chair fitted on the back OK! I had to hire a Transit for half a day to move the sofa. Perhaps that is not what people buy these cars for…

  8. I got a single mattress in the back of my Jag S-TYPE the other day with the seats down. I’m not sure a sofa would squeeze in there, though…

  9. Paul :
    How do they do it so cheaply? Let’s not forget the car is closely related to the Freelander, which is, in turn, based on a modified Ford platform. The engines are Ford/PSA units which are manufactured in their millions for installation in Ford, Peugeot and Citroen cars. There are massive economies of scale and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

    Indeed, if BMC/BL/ARG etc. had adopted a similar approach instead of having bespoke, small value platforms and component sets for Austin, Morris and Triumph vehicles they might still exist today!

    Are you sure the Freelander is based on a Ford platform?! I thought it wasn’t…

    Incidentally, customer engines often aren’t cheap as the technology is bought in i.e. manufacturers pay for the privilege from the donor manufacturer.

  10. The Evoque’s a Nafflander in a posh frock – the entry-level model will be absolute poverty spec, with 2wd and a Moulinex under the bonnet for that alledgedly low price. I reckon that, by the time any options have been spec’d up, the price will be nearer £40k.

  11. I don’t usually comment on other peoples messages as they are entitled to their opinions, but I find it incredible that so many people have negative comments about a car that has just received 5 stars from Auto Express and has defined a new sector of the market by all accounts. I think that, if the Evoque was German, the comments would be very different.

    I am sure that this car will sell by the thousand and be the most successful British export since the Mini of 2001 (another car with huge international success that people continually criticise). Surely the Evoque is more likely to have a worldwide success than previous attempts? Think Rover SD1 or Rover 800 which sold well here but bombed internationally.

    I am, like many here, not in the market for an Evoque becuase I earn a very modest income due to the recession – I have to settle for an MG ZT+ 2.5 which is to me fantastic and one of the best cars I have ever owned.

    Good luck to JLR – roll on the new small Jaguar and the new 2.2 diesel XF!!

  12. @Simon
    I think that the Evoque’s fantastic – it must be a ‘Simon’ thing!

    Take any German premium brand car such as a BMW X3 etc. and look at what you need to spend on the options list for all those gizmo’s and gadgets.

    What JLR now offer is a range of cars that cater for all tastes from the rugged Defender to the ultimate Chelsea Tractor, the Range Rover.

    I wonder if there will be a G4 version of the Evoque or, for that matter, a Paris-Dakar type racer… One thing is for sure, this new Land Rover is going to sell like hotcakes.

  13. You cannot buy an Evoque without leather. Actually, one cannot buy an XJ or XK without leather. However, BMW and Mercedes both offer cloth trim on their top models – they obviously take some of their Middle East, Indian and veggie markets more seriously than JLR.

    Not everyone wants to be like the Flintstones and sit on animal skins in the 21st Century. It is ironic that, before WW2, the chauffeur sat on leather and the wealthy on cloth in expensive cars.

    Anyway, for this reason, I cannot consider an Evoque, Range Rover or Jaguar – it’s a shame that not even their Special Project Division can do it.

  14. Jeff :£28000 does not seem cheap for a car that you cannot move a sofa in.

    Actually, it’s the price on a lease that matters. Does it fall within the standard middle management car allowance? The list price is a bit irrelevant.

    I think this is a very smart move by JLR. It generates more volume off an existing platform and keeps Halewood busy. It expands export markets like China – crowded cities and one child families – and domestically it’s a defensive hedge against rising fuel prices.

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