Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Convertible review

If you’re looking to buy outright, the Evoque Convertible isn’t a cheap car and, due to the demand, you’re unlikely to get much if any discount.

That demand has had a positive affect on resale values; not only will it hold on to a good chunk of its value after three years, it also means the Evoque Convertible is surprisingly affordable on a three-year PCP or leasing deal.

Unfortunately, the car’s weight and four-wheel drive system means it won’t be as economical as a 4 Series or C-Class Convertible, and will cost company car drivers thousands more in benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax. Thank the at-best CO2 emissions of 149g/km, which is for the most efficient TD4 180 – the 237bhp petrol and diesel are even worse.

As you’d hope with such a high purchase price, you do get plenty of equipment with the Evoque, so we’d stick with the enrty-level SE Dynamic trim. This includes heated and eight-way electrically adjustable front seats, climate control, leather upholstery, Xenon headlights, 19in alloy wheels.

The next HSE Dynamic trim might appeal if you like a few extra luxuries, with 20in alloy wheels, a reversing camera, higher-grade Windor leather trim, 12-way electric seat adjustment with lumbar support, configurable ambient lighting and paddle shifters for the gearbox.

The Evoque Convertible comes with a three-year unlimited mileage warranty as standard that can be extended for a fee. That may not be the worst idea; Land Rover as a brand performed poorly in our last reliability survey, where it ranked 23rd out of the 32 manufacturers examined.

In terms of safety, the Evoque Convertible hasn’t been tested by Euro NCAP, but the fix-roof version has which should give some pointers. It received a five-star overall rating, but didn’t do as well on adult, child and pedestrian protection as some of its rivals. In particular, it lost points for providing only average whiplash protection in rear-end shunts, and also for not displaying clearly enough whether the passenger airbag was switched on or off, or the dangers of using rear-facing child-seats without first switching off the appropriate airbag.

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