2011 Range Rover Evoque Launched In Malaysia

The 2011 Range Rover Evoque has been launched in Malaysia, promising an abundance of style, excellent comfort and practicality and the expected off-road capabilities. The fully-imported Evoque is available in three variants: the five-door 2.2 diesel Prestige at RM 353,888, the five-door 2.0 petrol Prestige at RM 363,888, and the Coupe 2.0 petrol Dynamic Plus at RM 393,888. The prices, OTR without insurance, put the Evoque in the company of mid-size luxury SUVs like the Audi Q5 and the BMW X3.

The smallest and lightest Range Rover ever, the Evoque, with its quite stunning looks derived from the original LRX concept car, is aimed at attracting first-time buyers while remaining true to the brand's all-terrain performance, which is delivered by the ample ground clearance, the four-wheel-drive system and the Terrain Response system. Land Rover intends for the Evoque to perform well on-road too, especially in the form of the Coupe which is fitted with MagneRide adaptive magnetic dampers.

The five-door Evoque, on the other hand, offers better practicality. Thanks to a roof set 30mm higher and more horizontal than the Coupe's, the five-door Evoque improves front/rear headroom by 30mm/40mm and rear shoulder room by 50mm. (The panoramic roof frees up space, so the headroom for the Coupe and the five-door remains almost the same.) The leather-clad interior, accented by authentic metal trimmings, has seats for five, along with a 575-litre boot (Coupe has 25 litres less) expandable by 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks.

Borrowed from the Freelander 2, the 2.2-litre SD4 turbodiesel engine produces 190 PS at 3500 rpm and 420 Nm at 1750 rpm. With the use of a six-speed automatic gearbox, the Evoque diesel does the century sprint in a respectable 8.5 seconds, before topping out at 195 km/h. The Ford-sourced 2.0-litre Si4 turbocharged petrol engine churns out 240 PS at 5500 rpm and 340 Nm at 1750 rpm, propelling the Evoque from zero to 100 km/h in 7.6 seconds, and on to a maximum of 217 km/h.

All three variants come with 20" alloy wheels, adaptive xenon headlamps, 8" touch-screen display with navigation system, 5" full-colour driver information display, 11-speaker 380-watt Meridian audio system and Park Assist automated parallel parking system. The Coupe is the only to be equipped with a full-sized fixed glass panoramic roof. The Evoque has not been officially tested by Euro NCAP yet, but its full suite of airbags and braking, traction and stability systems should earn it five stars. Enjoy the 2011 Range Rover Evoque official gallery below!