Now it's spawned the 2012 Range Rover Evoque, and finally, at long last, it makes hot sexy sense.
The Evoque may be the first truly sensuous SUV in history. It's a captivating stiletto heel in a closet full of Land Rover earth shoes. Erase some of the Rover-bred notions you've applied to the Evoque's performance, the ones that imply trucky handling and rustic V-8 torque. Derived from the LR2, the Evoque throws down an entirely fascinating new gauntlet with its 240-horsepower, turbocharged four-cylinder. There's less room than the LR2, but the Evoque is wider, so overall interior volume isn't intolerable. Land Rover's tackling the brand-stretching Evoque launch with three models and those two body styles. The five-door comes in Pure, Prestige and Dynamic models; the two-door skips Prestige trim. All versions have the standard-issue power features, entertainment features like Bluetooth, USB, and an LCD touchscreen to drive the Meridian audio system as well as phone and optional hard-drive navigation systems. Opt for Pure or Dynamic versions if you want splashy colors with twists of Alexander McQueen; get into a Prestige if your turn-ons include libraries, mahogany paneling, and anything by Laura Bennett.
It's toyed with hybrid concepts, but now Land Rover can lay claim to the greening of SUVs, since the Range Rover Evoque's slimmed-down body and downsized drivetrain pay it forward with better gas mileage and, by extension, a happy planet.
The new Range Rover Evoque is the smallest car Range Rover has ever sold, and we use the word "car" deliberately.
The 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque skews far more toward what most people expect from a passenger car than it does the go-anywhere, climb-anything luxury sport utility vehicles that Range Rover has sold since 1970.
It's the first four-cylinder Range Rover, using a 240-horsepower, 2.0-liter direct-injected and turbocharged engine that it calls "Si4" but Americans might know better as the EcoBoost option newly offered this year in Ford Edge and Ford Explorer models.
For fuel economy, the results are mixed: The estimated EPA ratings for the 2012 Evoque are 19 mpg city, 28 mpg highway, for a combined rating of 22 or 23 mpg.
Driving the Evoque only reinforces the car aspect. Like all Land Rovers, it includes the four-mode Terrain Response system that manages the engine, transmission, braking, and suspension differently based on what the driver has dialed in via a console button (the modes are Normal, Snow, Mud & Ruts, and Sand).
On the outside, the Evoque is a sort of stylish station wagon, in two-door or four-door forms. Finally, in the green column, Land Rover says each Evoque includes about 35 pounds of recycled plastics.
2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque: An all-new compact SUV, the awkwardly named Land Rover Range Rover Evoque was designed to complement the similarly sized LR2 rather than replace it. 2012 Land Rover LR2: With the Evoque sucking all the air out of the room when it comes to Land Rover's compact SUVs, the LR2 heads into 2012 with no significant changes.
2011 Land Rover LR4: There are only minimal changes to the 2012 Land Rover LR4 and most of them are confined to the interior. The standard audio system has been upgraded to a 14-speaker, 380-watt setup. 2012 Land Rover Range Rover: The big news for the Range Rover is the addition of the top-of-the-line Autobiography Ultimate Edition. It's hailed by Land Rover as the most luxurious Range Rover ever thanks to a hand-crafted interior complete with iPad docks for rear passengers and a teak-lined cargo bay. 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Sport: The 2012 Range Rover Sport essentially gets the same interior upgrades as the LR4. So there's some new switchgear, a revised instrument panel, improved audio systems, better connectivity through Bluetooth and a "Whitefire" connector for rear-seat passengers.