2020 Range Rover Evoque First Drive Review: It’s All New, But Is It Any Better?

Nothing like driving a new Range Rover over a gorge to test its mettle

The 2020 Range Rover Evoque is currently Land Rover’s volume leader.

Over nearly a decade in production, the first-generation Range Rover Evoque sold nearly 800,000 units worldwide. By far, it’s the brand’s best-selling model compared to its siblings. Now there’s a new version of the Evoque, and Land Rover invited Roman and a group of other journalists to Greece to try it out. We know Land Rover’s reputation for building capable off-road machines, but is this Range Rover Evoque truly better than its predecessor?

2020 Range Rover Evoque
TFL headed to Greece to test out the 2020 Range Rover Evoque. [Photo: Land Rover]

From the outside, the design of the 2020 Range Rover Evoque doesn’t look radically different than the outgoing model. It has flush, slimmer headlights up front and taillights in the rear. It also has flush-fitting door handles. In terms of its overall shape though, it’s an evolution on the old Evoque’s design language. Mind you, all the panels are new, even if they immediately look familiar to the old model. That’s no bad thing, since the previous model wasn’t losing major points in the looks department.

It’s underneath, Land Rover contends, where most of the differences manifest. For instance, the 2020 Range Rover Evoque sits on the company’s Premium Transverse Architecture. It’s a platform Land Rover developed to accommodate electrified vehicles. Although, there aren’t currently plans to move the Evoque in the same direction as the full-sized Range Rover and Range Rover Sport just yet.

2020 Range Rover Evoque

Powertrain

What you do get under the hood of the 2020 Range Rover Evoque is a similar powerplant to other Land Rover and Jaguar models. It’s the 2.0-liter Ingenium four-cylinder engine, and it’s available in two states of tune. The lesser P250 model manages 246 horsepower and 269 lb-ft of torque. On the other hand, the top-end P300 makes 296 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. U.S. versions of the Evoque have a 48-volt mild hybrid system on the P300 models. Whichever model you get, the power is routed to all four wheels through a 9-speed automatic transmission.

All-wheel drive is standard here, but the car can disconnect the rear wheels for better fuel economy. To that end, the 2020 Range Rover Evoque P250 gets 20 City / 27 Highway / 23 Combined mpg. The hybridized P300 on the other hand, scores better in the city but worse on the highway. It manages 21 City / 26 Highway / 23 Combined mpg. According to the EPA, those are slightly worse figures than the previous generation Evoque.

Technology

As with any other Range Rover, you’d expect the 2020 Range Rover Evoque to come stuffed with technology. And you’d be right: From the ClearSight Ground View system to the adaptive all-wheel drive system that can automatically choose the best drive program to suit the conditions, the Evoque isn’t short for features. That ClearSight system lets you see “through” the front of the car. By doing that, it gives you a clearer picture of obstacles and where your wheels are placed. Check out how the system works below:

Of course, it’s not just off-road technology that has improved in the 2020 Range Rover Evoque either. On that front, the 8.3 inches of ground clearance help as well. But it also has a wide range of comfort features, such as three total displays in the instrument cluster and down the center stack. From there, you can control navigation, climate control, and infotainment features all by touching the screens.

The center stack features touch-sensitive dials as well, rather than using any physical buttons. While the infotainment system has also improved over the previous generation’s, you do also get Apple CarPlay compatibility.

Pricing

The 2020 Range Rover Evoque is making its way to Land Rover dealers in the very near future. Naturally, this is still a Range Rover, so the starting price is not what you’d call cheap. The new version starts from $43,645 for the base P250 S. That’s about $850 more expensive than the previous version.

2020 Range Rover Evoque

From there, the prices climb to $48,195 for the SE trim. The P300 model is around $4,000 more expensive, starting off at $47,595. Finally, getting the loaded First Edition model will set you back at least a whopping $57,845. Keep in mind that price comes before options.

Stay tuned for more updates! Come back to TFLcar.com for more news, views and brand new Range Rover Evoque reviews.