From concept to car park, the Evoque is here

With the endorsement of Victoria Beckham and eye-catching good looks that are not too far removed from the concept car that was unveiled in 2007, the Range Rover Evoque is now officially in business. This week, the first one rolled off the production line at the Land Rover plant in Halewood, Liverpool, making it a great day for British jobs as well as luxury motoring.

With a fuel economy sitting around the 50mpg mark, it is one of the few SUVs that people may be able to afford to run even with the current fuel prices. It may be hard to imagine Victoria Beckham taking one of these babies off road but the good people at the head office assure us the Range Rover Evoque is indeed an able car on tough terrain as well as a good-looking urban machine.

The first production Evoque won’t be in a showroom - it has been donated to the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, a sure sign that Land Rover is confident this one will become a classic. This is hardly surprising with strong global interest in the car - 18,000 orders have already been received.

The Halewood plant had to double the workforce to more than 3,000 staff to deliver the new model and while there has been solid interest in Britain, 75% of the cars will be exported to 170 countries around the world., adding a rather handy £2 billion to the UK economy. In further much-needed good news for the UK economy, 50% of the components are made in Britain with another £2 billion going to more than 40 British companies.

But the Evoque isn’t the end of the grand plans Jaguar Land Rover have on the drawing board - over the next five years, there are plans to launch 40 new products across the two badges.

Prices for the Evoque start from £27,955 for the eD4 Pure 5-door, 6-speed manual 2WD. The 4WD equivalent is priced at £28,705. The top-of-the-line, g-speed automatic Dynamic coupe with LUX pack is £44,320. 





By Georgia Lewis

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