The guys and gals at Land Rover must be pretty confident. That’s the only way to explain why they have gone to all the trouble of developing an open-top version of the Evoque.
True, the smallest SUV to bear the Range Rover logo has been a huge hit in three- and five-door guise. Perhaps they are counting on that, along with the fact that it’s probably the best-looking model currently on sale.
Either way, the Evoque Convertible made its debut at the LA Auto Show mere days after the automaker gave us the first images of the finished product.
We guess picking this particular show for its debut was a shrewd move: cruising down Sunset Boulevard, with the top down, basking in the sun and the exclusiveness of a premium open-top SUV could be an attractive proposition for customers in the Golden State.
In spite of all the noises (pun intended) about noise insulation being equal to the five-door and the position of the roof not impeding on the (abysmal anyway) cargo room, the Convertible will live or die on its looks alone. So, does it look the part? That’s up to the customers to decide; the car on display, though, despite its non-flattering color, didn’t seem to lose the existing versions’ sportiness in spite of losing their fixed top in favor of a cloth one.
North America will get the 237 HP (240 PS) turbocharged 2.0-liter petrol engine that’s paired to a new, nine-speed auto transmission and comes with all-wheel drive only, as the TD4 diesel won’t make it across the Atlantic. Deliveries will begin in mid-2016 with a starting price of US$50,475 (excluding delivery).
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