Land Rover Range Rover Evoque SW1 Monochrome – style inspired by London postal code

As far as car appearances go, the Range Rover Evoque is one of the very few vehicles lucky enough to have won the lottery on looks.

Its shape drawn is pure automotive art, and is such a strong best-selling Range Rover that Land Rover just about keeps up with demand, even 4 years after its launch.  Which is remarkable.

Style inspired by London postal codes

Part of the celebrations is to create a special edition of the Evoque, and what is more British than a London postal code?  In the “Inspired by Britain” Range Rover Evoque campaign, historic London suburbs were the inspiration for creating and naming these special edition baby Range Rovers.

Some influential postal codes in London see the creation of 3 special editions, namely SW1 (South West 1) in a choice of SW1 Monochrome, SW1 Colour and NW8.

The SW1 Monochrome (this one was on test) is realised in a cool, contemporary monochrome paint scheme of Corris Grey with gloss Fuji white roof and the same gloss white wheels – on the standard large 20-inch rims, the white certainly makes the wheels appear even bigger, and looks young and fresh, but remember the white wheels show road dirt quickly.

The SW1 Colour is painted in that popular Evoque launch metallic Firenze Red colour with white roof colour scheme – strawberries&cream.  The 3rd Evoque special edition is the NW8 (North West 8 – postal code of the famous Abbey Road) in white with red roof and mirrors, and the standard Black Pack with gloss black wheels and trim details.

Some more British details on this SW1 include the black&white Union Jack motif on the wing mirrors and on the roof spoiler, being instantly recognisable, undoubtedly, as the iconic flag of Britain.  Go closer and you will notice the criss-cross lines look like tyre tracks in sand or mud, keeping along the Land Rover 4x4 path.

Staying with the monochromatic theme, the white “tick” decals follow the corners of the castellated bonnet edges, continuing into white style lines running along the lower window line, which contrast against the Santorini Black roof and door mirror paint.

Inside, the SW1 Monochrome has Ebony black grained leather, with white stitching contrast.  Union Jack motifs feature on the tread plates (door entry sills), on the key fob, and carpets are emblazoned with the same black&white rendition of the British flag.  Move in closer, and you will spot small tags on the seats showing the flag, while EVOQUE lettering on the headrests are in white.

To add a tiny dash of colour, the round gear selector and gearshift paddles are in anodised dark red.

What is it based on?

The Evoque SW1 donor model is the entry-level Pure specification, added to the Range Rover Evoque when it was revised for 2015.  Pure was brought in to offer a lower price-entry point for Evoque, and sees deletion of some luxury items.

While the Evoque range is available in a choice with petrol Si4, the SW1 is only available with the SD4 diesel.

Let’s drive this Evoque

The engine is pleasantly diesel-ly, which is what you might want to keep in a Land Rover, as it feels more tough and dirt-road suited than a smooth petrol engine would.  The 2.2-size SD4 engine has good torque of 420Nm which peaks at just 1750 on the rev counter, making it easy to drive with a light throttle foot, letting the Newtons do the torqueing.  In mid-range the turbo comes on strong, so the Evoque SD4 pulls well.  140kW at an unfussed 3500 r/min indicates it does not pretend to be a performance SUV, though… hopefully a performance Evoque is on the way.

Claimed fuel consumption is 6.3 litres per 100km for the urban/extra-urban mix.  During testing, which included lots of urban, where the Evoque feels comfortable showing off its white-grey-black styling, the on-board computer will show 8.something, which is not far off the urban claimed 7.9.

Part of the Evoque upgrade for 2014 was the jump from 6 to 9-speed automatic gearing, which made Range Rover Evoque the first model range to get so many gears.  The extra gears are mostly to keep engine revs as low as possible, which means the engine will burn less fuel and thus emit less gas.  The 9 gears are not as shift-busy as it may sound, and 9th definitely keeps revs at below 2000 revs (right near the best torque) at speed limit speeds.  The ride is, in no small part thanks to those big wheels, soft-yet-firm suspension, well-insulated cabin for very low wind noise, really smooth.  All of the above makes the Evoque a comfortable long distance cruiser.  So, a typical Range Rover then.

The economy here, if you can stay in 9th or 8th, will improve to in the 5s, which is less than what you’d be used to in your big Range Rover.  However, despite being 9-speed modern and all that, the change from 1st to 2nd or 2nd-3rd gear was often quite grabby – not the imperceptible smoothness expected.  If BMW gets it so spot-on with their ZF automatics, be it diesel or petrol, why can’t Land Rover, as they outsource to the same gearbox supplier?

Ignore the fancy motifs and trim, and the Evoque is still the solid-feeling, sure-footed, comfortable, perfect-sized style icon.  And still a Land Rover.  Interestingly, the last bit is, because the Evoque in its base spec feels more Freelander than Range Rover.

How Pure is the spec?

On Pure spec the Evoque drops 2 sizes from 20 to 18-inch alloy wheels, which, sorry, looks too small, but the SW1 cleverly disguises its entry-level roots by side-stepping it in those white 20-inch rims.

Pure spec means you lose 4 key equipment items:  navigation, panoramic sunroof, electric tailgate, and electric seat adjustment.  Sure, the Pure is R100k less than the Dynamic model, but is deleting the navigation, sunroof and an auto boot such a good idea?  Would someone want to have a vehicle this stylish without these items?

The nav, OK – you still get the angled touch-screen, and can use other ways of nav-ing, but the pano roof is usually such an integral part of the Evoque experience.

When you have loaded your designer branded shopping bags into the boot of your designer branded SUV, you have to, embarassingly, stretch up and grab the tailgate edge yourself, where you’ll find to your dismay that where your friend’s Evoque has a switch to electrically close the tailgate for you, this one has a blanked-off blind cover. 

Also unpleasant is to find you don’t have the switches to electrically find your sweet seat spot, and can therefore have no memory setting buttons for the front seats, as you have to manually adjust the seat… in a Range Rover?!

Other items you miss out on when you go for the Pure compared to Dynamic spec include the reverse-view camera displayed on the centre screen (though front and rear audio parking sensors still help you park), xenon headlamps (so you get weaker halogen lights, no LED signature lighting, with manual height leveling control), and no auto dimming interior mirror.

Somehow the Pure grained leather feels a bit more multi-purpose than sumptuous, and harder than the softer smoother leather in other Evoque grades.  The interior ambience in the Pure or SW1 is just not as luxurious and cossetting as in the Prestige (now dropped from the line-up) or Dynamic, and, well, in the Autobiography spec you pay for that padded leather dashboard to have that extra-luxurious feel.

Didn’t even notice at first that the SW1 also has the Pure’s plain round exhaust, rather than the duo of angular outlets, and the plainer bumpers, instead of the highlighted framed ones of the sportier Dynamic trim.  Again, the added style bits conceal this.

Just one real complaint about the Evoque – good and safe that the doors lock automatically when driven off, but when you park and switch off, the doors don’t unlock – the silver smaller lever above the inner door handle would have been nice to unlock, as it means a one-hand action to unlock and open, but annoyingly you need to reach for the unlock button in front of the door handle before anyone can disembark.  Fix this.

Thanks for the Evoque essence

Whichever spec you choose, the essence of what we love about the Evoque is still in place.

Cannot ignore the winning looks, thanks to those square stature looks, like the high door-line with smaller window-panels and that sloped rear glass… those unmistakable shaped winglet headlights, small jewels of high-set taillights, and its general self-confident stance. The 5-door looks so well proportioned, while the Evoque Coupé has a lower tapered roofline with smaller raked rear screen and 2 long doors which are also well proportioned, in a more athletic stance… and the Evoque Convertible is coming in 2016.

Bet other car designers wish they had designed something so striking, using so few simple lines?  The Evoque is one of very few vehicles in the world where just its silhouette is instantly recognisable.  Playing on this recognition, the Evoque silhouette is projected onto the floor from a light beam in the mirrors, greeting you with its outline, while providing courtesy puddle lighting.

The interior of any Evoque is something special.  The centre console flows from the dashboard along an angled frame.  Riding from the top:  this allows a press of the right-let’s-go engine start switch between the air vents and instrument cluster, allows the display screen to be angled for easier reach and viewing, the climate controls at a comfortable distance and natural angle, the automatic electric parking brake to sit nice and high out of place (where it’s easy to use, if needed – no need to look down or reach between the seats to find it) and the Drive Selector gear switch in the optimum place. 

The Drive Selector fits flush when the engine is off, and when you press the engine switch it rises to your command, where a simple twist to the right will go to R or D.  Push it in a bit and twist right for S(port) mode, and when you’re done enjoying your Evoque for the day, rotate to the left to select P, when the selector will slip back into its recessed sleeping spot.

The screen is clear and simple, marked with large quick-to-hit menu options for your touch on the screen, and major controls are neatly arranged as physical buttons to the sides.  The screen has a brilliant solution to avoid the need to navigate through the menu each time:  program your 5 favourite menu items which will stay neatly stacked on the left of the screen.  Hurray for practical simplicity.

The climate controls could have been just round knobs, but be reminded that “Posh Spice” Victoria Beckham had a hand in the interior design.  Not saying she designed these, but the level of visual and tactile detail is such that the climate controls have a designer’s touch.  These are styled to be large diameter and nearly flat, so they feel smart to turn, and look smart.

Even the park brake and gear surround have tapered-edge frames… just to show mechanical bits can also look good.

The horizontal area of the centre console is relieved of the park brake, which leaves a neat hide-my-personal-stuff sliding cover, under which lies a space opportunity to stash a phone, keys, wallet etc.  Or, under the front of that 45-degree angled console is a neat little shelf for resting less-frequently-used items.  The glove box is generous, too.  Land Rover realised people have personal items we carry with us, which we need to carry along in our cars.  Thanks for this, because too often modern cars (even cross-overs SUVs which are meant to be more commodious) lack proper space to stuff your stuff.  Oh, and the Evoque boot’s 575-litre is generous.

Girls (and boys) just wanna have fun, so if you want to go off road, whether visiting the dirt-road holiday home or really challenging 4x4 stuff, the Evoque can cope.  It has hill descent control to help you crawl down a steep hill without touching the pedals.  Terrain Response is a simple left-right scroll which lets you input the terrain you are driving on (Rock, Sand, Snow…) and the car will adjust itself for the best mechanical setup.  The Evoque is still a proper Land Rover 4x4 underneath, with the same take-you-places eagerness.

Thanks for the Evoque essence.

Shop it?

The Land Rover Range Rover Evoque SD4 Pure price, in standard form, is R 660 622, while this special edition SD4 SW1 Monochrome sold for R 702 422 including the taxes.  The Evoque has just had a facelift, with new lights, bumpers and some spec.

If you like the SW1 looks, and want to stand out from the many other Evoques on the road, and you can live without these missing luxury items… you will have saved that 100k. 

Only 50 of each of the special edition Evoques were brought into South Africa:  50 of the SW1 Monochrome, 50 in SW1 Colour, and 50 untis NW8.  Whichever Evoque special edition inspired by London heritage postal code you choose, you will own 1 of only 50 in the country… if you can find one through the Auto Trader website search.