Press Releases | Lyon-Waugh Auto Group

PEABODY, Mass. – It takes a special vehicle to stick out from the wide range of new cars and trucks released every year, and few made as big an impression in 2011 as the 2012 Range Rover Evoque. Arriving at Land Rover dealers last September, the compact utility vehicle has been the focus of dozens of awards, most recently taking home the title of Autoweek magazine’s “Best of the Best” Truck for 2012. The Evoque was also chosen as the 2012 Motor Trend SUV of the Year in December and the Top Gear 2011 Car of the Year in November.

Only all-new or substantially updated vehicles were eligible to contend for Autoweek’s “Best of the Best” awards, which are given out to one car and one truck annually. Contenders were graded on drivetrain, ride quality, handling, exterior, interior design and fun factor in a process that began in January 2011. The 2012 Audi A7 was chosen as the winner in the car category, and both it and the Evoque will be honored at the 2012 Detroit auto show that begins today.

“The Evoque takes the capability and luxury of a full-size Range Rover and condenses it into a compact, stylish shape,” said Dave Edwards, general manager of Greater Boston Land Rover dealership Land Rover Peabody. “It doesn’t look or drive like anything else on the market, and that is a breath of fresh air for our customers and magazine editors alike.”

Autoweek editors praised the Range Rover Evoque for being just as capable as its larger brethren, despite being the only vehicle in the lineup with a four-cylinder engine. While a mighty V8 has become the go-to powerplant for Range Rovers, the Evoque features a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine that delivers greater fuel efficiency without sacrificing as much in performance, producing 240 horsepower while returning up to 28 mpg on the highway.

Powerplant size isn’t the only area where the Evoque deviates from the traditional Range Rover game plan. The Evoque’s exterior, which sports a raked-back windshield, sloping roofline, bulging fender flares and hawk-eyed headlights, looks like it came straight off a stylist’s sketchbook, and that’s because the vehicle has seen little change since it was revealed as the LRX Concept at the Detroit auto show in 2008.

While the Evoque’s styling may be something new from Land Rover, the company’s DNA is intact in the vehicle’s rugged capability. The compact SUV comes with the automaker’s Terrain Response system, which allows the Evoque to tailor its ride and handling to master various conditions, whether it is sand, mud or snow. Incorporating Dynamic Stability Control, Electronic Traction Control, Roll Stability Control and even Hill Descent Control, the system helps drivers make molehills out of mountain passes.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the ways that the Evoque is different from other vehicles in the lineup,” Edwards noted. “But what’s most notable is that the Evoque hasn’t disappointed those who expect great things from Land Rover in terms of capability. If it had, there would have been no way the vehicle could have taken home so many awards since its launch.”