Range Rover Evoque nips at the heels of big brother

The Land Rover Range Rover has been called the world's most aspired to automobile, but the smaller Evoque is quickly gaining on big brother. The 2014 Range Rover Evoque will bow late this year with major upgrades to the model. A new transmission, drivetrain, exterior styling, rims, and other aspects of the car have been improved by Land Rover on the very successful model. One of the biggest changes is to the host of driving aids available.

The new 2014 Range Rover Evoque will now come with a 9 speed transmission made by renowned suppler ZF. ZF presently supplies the 8 speed transmission on a huge variety of cars from all automakers around the world. The new 9 speed will have ever great ratio spread for improved efficiency, performance and comfort. The 2.0 liter four cylinder turbocharged engine with 240 horsepower continues on. We’ve driven the Evoque both on and off road and the engine is well matched to the vehicle.

The driven wheels on the 2014 Evoque are controlled by a sophisticated driveline. There are now active differentials to aid the car in turning and to reduce understeer. This is a feature that even entry level cars of this size such as the Toyota RAV 4 have now and it will be well suited to the sporty driving nature of the Evoque. The all-wheel drive system is now on-demand. This means that above 22 MPH the system decouples and the Evoque is a two-wheel drive vehicle unless the situation calls for power to be routed to all four wheels. This is a sensible change for Range Rover and the vehicle will be more fuel efficient with such a design.

Looking at eh exterior we can see that the Range Rover Evoque is now a little more butch looking. The car has lost a bit of its metrosexual look and now seems to impart a little more bulldog attitude. Land Rover promises now color combinations and options, as well as new alloy wheels for 2014. The Range Rover logo is also changed on the grill, trim, wheels and tailgate.

The 2014 Range Rover Evoque plans to compete in the now very competitive luxury compact crossover market, and therefore, it needs all manner of driving aids to stay in the game. Rear Traffic Detection, Adaptive Cruise Control with Queue Assist, Forward Alert and Intelligent Emergency Braking are now available. These are also items one might find on a Mazda CX-5 or RAV 4, so therefore necessary to compete. However, the parking aids are novel. The Evoque now offers assistance getting into the center of a parking bay in a “normal” parking situation. The car can also drive itself out of a parallel parked situation.

The new 2014 Range Rover Evoque will be available in the fall of this year.