Evoque: I have seen the future of Land Rover ...
- Thread starter Dendy Jarrett
- Start date
jeffzx9
New member
Wow, my first post on this high energy thread... I find some validity in most of the comments here. I'm an old D-1 owner who, like many of you, intimately know their way around their vehicle. Sure, we love the older trucks. Sure, we're not wild about the Evoque and the Defender Concept. But, as some of you suggest, LR must offer some reasonably mid-priced bit they can sell in quantity, to survive. (That doesn't mean we have to like it, or buy it.) However, I sincerely hope they don't deny and/or whore their history of off-road accomplishments to sell proprietary owner-unserviceable plastic junk, instead of the legendary owner-serviceable metal junk many of us have come to perversely love. My greatest concern is that we all need to play in the sandbox together, to keep the green oval healthy. I don't understand how dealers think they can rely on sales/warranty work/age 60+ repair work, to keep their doors open. I'm not anti-dealer. I wish they would understand and see value in those of us who promote the brand (perhaps better than the dealers) and "know a thing or two" about our trucks. I always feel the "de-valuation" factor when I visit a dealer (unless of course, I plan to spend $$.) And, dealer visibility in the community (enthusiast functions, off-road events, charity events, etc.) is non-existent. And they want my business?? Really?
Good thread, guys. Glad to be with you.
Good thread, guys. Glad to be with you.
I disagree with the statement in the last post concerning LR dealers. I work at a LR dealership and while not everyone, especially the techs are LR enthusiasts many are, especially the sales people. Our dealership donates over $3000 per year to the local LR club annual rally and many other dealers do the same in their market. LRNA also supports many rallies around the country each year, including the Solihull society Nat. Rally, MAR, and Solaros Sae rally. In fact I would say that LR dealers and LRNA support the LR clubs more than the clubs support them. Most of what one hears from club members and " enthusiasts" is how LR dealers and LRNA suck. There are certainly dealers that don't support clubs or understand the LR heritage but many more do. If you own an old Series truck or cool Defender and stop by a dealer I think you would be surprised at the welcome you would get.
I've worked at Land Rover Buckhead in Atlanta for nearly fifteen years and have owned nearly 20 different lr's from Series 3's to RR Sports, I've loved them all and I count myself as an enthusiast. What's more I think you will find many people like me at other LR dealers.
I've worked at Land Rover Buckhead in Atlanta for nearly fifteen years and have owned nearly 20 different lr's from Series 3's to RR Sports, I've loved them all and I count myself as an enthusiast. What's more I think you will find many people like me at other LR dealers.
Antichrist
Expedition Leader
Not all of us. I have exactly zero interest in the Evoque.
On a side note, about dealers, it was a service writer at Land Rover Buckhead that told me about 7 years ago that Land Rover NA never imported Discoveries with manual gearboxes.
LtFuzz
Explorer
I was attempting to reassure our new poster. People hate the Evoque. We get it.
I've had good experiences at Land Rover dealerships. The salespeople don't always know the older trucks well, but it's not fair for us to expect them to. They're not LR historians -- they're there to sell the current model year to the upper middle class. There have been a few times I've seen Rover people pepper a poor salesman with questions about a Rover model they haven't sold in 10 years. Always found that disingenuous and disrespectful. The salespeople are there to show you how to fold down the backseats and work with you on a price. Sometimes you get lucky and they're real enthusiasts... but I don't really connect a LR salesman with Land Rover anymore than I would connect the peanut guy at a baseball stadium with the home team. For most it's just a job.
Antichrist
Expedition Leader
Yeah, I know.
Just for the record, I don't hate it, never driven one, so I can't comment on any love/hate.
I just meant I'm near the bottom of the target audience and I don't have enough interest to even find out if I'd hate it.
I'm going to the Atlanta auto show this month and I expect Land Rover will have one there, so I may sit in one, just to see if the visibility is as poor as it looks.
Antichrist
Expedition Leader
I was at the Atlanta autoshow yesterday and was looking forward to sitting in the Evoque just to see if the visibilty is as bad as it appears it would be, but they had it cordoned off an no one was allowed in it. Oh well.
I was chatting with one of the Land Rover "booth" people and mentioned the visibilty concern and she said it's not as bad as you think and there's always the 5 camera exterior view system available. Ummmm...no thanks. Why buy a car that needs a $4500 option package to allow you to have good visibilty?
I was chatting with one of the Land Rover "booth" people and mentioned the visibilty concern and she said it's not as bad as you think and there's always the 5 camera exterior view system available. Ummmm...no thanks. Why buy a car that needs a $4500 option package to allow you to have good visibilty?
Abeer
Member
Visibility is okay. Nowhere near what you get from other LR offerings. The one obnoxious thing about the Evoque is the gigantic side mirrors. These are by far the biggest hindrance to visibility.
David Harris
Expedition Leader
I assume you're talking about the air suspension models, right...? If so, I agree. On off-road performance, a newer model Range Rover or LR III/IV holds it's own against a stock JK with no problem, and can even do things the JK can't in stock form, albeit with electronic technology over analog parts, and absolutely blows all JK models away on the road. Although I own and admire the older Land Rover models, I still admire Land Rover for continuing to build superior off-road performance into their current models. I can't really speak to the Evoque on this though. . .
eastrnma
New member
For what it's worth, I have yet to see a 70k Evoque... The max I've seen is 59k. I priced Grand Cherokee and Explorer with similar features, and settled on a Evoque Dynamic for 50k with much better fuel economy. It is not a hard-core off road vehicle, but JLR has done a great job of blending off-road capabilities with on-road performance.
tacr2man
Adventurer
It obviously wasnt designed to suit your demographic it would seem ? Not exactly a lumberjack vehicle as monty python might say ?