Test drive The Range Rover Evoque is perhaps the finest SUV on the market. Only the range of electric driving leaves much to be desired.

Traditional car brand renewal is a problem that all old manufacturers are trying to solve.

The answer from the British Land Rover is this: electrification is being introduced in almost all models. The manufacturer’s luxury brand Range Rover will now be available as a charging hybrid in all sizes, with the largest model offering up to 130 kilometers of electric driving on a single charge.

In Finland, buyers got excited about the Range Rover Evoque last year. It really is exceptional car: the vehicle, which is less than 4.4 meters long, is packed with the luxury, off-road features and moderate redesign familiar from other cars in the brand.

Evoque’s charging hybrid version P300e is now being tested. The price will increase to about 80,000 euros with accessories.

How good a car can you get with that money?

First attention is paid to the range of the electric drive. The Hybrid-Evoque has a 15-kilowatt-hour traction battery that is promised to drive up to 55 kilometers at best.

That’s not a bad reading if you consider the compact size of the car. Admittedly, for the same price, you would get the Volvo XC60’s Long Range model, which promises up to 77 kilometers of electric driving.

The readings are usually theoretical and occur mainly at summer temperatures.

When starting the test run, the battery is full and the instrument cluster shows a range of 45 kilometers.

The Evoque has a 1.5-liter, three-cylinder internal combustion engine, an 8-speed automatic transmission and a high-voltage battery. The actual electric motor is built on top of the rear axle. In practice, the internal combustion engine moves the front wheels and the electric motor moves the rear wheels.

The engines produce a total of 309 horsepower. There are three driving modes: with the hybrid setting, the car uses the capacity of the traction battery profitably and the internal combustion engine crashes mainly during acceleration and steep inclines.

When driving on electric power alone, the car turns into rear-wheel drive. In the economy program, the battery can be saved for city driving, for example, although consumption on the motorway rises to ten liters per hundred.

The manufacturer is successful to renovate the cab in a way that is not inconsistent with the valuable history of the British brand.

On the highway while driving you will notice that the Evoque is a car almost two meters wide. It brings stability to driving. It is recommended to purchase the Driver’s Assist package: the lane guard and adaptive cruise control are among the best in the industry.

Anyway, the Evoque has the feel of a big car on the road, after all, it’s a car over two tons. Thanks to the electric motor, the cab is remarkably quiet.

However, when driving with an electric motor alone, the car will not be able to accelerate at highway speeds, so the best option is to drive in hybrid mode.

The four-wheel-drive Evoque has many features that encourage moderate off-road driving, such as the Terrain Response system, which adjusts ground clearance and suspension, and the ATPC traction control system. There is 212 millimeters of ground clearance, which made it possible to make progress on the unpaved road in the snow.

So you can do it under varying conditions if you don’t start trying to cross the ditch now. The only exception to the sovereign progression came when a steep forest road set off to creep up a hill completely covered in mirror ice.

When there are friction tires underneath, you have to be really vigilant in the spring night frosts. The stern of the car slipped on a couple of occasions at intersections where the sun had not been able to heat the frozen road surface.

According to the importer, many customers have reconsidered their choice of tires – it is no wonder, given the changing weather this winter, which has often resulted in thick ice and road surfaces.

Downloadable the practicality of cars depends not only on the vehicles themselves but on the surrounding infrastructure.

When the car is stored outdoors during a frosty night, the electric range will also be shortened, unless the car is preheated with an electric pole.

Based on the test run, the cold battery travels about 30–35 kilometers on electricity.

The Evoque battery is charged at 7.3 kilowatts in about two and a half hours based on a test drive week. Exceptionally, a 32-kilowatt CCS quick charge is also available, which can fully charge the battery in up to half an hour.

Here, however, a practical problem was encountered: there are few quick chargers available, and pricing is based on a per-minute rate. For example, for some reason, the car took in only 11 kilowatts of electricity from a 50-kilowatt quick charger.

There was no explanation for this in the car settings, so there could be a momentary disturbance. In any case, the price for the 45-kilometer electric ride was 18 euros. For comparison: at the energy company Helen’s charging station, a two-hour charge cost less than five euros, even though the euro included an hourly parking fee.

If your own car can be charged at home or at work, running on electricity cheaper than petrol in the current market situation.

This is especially true for short city driving. On the highway, the real consumption of hybrids is a mystery that can only be accessed on longer journeys.

In hybrid driving, the car first uses the majority of the battery’s capacity, which means that it consumes only one liter of fuel per hundred. When the traction battery is empty, the consumption of six and seven bounces liter per hundred kilometers. In the city, the corresponding reading was readily over eight liters if the battery had not been charged.

On a 100-kilometer test drive, the Evoque consumed 3.5 on a full battery liters of gas. If the driver drives another hundred kilometers, consumption will rise to about 6.5 liters per hundred.

As a whole Evoque is a strong package. Only the 45-kilometer electric test tested in a test drive is something the buyer should consider. At the same price as you can get even more electronic miles if the feature feels important.

The cabin is still suitable for a small family, but a four-person hunting group with its belongings would already be cramped.

It’s emphatically a driver’s car, recognized for its genuine Range Rover performance. The price is high, but it probably gets the finest small SUV on the market.