This is just a brief first impressions of the car so will add a more comprehensive write up later with some pics. 
Looks: Simply stunning and the reaction it gets on the street as I drove up the town was remarkable, a supercar couldn't turn anymore head.......... seriously. Admittedly the 3dr looks more striking than the 5dr.
Interior: Extremely well designed and appointed, most things you touch are leather and the thought that has gone in shows, things like the leather on the dash is unusually rough finished to stop the glare. Only negative so far is the dials aren't as classy as the rest of the car. Seats very comfortable and better than the Cayenne.
Engine: Considering I'm use to much more than this I actually don't feel short changed with the 190hp, possibly if you were demanding it to overtake several cars at once then you might be left wanting but so far it feels adequate. The other surprise is that apart from full throttle and tickover the refinement is remarkable good for a four cylinder diesel, way better than the 23d in an X1 and probably as good as the regular 20d.
Ride: Exceptional for something riding on 20" wheels with lowest profile rubber, better than the air suspension on the Porsche that is for sure, with the Porsche it's comfort setting is more comfortable but can end up boatish on multiple dips and crests where as the Evoque handles this much better, put the Porsche in auto mode cures this but then it's comfort is worse than the LR. Body control is very good, up there with the Porsche or maybe even better which is possibly as much to do with it's weight and CoG as anything else.
Handling: Now to the sticky question of whether it feels like a Hothatch, in normal mode the simple answer is no but it's not really that simple because when placed into dynamic mode in many ways it shares things we associate with that breed like a willing turn-in prompted by slight movements of the steering which it really does do, likewise the steering has a solid feel about it and the body control I already mentioned. The one area is can't match them on is grip, push too hard into a corner and the nose runs out of grip even with the summer rubber but then again you do have to remember it's a SUV which sits much high and a normal hatchback, for it's class of car the Evoque is very very good in this respect.
So far the only real negative is MPG, this example is new with less than 200 miles on the clock but still less than 30mpg on the drive home is poor for it's size, weight and engine capacity. I tripped it from my work to home and got 28.9mpg, a journey the Cayenne gets 36.7mpg so clearly the technology in this engine isn't up to German rivals but an X1 or Q3 equivalent would destroy it here even more. Something that needs to be considered if you are thinking of an Evoque.
P.S.
Properly pissed off at the moment.
Finally got home from working late to see if my son's w/chair would fit in the boot and it hasn't a mission, even the 5dr wouldn't help here. So as much as I and the wife like the Evoque it has to be ruled out as a replacement for her GTI. Here's hoping the boot in the F30 is more accommodating.
Looks: Simply stunning and the reaction it gets on the street as I drove up the town was remarkable, a supercar couldn't turn anymore head.......... seriously. Admittedly the 3dr looks more striking than the 5dr.
Interior: Extremely well designed and appointed, most things you touch are leather and the thought that has gone in shows, things like the leather on the dash is unusually rough finished to stop the glare. Only negative so far is the dials aren't as classy as the rest of the car. Seats very comfortable and better than the Cayenne.
Engine: Considering I'm use to much more than this I actually don't feel short changed with the 190hp, possibly if you were demanding it to overtake several cars at once then you might be left wanting but so far it feels adequate. The other surprise is that apart from full throttle and tickover the refinement is remarkable good for a four cylinder diesel, way better than the 23d in an X1 and probably as good as the regular 20d.
Ride: Exceptional for something riding on 20" wheels with lowest profile rubber, better than the air suspension on the Porsche that is for sure, with the Porsche it's comfort setting is more comfortable but can end up boatish on multiple dips and crests where as the Evoque handles this much better, put the Porsche in auto mode cures this but then it's comfort is worse than the LR. Body control is very good, up there with the Porsche or maybe even better which is possibly as much to do with it's weight and CoG as anything else.
Handling: Now to the sticky question of whether it feels like a Hothatch, in normal mode the simple answer is no but it's not really that simple because when placed into dynamic mode in many ways it shares things we associate with that breed like a willing turn-in prompted by slight movements of the steering which it really does do, likewise the steering has a solid feel about it and the body control I already mentioned. The one area is can't match them on is grip, push too hard into a corner and the nose runs out of grip even with the summer rubber but then again you do have to remember it's a SUV which sits much high and a normal hatchback, for it's class of car the Evoque is very very good in this respect.
So far the only real negative is MPG, this example is new with less than 200 miles on the clock but still less than 30mpg on the drive home is poor for it's size, weight and engine capacity. I tripped it from my work to home and got 28.9mpg, a journey the Cayenne gets 36.7mpg so clearly the technology in this engine isn't up to German rivals but an X1 or Q3 equivalent would destroy it here even more. Something that needs to be considered if you are thinking of an Evoque.
P.S.
Properly pissed off at the moment.
Finally got home from working late to see if my son's w/chair would fit in the boot and it hasn't a mission, even the 5dr wouldn't help here. So as much as I and the wife like the Evoque it has to be ruled out as a replacement for her GTI. Here's hoping the boot in the F30 is more accommodating.
