• Impressively comfortable front seats
• Decent driving position
• Driver aids compensate for poor visibility

How is the quality and layout?

The Range Rover Evoque’s interior will be familiar to anyone who’s spent any time in any other Range Rover product. But that’s no bad thing. As soon as you step into an Evoque, you’ll be impressed by the luxurious ambience – the well-considered trims and materials, the low-line dashboard, well-shaped seats, and the latest version of the firm’s Pivi Pro infotainment system.

The driving position is nearly perfect, both elevated above the non-SUVs, but reclined enough to make it not feel like a truck. The main criticism with this is the poor visibility – the thick A- and B-pillars, along with the slit-like rear windows mean that it could feel claustrophobic inside if you choose a dark interior and don’t specify a panoramic sunroof.

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Infotainment and tech

The Evoque’s infotainment is one of the swishest around. The old twin-screen set-up has been replaced by the excellent Pivi Pro set-up first seen in the Land Rover Defender. The desplay is crisp, functionality is excellent with brilliant response. It’s not perfect, though, and we do miss separate climate control functions, like those found in the older Evoque.

The central touchscreen is 11.4 inches and seamlessly integrates with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto while retaining controls for radio, sat-nav and climate control without leaving your smartphone app. You get over-the-air-updates and the ability to connect two phones at the same time via Bluetooth. The Meridian sound system is clear enough, but there are still better systems offered by rivals out there.

The steering, with its touch sensitive buttons, adds to a grown-up and expensive feeling cabin. Land Rover’s Clearsight rear-view mirror is well worth looking at if you carry passengers regularly – or just think the view out isn’t good enough – but we’re not completely sold on the concept of replacing your mirror with a display screen.

Comfort

• Impressive ride comfort
• Body control is also excellent
• High-speed cruising is very quiet

This is one area where the Evoque really does excel. The driver’s seat and steering column have plenty of adjustment, resulting in ample headroom upfront. All Evoques have soft, supportive and exquisitely-trimmed seats. We particularly rate their padding and overall shape, with a particularly good lumbar setting for those who drive long distances.

In the rear, passengers get adequate head and legroom, even when sat behind the tallest front-seat occupants. There are separate controls for the climate control system in the rear, as well as USB sockets for easy charging of devices.

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