Range Rover Evoque Convertible

If the weather is right, a commanding view of the road with the wind in your hair is a nice feeling

- Rohit Paradkar

SUVs are typically large enough to carry five, seven or nine people in comfort, go mud-plugging, have six or more cylinders feeding power to a 4x4 drivetrain, feature a low range gearbox and look so badass that unassuming commuters should jump out of the way when they see a shiny chrome grille breathing into their rear-view mirrors. Range Rover is an expert at everything SUV and so they broke the stereotype a few years ago with the Evoque. It instantly made a style statement, became a fashion icon and essentially spearheaded the charge for compact luxury crossovers. Now that the segment is one of the most contested spaces in the luxe code, the Evoque has pushed the game forward with, er, an old-fashioned idea - a drop-top SUV.

Design

Quite a few of them exist, like the Jeep Wrangler or the erstwhile Gypsy - but none of them peg luxury and aesthetics as their primary draw. The Evoque does just that. It looks great even today and lends that handsome styling to the convertible too. Compared to the hardtop, the convertible features a shorter and steeper A-pillar that is comparable to low-slung convertibles like the Audi A5 for example. When such convertibles pull up their fabric roof, they appear like a coupé — which is usually a handsome body style. But when the Evoque C wears its fabric hat, it looks like a coupé crossover, which inherently isn’t a pretty form. So the best way to look at this car is with its top down, which accentuates its muscular wheel arches and narrow overhangs, while the wheels pushed out at far corners give it an athletic demeanour.

Cabin