Video: 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque

Land Rover showed the new five door version of the Evoque small luxury crossover at this show. And it joins the two door version that's been shown previously. This really is a model that's going to go up against others like the BMW X3, Volvo XC60, and the Audi Q5 when it goes on sale of fall of 2011. It's supposed to be priced around $45,000 to start. If you've been following Land Rover news, you probably remember the LRX concept from a few years ago, and that's really what the Evoque is based on. It looks a lot like that car and it brings a new design language to Land Rover, which has previously been a maker of boxy, upright SUVs. This is nothing like that. It's low slung, has a wide stance. Sleek, looks really good. And I think it's gonna appeal to the luxury crossover shopper. The Evoque's powered by a two liter four cylinder turbocharged engine that's rated at 240 horsepower. It's actually built by Ford to Land Rover's specifications, and that teams with a six speed automatic transmission. Now this is still gonna retain some of the Land Rover off-road capability that you might be familiar with because it comes with permanent all wheel drive and Land Rover's Terrain Response technology. Land Rover's high-end Range Rover has got a pretty classy cabin, but some of the other models in the lineup have been more utilitarian. But they're starting to change that with new models like the LR4 and also with the new Evoque, which is really pretty classy. Features this flow through center console that's reminiscent of the Range Rovers, and also really nice dash materials. But it's important because this is an expensive vehicle and people are gonna expect that. When I was first looking at the Evoque, I thought its backseat was gonna be pretty tight. But when you get back here, it's actually pretty tolerable. There's not a lot of extra space, but there's enough to make it passable for a shorter drive. We've been seeing a lot of luxury automakers come out with compact crossovers lately and Land Rover's entry in the space has been the LR2, but I think with the new Evoque five door, they're gonna have a better chance of making a more lasting impact in the space. <v Announcer>For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog, kickingtires.net.