Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

Land Rover lets you get even closer to nature with its Range Rover Evoque Convertible

By

It’s been rumored, spied, and teased for years, and finally Land Rover is giving the world a good look at its Range Rover Evoque Convertible at the LA Auto Show.

Set to compete in a microscopic market of convertible crossovers (its only earnest competition, the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet, is no longer in production), the Range Rover Evoque Convertible will go on sale in mid-2016 in limited production numbers.

Land Rover first revealed the concept version in 2012, and since then, talk of a production version has drawn both criticism and enthusiasm from the automotive community. As we can see, the final design closely matches the styling of the regular Evoque, just without the fixed roof and pillars. When the top folds, it secures flat and flush, maintaining the character lines of the body. Land Rover only offers the fabric roof in Ebony Black, but customers can choose from 13 exterior colors, including the new Waitomo Gray Metallic and Baltoro Ice.

Related

Mechanically, the Evoque Convertible parallels its coupe-styled sibling with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 240 horsepower and 251 pound-feet of torque. The power is delivered to all four wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission capable of powering the Evoque Convertible to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds. While the cabrio design forfeits some utility, it still manages 8.9 cubic feet of trunk storage.

As for safety and convenience, the folding roof can be operated at speeds up to 30 mph and takes 18 seconds to fold down or 21 seconds to raise up. Land Rover says it has designed the Evoque Convertible to insulate passengers from wind noise nearly as well as the regular version. The model also gains a roll-over protection device (RPD) that is slotted within the rear quarter panel and deploys two aluminum bars automatically in just 90 milliseconds to shield passengers. Also on board is a new airbag system with thorax and head protection for front seat passengers.

The Evoque Convertible weighs in at 4,268 pounds, about 366 more than its fixed-roof twin, and comes standard with halogen headlights, LED daytime running lights, LED taillights, an 8.0-inch infotainment system, a 10-speaker Meridian sound system, climate control, Android Auto, and Apple Carplay. The roofless model also uses the same Terrain Response system as the regular crossover with multiple traction settings.

Prices for the Range Rover Evoque Cabrio will start at $51,470, including destination.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Miles Branman
Miles Branman
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Miles Branman doesn't need sustenance; he needs cars. While the gearhead gene wasn't strong in his own family, Miles…
Tesla posts exaggerate self-driving capacity, safety regulators say
Beta of Tesla's FSD in a car.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is concerned that Tesla’s use of social media and its website makes false promises about the automaker’s full-self driving (FSD) software.
The warning dates back from May, but was made public in an email to Tesla released on November 8.
The NHTSA opened an investigation in October into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the FSD software, following three reported collisions and a fatal crash. The investigation centers on FSD’s ability to perform in “relatively common” reduced visibility conditions, such as sun glare, fog, and airborne dust.
In these instances, it appears that “the driver may not be aware that he or she is responsible” to make appropriate operational selections, or “fully understand” the nuances of the system, NHTSA said.
Meanwhile, “Tesla’s X (Twitter) account has reposted or endorsed postings that exhibit disengaged driver behavior,” Gregory Magno, the NHTSA’s vehicle defects chief investigator, wrote to Tesla in an email.
The postings, which included reposted YouTube videos, may encourage viewers to see FSD-supervised as a “Robotaxi” instead of a partially automated, driver-assist system that requires “persistent attention and intermittent intervention by the driver,” Magno said.
In one of a number of Tesla posts on X, the social media platform owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a driver was seen using FSD to reach a hospital while undergoing a heart attack. In another post, a driver said he had used FSD for a 50-minute ride home. Meanwhile, third-party comments on the posts promoted the advantages of using FSD while under the influence of alcohol or when tired, NHTSA said.
Tesla’s official website also promotes conflicting messaging on the capabilities of the FSD software, the regulator said.
NHTSA has requested that Tesla revisit its communications to ensure its messaging remains consistent with FSD’s approved instructions, namely that the software provides only a driver assist/support system requiring drivers to remain vigilant and maintain constant readiness to intervene in driving.
Tesla last month unveiled the Cybercab, an autonomous-driving EV with no steering wheel or pedals. The vehicle has been promoted as a robotaxi, a self-driving vehicle operated as part of a ride-paying service, such as the one already offered by Alphabet-owned Waymo.
But Tesla’s self-driving technology has remained under the scrutiny of regulators. FSD relies on multiple onboard cameras to feed machine-learning models that, in turn, help the car make decisions based on what it sees.
Meanwhile, Waymo’s technology relies on premapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), which might be very costly, but has met the approval of safety regulators.

Read more
Scout Traveler SUV vs. Rivian R1S: modern electric SUVs compared
Scout Motors Traveler SUV in a forest

Scout Motors has made a big comeback, now under the guidance of Volkswagen Group. Not only is the Scout brand being reinvigorated but it has already announced two new models in the form of the Scout Terra truck and the Scout Traveler SUV. The Scout Traveler SUV in particular is an interesting vehicle, but it has an uphill battle ahead of it thanks to competition from the likes of Rivian.

The Rivian R1S is often considered to be the best electric SUV out there right now, and while it's not cheap, it offers an excellent set of tech features, a long range, and more. So how does the Scout Traveler SUV compare with the R1S? We put the two vehicles head to head to find out.
Design
The exterior designs of the Scout Traveler and the Rivian R1S are similar in many ways, though there are some major differences. Both vehicles offer a relatively blocky shape characteristic of a traditional SUV. The Traveler is a little more traditional than the Rivian in that it has a spare tire on the back, which is both practical and gives it a rugged vibe.

Read more
Waymo, Nexar present AI-based study to protect ‘vulnerable’ road users
waymo data vulnerable road users ml still 1 ea18c3

Robotaxi operator Waymo says its partnership with Nexar, a machine-learning tech firm dedicated to improving road safety, has yielded the largest dataset of its kind in the U.S., which will help inform the driving of its own automated vehicles.

As part of its latest research with Nexar, Waymo has reconstructed hundreds of crashes involving what it calls ‘vulnerable road users’ (VRUs), such as pedestrians walking through crosswalks, biyclists in city streets, or high-speed motorcycle riders on highways.

Read more