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What’s it like?
The original Range Rover Evoque was an incredible sales success for parent company Land Rover, with more than 800,000 sold during its life cycle from 2011 to 2018. So, when it came time to create the second-generation Evoque, the British company played it very safe on the exterior styling – to the point that the newer Mk2 looked almost identical to the Mk1; indeed, the only external dimensional change was that the second-gen car was 1mm longer. Nevertheless, the Mk2 made several key improvements, proving itself as desirable as its forebear. A natural rival to the upmarket likes of the Audi Q3, the BMWs X1 and X2, the Mercedes GLA, the Lexus NX and the Volvo XC40, the Evoque can also be considered as a premium alternative to physically larger but more mainstream fare, such as the Ford Kuga, Kia Sportage, Nissan Qashqai, Peugeot 3008, Skoda Karoq and Volkswagen Tiguan.
Which model to go for?
Jaguar Land Rover was going through a derivative-badging rationalisation programme when the Evoque Mk2 hit the market, which was very simple to understand. It meant that a fitted powertrain was denoted by an alphanumeric that was made up thus: the prefix letter denoted the main fuel type (P for petrol, D for diesel); the number then told the horsepower of the engine (e.g., 150, 240, 300); and if there was any suffix letter, it was a small ‘e’ for electric, signifying that the plug-in hybrid drivetrain was installed.
There were multiple variants based on this, but here in Ireland our CO2-focused tax laws mean that by far and away the most common model you will find on the used market now is the P300e plug-in hybrid. It teams a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with an 80kW electric motor and 14.9kWh battery pack, resulting in healthy peak outputs of 309hp and 540Nm. Powering all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission, this compact Range Rover could achieve 0-100km/h in a rapid 6.4 seconds, yet it also had up to 62km of electric-driving range and emitted only 31-34g/km of CO2. Better still, it had a rare PHEV feature of being able to be recharged on DC rapid connections, not just AC charging, with a fastest replenishment speed of 50kW – which can fully top the Evoque hybrid’s battery back up in significantly less than half-an-hour if needed.
Beyond the P300e, front-wheel-drive 2.0-litre turbodiesels are the only other real option for second-hand buyers. There may be a few early 150hp models still advertised as ‘TD4’ Evoques, but really they’re either D150 or D165 mild-hybrid variants. They’re fine and offer a fuss-free Evoque ownership experience, but the PHEV is going to be the stronger all-round choice.
Incidentally, while the Mk1 Evoque was sold in three body styles, the Mk2 came purely as the five-door, as apparently 95 per cent of the Mk1s were optioned with this shell.
Does anything go wrong?
Jaguar Land Rover, for all its improvements in this area over the years, has a reputation for shaky in-car electrics and, sadly, the Mk2 Evoque is no exception to this rule. Therefore, check any model you are looking at doesn’t have warning lights showing on the dash, or any issues with the ‘Pivi’ infotainment system.
Furthermore, Land Rover issued no fewer than ten recalls for this generation of Evoque, which relate to the oil feed pipe on diesel models; the fuel injector pipe; the vehicle-sensitive locking mechanism; a potential burn-rate fire hazard with Dinamica cloth seats; the second-row seatbelt retractors; the speedometer flicking randomly between km/h and mph; failures with the 48-volt mild-hybrid system; an incorrectly calibrated eCall function; wiper fuses shorting out; and the fuel gauge misreading the levels in the tank.