The world’s first soft-top SU V: Land Rover’s four-seater Evoque Convertible

by industry staff

In ways both thrilling and terrifying, we live in a time of political, environmental, and technological firsts. There are those of us, for example, who never thought we’d live to see the day of the four-door Porsche (never mind one that also throws in the qualities of an SUV).

It’s a tribute to our age of the unexpected that Land Rover has introduced an entirely new species this summer—the world’s first drop-top sports utility vehicle. Unveiled at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show as the “Convertible Evoque Concept,” we had to sit and stew for three years until a production run was announced in November of 2015. Based on the platform of its popular Evoque series, introduced in 2008 (Land Rover’s 60th anniversary year), the four-seater convertible appeared early this year at a surprisingly affordable (by Rover standards) price of just over $50,000.

Of course, that’s not chicken feed, but you get a considerable amount for the investment, including a two liter turbocharged four-cylinder motor with 240 hp on board (top speed is 130 mph), hitched to a nine speed automatic transmission. And even with extra body reinforcement compensating for lack of a roof (adding 615 pounds to produce a total weight of approximately 4,268 pounds) the cabrio can still vault from 0-60 in a mere eight seconds.

Tech and creature comforts include 360-degree parking control which virtually monitors all around the car, autonomous emergency braking, a lane-keeping assistant, and driver alert warnings, along with the updated and lovely Jaguar/Land Rover In Control 10.2-inch touchscreen display in the center console (the system offers a WiFi hot spot and the ability to download apps from a smartphone).

Our minor quibbles include a slightly stiffer than expected ride and a predictably tiny trunk (just eight cubic feet, in part because it has to accommodate the deployable roof), but the wonderful nuttiness of the broader design makes these complaints seem silly. What we have here, in the end, is that rarest of things—something truly new to roll down the block, and a way to take in summer in ways both thrilling and unexpected.

Ray Catena Land Rover OF Edison
920 US-1 / 732.205.9000 / landroveredison.com