Archive for 2015
Private Fleet Car Review: 2015 Range Rover Evoque Dynamic.
There’s SUV’s. There’s AWD. Then there’s Luxury. Brands once thought of as never going down the luxury SUV path, such as Jaguar, Bentley, even Lamborghini, have done so. Yet there’s one brand that spans luxury through to bare bones and offers a very diverse range to boot. A Wheel Thing looks at the lifestyle choice offering from Land Rover’s luxury arm, Range Rover’s Evoque, in Dynamic specification.
Powersource: The vehicle supplied came with the EcoBoost turbo 2.0L petrol engine (a diesel is also available), pumping out 177 kW and 350 Nm and puts those numbers to the tarmac via a sophisticated all wheel drive system with electronic terrain selection and a nine ratio automatic transmission.
It takes fuel from a 68L tank whilst motoring to 100 km in 7.6 seconds. Range Rover claim 10.3L per 100 kilometres on the urban cycle, 6.4L/100 km for the highway and 7.8L/100 km in the combined cycle.
The Suit: It’s a style not to everyone’s taste, with a stocky presence; a sharp wedge shape, a bluff front end that tapers into a steeply sloping roof line that hints at a lack of interior rear seat room. There’s different front end treatments for the Evoque, with the Dynamic’s front being served a horizontal cross bar in the lower air intake, bracketed by sharply angled joiners, whilst the main grille receives the blackout treatment.
LED driving lights frame the Xenon main lights, with a strong Range Rover look under the current design philosophy highlighted by an almost “Spirit of Ecstasy” profile to the head and tail light cluster design.
The Dynamic Coupe is, by virtue of its name, a three door design, with two longish main entry doors and a powered rear tailgate. The doors themselves are nicely balanced, not requiring any major extra exertion to open or close. The rear door itself rises and falls at the mere touch of a rubber button on the outside, a push button in the lower plastic extremity.
Rolling stock is 20 inch six spoke alloys, wrapped in 245/45 Continental tyres. There’s little give in the sidewalls, making the electronically adjustable suspension do the work. It’s a compact car, too, at 4335 mm in length, 1605 mm in height and a whopping 2090 m in total width at the front with the mirrors folded out.
On The Inside:No surprises that it looks and feels sumptuous inside; from the soft touch and fabric covered dash, to the rising and rotary gear selector, from the superbly comfortable and supportive seats to the surprising amount of rear seat room.
From the moment you unlock the door via the remote or touch pad on the handle, it’s luxury all the way. There’s provision for three memory positions for the leather wrapped driver’s seat, the premium look and feel of the dash, the blue backlit Range Rover logo in the door sill, complemented by the logo that shines from under the wing mirrors. The test car came fitted with the optional full length glass roof, opening up the interior to the outside world visually.
The seats have a flip lever and are motored electrically in order to allow access for rear seat passengers. It’s a nice touch but no good when you’re in a hurry. The rear seat itself is configured for just two, not three, people but due to the width of the Evoque, it’s a comfortable pew, plus the seats are set deep which provides better than expected head room.
Although the engine provides a nice purr, Range Rover fitted the Dynamic with a Meridian speaker system, a well known high end British company; it’s operated via the touchscreen, has numerous sound parameters and is, as expected, a full and nicely balanced sound. Below the centre dash is a hollow back panel, lit by LEDs and changeable in colour and brightness.
Also, in the centre console is a set of buttons for the various off road driving options, including one called, naturally, Dynamic. When pressed, it changes the driving mood plus lights up the dash in a stark red. The profile, however, precludes seriously wide vision rearwards from the front seats; yes, there is a camera when Reverse is selected but when on the move it’s difficult to get any rear clear vision.
On The Road:
The turbo four has gained much acclaim for its flexibility, with that torque figure and the range it’s spread over making for a easy driving experience. It’s smooth and linear with a gearbox that works. The nine speed auto does, mostly. There were some occasional clunks, indecision and hesitancy, with enough lack of smoothness in the change at times to dull the effect of that engine.
Acceleration is decent by the seat of the pants feel, seeming to be quicker than the official figures, when the right pedal is given the command. It’s here the gearbox shines, with rapid, imperceptible, shifts, digging deep into the torque curve. It was more under light throttle the aforementioned issues appeared.
The ride quality was, somewhat unexpectedly, a touch harder than anticipated. The size of the wheels and the rubber would certainly have contributed, however the suspension didn’t feel as if there was much “give” past a minor amount of small bump absorption. As a result, however, there’s minimal body roll, dive and squat, with road undulations reduced to a single pogo.
Steering is light, responsive, communicative yet the big tyres don’t tramline, allowing the tiller to stay well within the driver’s control. On most road surfaces, too, there’s minimal external noise or tyre rumble that makes it way into the cabin. Handling wise it’s planted, no discernible understeer and thanks to that wide footprint, no provokable oversteer.
Braking is well modulated on the pedal, with feedback from within the initial travel downwards of the pedal providing a positive impression; there’s bite aplenty and hauls up the Evoque confidently and without any fuss, under light braking. When the brake pedal is given the heavy foot, ABS makes itself known but not to the extent that people unfamiliar with how the pedal will pulse and the system chatters back will lift the foot….
The centre console has buttons to change the driving dynamics, through Snow, Gravel, Mud, Wet Grass etc and it works. The changes seem minor but they are effective in how the handling and overall setup of the car changes, with sensors reading the road surface conditions and adjusting the throttle and brakes as required thousands of time per second.
The Wrap: Range Rover delivers on its luxury SUV promise. The Evoque Dynamic Coupe is, certainly, a lifestyle choice vehicle, in that two doors and four seats really aren’t a family orientated gear set. Price wise, at over $70K, it’s not within the “average” family sights, pricewise.
There’s plenty of tech to play with, for the technologically minded and it’s got a tractable, flexible engine with a gearbox that worked near nigh perfectly and more than enough room for one or two people and their luggage. At 1640 kilos, for its size, it’s not as light as it should be and Range Rover’s official fuel figures of 10.3L per 100 kilometres for an urban cycle, however, won’t trouble the likely buyers of the Evoque Coupe.
Fit and finish is of the quality one expects, from the feel of the cloth through to the sight of the gear selector rising majestically through the centre console.
The driving position imbues confidence, and there’s plenty of vision forwards. Rearwards, though…..
There’s an astounding range of options available, allowing a new buyer to personalise the Evoque to within an inch of its life and that’s what a true luxury brand offers discerning buyers. The Range Rover Evoque Dynamic is not in the reach of ordinary men (and women) but those that can grasp it, it’s well worth the time spent with it.
For information on Range Rover and Land Rover, head here: http://www.landrover.com.au/index.html
The Car.
Engine: 2.0L petrol with turbocharger.
Transmission: 9 speed automatic.
Power/Torque: 110 kW/340 Nm @ 5500 rpm/1750 rpm.
Fuel: 68L tank.
Economy: 10.4/6.4/7.8 (L per 100 km, urban,highway,combined).
Weight: 1640 kg.
Warranty: 3 year/100,000 km with Roadside Assistance.
Stereotypes: The Urban Tractor
Usually Seen: Parked in suburban driveways (but only in the better suburbs), outside the gates of private schools and near sports clubs. Occasionally spotted near chic cafés, shopping malls and hairdressers.
Typical Examples: Audi Q7 , Mercedes M-Class and Range Rover at the expensive end of the spectrum; Mistubishi Pajero , Hyundai Santa Fe and Ford Territory at the cheaper end.
Description: For a start, we need to define an urban tractor. An urban tractor, unlike a farm tractor, doesn’t get to see much mud, unless you count mud on the bottom of soccer boots. An urban tractor lives in the suburbs and was purchased as a family vehicle for safety reasons. The idea is that bigger cars will come off better in a ding and the high position gives the driver a better view of the road… when she (usually she) is not relying on the rear parking sensors, the blind spot monitor and all the other safety gadgets. It has AWD either part time or full time, but this is because it’s safer on the road rather than because the family goes off road a lot – unless you count mounting the kerb so the kids can be dropped off as close as possible to the soccer club gate as possible.
The urban tractor is usually (but not always) driven by a woman with the standard issue of 2.5 children. The children in question can be any age but are typically school aged. The urban tractor does a lot of Mum’s Taxi duty, and there’s certainly a lot of duty to be done. The taxi duty starts when Madison, Ella, Ethan or Jackson started at the Montessori preschool. Duty continued once the kiddies started at primary school and just about doubled ferrying them to all the extra-curricular activities (got to make sure that they get every possible advantage, you know): piano lessons, swimming lessons, soccer and gym, and probably after-school maths and reading coaching, too. Afterwards, the urban tractor takes Mum to work or to wherever she goes on her day off.
The urban tractor may or may not contain a dog at times. Once upon a time, this would have been a Labrador; today, it is more likely to be a Cockapoo or similar designer dog (with a decent dose of poodle in the makeup because they’re hypoallergenic).
The urban tractor is all about the kids and their safety. You may catch a glimpse of the kids in their Pumpkin Patch clothing when you are beside an urban tractor at the lights (best case scenario) or at an intersection, where it is a pain if you are turning and the massive urban tractor is blocking your view. They may not look back at you – they may be watching a seat-back DVD or fooling around on a tablet device. But it’s for their advantage and well-being that the urban tractor has been chosen. Mum would be driving a smart little hatchback or sleek sedan otherwise. But it is for the kids’ benefit that the urban tractor is parked on the footpath outside the after-school tutor’s premises and as close as possible to the gate. Can’t have them walking in the rain that might give them pneumonia or the sun that will burn them, can we?
Unfortunately, the safety-first mentality only applies to the kids inside the vehicle itself – the ones that are the offspring (usually) of the driver. The front and rear parking sensors will help minimise the horrible potential of how a driver can’t see a seven-year-old behind or in front of the vehicle. And woe betide you if you ride a bike past the urban tractor as the doors are flung open (but Sophie’s late for ballet lessons – can’t you understand that she comes first?).
Safe and happy driving, even if you aren’t in an urban tractor with a seat-back DVD screen,
Megan
The Integrated Road: Android Auto.
Technology can move at a blinding pace, bewilderingly so at times. A person born in late 1903 will have been there when the (allegedly) first powered flight by mankind took place at Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, in the US. Just under 66 years later they would have seen mankind walk upon the moon for the first time and just 12 years later, the beginning of the space shuttle era.
Science fiction postulated the use of mobile communication devices, most notably in the legendary tv series, Star Trek. Motorola pioneered the use of flip phones, exactly like the communicators shown, then, in 1987, the new series showed the crew using touch style badges for communication, as well as media devices suspiciously like the tablets that are commonplace today.
As seems to be the nature of business, there’s two competing brands, Apple and Microsoft. Enter a third option, in the form of the operating system known as Android. Backed by technological giant, Google, Android’s forte is being flexible, tweakable, customisable. Companies such as Samsung, LG and Sony utilise the base platform in their smartphones, themselves a device seemingly around for ever yet have been in the light for less than a decade. Now the automotive industry looks to take on the system, alongside Apple’s version called CarPlay, in a further effort to integrate technology, real and useable technology we use at home and at the office, into our cars.
Android Auto uses both touch screen and voice activation, starting with an app that’s downloaded to a car’s built in navigation and entertainment system. A smart phone with Android is then connected. The catch is this, at the moment: it needs to be the Android 5.0 OS in order for the system to work. But if you’re familiar with Android then the Android Auto will fall to hand just as easily in usage.
Of note is the change in navigation; the setup uses Google Maps and integrates voice activated controls and direction requests. There may also be lane guidance, traffic updates and more. Then there’s the music app, allowing streaming of music, access to your own music library and music from Google Play Music.
The voice activation service has been reported as almost flawless; users have said that the system is quick, responds to almost every word spoken without issue and provides a safer level of control by using vocal rather than touchscreen inputs.
Holden already has plans to provide the service as does Hyundai. Apple also has their version, Apple Play, waiting in the wings, however at the time of writing it’s unclear as to what that service will deliver.
For further information on the basics and an idea of just how many car brands world wide plan to integrate Android Auto, click here: http://www.android.com/auto/
Stereotypes: The Boy Racer Car
Usually Seen: Late on Friday and Saturday nights, either on long straight stretches near urban areas but not quite in them or near traffic lights. They tend to vanish when cops are spotted on the horizon, leaving unpleasant oil slicks and tyre tracks.
Typical Examples: Mazda RX-something, Toyota Levin, Nissan Skyline, Subaru WRX .
Description:
The boy racer car may be based on a small, cheap Japanese (or other Asian) vehicle but it certainly doesn’t look like one… until you look more closely. What makes a boy racer car a boy racer car is all the after-market additions. The boy racer car very blatantly tries to prove the manhood of the driver. Subtle, it is not. A large spoiler is an absolute must – the bigger, the better. Two spoilers are even better. The second must-have for the well-dressed boy racer car is the big-bore exhaust. Take a look at the size of both, the shape of the exhaust and the angle of that spoiler, and you’ll start to believe everything that Freud ever wrote about phallic symbols and probably compensation into the bargain.
Other key characteristics of the boy racer car are less phallic but are still very exhibitionistic. No boy racer car would be complete without the sound system. These should make the car vibrate when the doors closed. If the doors and/or windows are open (or, depending on the car, the top is down), you should be able to hear the vehicle from at least two streets away. Don’t bother trying to identify what is playing: all you will hear is the very, very distorted bass. In the case of dubstep, that’s all there is to hear, anyway. Everything else is indistinguishable from the sound of the exhaust but, unfortunately, doesn’t drown out what the passengers and/or driver are shouting out the windows.
Mag wheels are another must. But not just plain aluminium alloys! These ought to be colourful as well as shiny. Blue, orange, red and yellow are all possibilities. If you look very closely at some mag wheels, you may find that they are actually clip-on jobs from the local car supplies shop. But they have to be shiny. Shiny is the name of the game.
The boy racer car is low slung – they ride as low as the pants of the drivers did a few years back, but at least the car doesn’t give a glimpse of lurid boxer shorts. This can be done by fiddling with the suspension and shocks, or with a lot of body kit. Preferably both. It should just skim the ground, leaving the barest little gap to allow tiny pebbles on the road to pass underneath. If the car encounters something larger than a pebble, then all that fibreglass is in serious trouble.
Decals and paint jobs are often seen on boy racer cars, although sometimes you wish that you hadn’t seen them, as they are usually excruciatingly lurid. The go-faster racing stripes are the more tasteful versions. At the other end of the spectrum, you get the iridescent paint jobs and the swirly, streaky things that look like tattoos along the sides. The paint jobs usually look like they’ve taken peacocks or hummingbirds as inspiration after a decent dose of something illegal. But they don’t come in pink. If they come in pink, it’s probably a girl racer. This colour is enhanced at night-time by LED lights around the wheels, preferably in blue.
It is hard to see into the interior of a boy racer car to find out what it is like inside. This is because the windows have been seriously tinted. If the windows are down, the driver and his passengers are probably half hanging out of them, blocking any view of what’s inside. We suspect bucket seats if the owner’s budget stretches that far and possibly a prosthetic cover for the steering wheel to make it look sportier. We also suspect old cans of Red Bull, V or Monster will be found sprinkled in around the interior, plus greasy fast food wrappers. More than this is unknown – even as a teenage girl, I had more sense than to get anywhere near one of these cars.
The irony with a boy racer car is that once you get past the exterior and look at actual specs, all the bravado and body kit can be seen for what it is. Underneath all those modifications, even with a bonnet blower (another phallic symbol?), it’s still a cheap little hatch or sedan with a teeny engine, but one that’s lost all its self-respect. A decent European sedan – or even another car of the same marque with a better engine that’s actually been properly serviced by a responsible owner who doesn’t thrash it to death – will leave it for dead at the traffic lights. Ditto if the road is the slightest bit worn or uneven.
And girls aren’t irresistibly attracted to them. Loud noises, bright colours and big tails may work for peacocks and birds of paradise but not for human beings with half a brain cell.
Safe and happy driving,
Megan
Level 2, 9 Help Street