2025 Range Rover Evoque Road Test and Review

2025 Range Rover Evoque ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Range Rover is best known for big, expensive SUVs. Yet about 15 years ago, the British luxury marque – the top-tier sub-brand of Land Rover – introduced one of the industry’s first subcompact crossovers. This vehicle, called the Evoque, proved that style and luxury can come in small packages.

These days, the 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque faces a host of competitors. And it’s part of the second-generation Evoque that dates back to 2020 without major changes. To see if this pioneering SUV is still a good choice today, we recently spent a week testing the 2025 Evoque. In this review, we’ll explain what we love about it – and what gave us pause. Keep reading to learn all about the Evoque’s pros and cons to see if it’s the right small luxury SUV for you. 

Pricy for Its Size

The first challenge facing the Evoque is that it’s a subcompact crossover with the price tag of a larger compact model. It starts from $49,900, which is the same as a BMW X3 rather than the more similarly sized BMW X1. If you’re interested in the smallest luxury SUVs because you want to keep your payments down, the Evoque isn’t the class’s value leader. 

It does at least come with lots of standard features. Every Evoque has all-wheel drive, genuine leather upholstery, a panoramic sunroof, an 11-speaker Meridian stereo, a 12-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with memory settings, a power-adjustable steering column, heating for the front seats and steering wheel, and adaptive cruise control. Most competitors would charge extra for at least some of these amenities. 

Like many luxury vehicles, the price can rise as you add options. Our test vehicle hit $61,615 with a few add-ons (largely appearance items like 19-inch wheels and $1,550 worth of two-tone paint) and the mandatory $1,275 destination charge. Curiously, the Evoque doesn’t offer ventilated seats at any price. 

The Evoque is built in the U.K. with minimal American parts content, which means it currently faces a 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles. As we write in April 2025, Land Rover has suspended new imports of its vehicles to focus on selling its existing inventory that it imported before the new tariffs. If auto tariffs remain for the long term, Evoque prices may rise later this year. 

2025 Range Rover Evoque ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Cute Yet Elegant

Measuring just 172 inches from nose to tail – less than any competitor, and 3 feet less than the longest flagship Range Rover – the Evoque is a wee little SUV. Still, Range Rover didn’t neglect its style. It has minimal front and rear overhangs, giving it a tidily cute appearance. It’s an endearing vehicle. Yet it also wears the same front end as bigger, more expensive Rovers. 

The Evoque doesn’t look as novel as when it first came out in 2012. At that time, its high beltline and tiny side windows made it look like a radical concept car. These days, that’s less unusual, and people have had plenty of time to get used to the Evoque. (Its 2020-model redesign made no radical changes to the crossover’s overall size, shape, or proportions.) On the other hand, we appreciated its clean design. It has fewer aggressively in-your-face details than the latest BMW SUVs, and it still strikes a nice balance between looking like a big tall box (Mercedes-Benz GLB) and a mere slightly raised hatchback (Mercedes GLA). 

2025 Range Rover Evoque ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Richly Finished Interior

Inside, the Evoque is sleekly minimalist without a lot of flash. Restyled last year, it now has a smooth dashboard, central touchscreen, and lack of physical buttons. We’re reminded of a Tesla. The difference is that the Range Rover has much richer materials, plus the conventionality of a gauge cluster behind the steering wheel, stalks for the turn signals and windshield wipers, and a gear selector on the console. Some folks would find the Evoque’s cabin too plain, but we appreciated its design restraint paired with sumptuous leather trim. Not everyone will equate luxury with flashiness, and those folks don’t have so many choices these days. 

We do wish the controls were easier to use. The Evoque’s 11.4-inch touchscreen doesn’t work half as well as a Tesla’s, making you really miss its lack of physical buttons and knobs. You have to dig through menus to adjust the climate settings or heated seats. The cruise control (handled through buttons on the steering wheel) has multiple steps and a steep learning curve. And the touchscreen sometimes didn’t fully turn on in the first minute or so of driving. 

2025 Range Rover Evoque ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Cozy Cabin

We mentioned that the Evoque isn’t as long as the competition. Range Rover offsets that with a long wheelbase and minimal overhangs, creating as much passenger space as possible. But this is still a cozy cabin. 

The driver and front passenger have plenty of space. They’re well-shaped, supportive, and adjustable. Though as we mentioned, we wish ventilated seats were available. Perhaps Range Rover is better prepared for chilly English conditions than California or Florida, where the Evoque's plush yet sturdy black leather is bound to get toasty. In the backseat, adults are more pinched than in most competitors. However, Range Rover carefully carved knee space out of the front seatbacks. It’s more usable than it looks. 

2025 Range Rover Evoque ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Acceptable Utility

The Evoque’s cargo hold is also usable, though not ample. You get 21.5 cubic feet behind the rear seat, and the available space is well shaped – not what we’d have expected from a style-focused little SUV. 

The backseat folds in a flexible 40-20-40 split, which lets you juggle between passenger and cargo space. And you get 50.5 cubic feet with all three pieces folded down, which is competitive for a subcompact crossover. However, the folded seatbacks lie at an angle rather than flat, making the cargo hold less useful. On the plus side, you can tow up to 3,968 pounds – a very specific number that blows away similarly sized competitors. 

2025 Range Rover Evoque ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Easy to Drive

With a peppy turbocharged engine, a smooth ride, and agile handling, the Evoque makes for a great city car. It squirts through gaps in traffic, and the steering feels more alert at low speeds than many rivals. The Evoque doesn’t challenge a BMW for the highest possible cornering limits, and road noise rises on the freeway, but the Range Rover is otherwise relaxed without feeling lazy. It feels more expensive and substantial than the typical subcompact rival. 

You won’t get wild power, though. Every 2025 Evoque comes with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that makes 246 horsepower and 269 lb-ft of torque. Land Rover says it can reach 60 mph in 7 seconds. That's agreeably quick but not a class leader for speed. We also noticed occasional stumbles during gentle acceleration, times when the engine, throttle, and nine-speed automatic transmission weren’t working in perfect harmony. However, the experience was much better than the last Evoque we tested back in 2020. That car’s overly sensitive accelerator made it hard to drive gently. We didn’t have that problem this time around. 

Since this is a Land Rover, the Evoque also has some measure of off-road capability. You get hill-descent control, off-road driving modes and displays, and the promised ability to ford 20 inches of standing water. 

2025 Range Rover Evoque ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Not a Gas Sipper

The Evoque shows its age when it comes to gas mileage. The latest luxury SUVs have become unlikely fuel economy stars. The little Evoque, meanwhile, gets roughly the same mileage as the Range Rover Sport P400 – a six-cylinder, 395-hp mid-size SUV. In EPA testing, the Evoque gets 20 mpg in the city, 27 mpg on the highway, and 22 mpg combined on premium fuel. That’s 6 mpg behind a BMW X1 and 7 mpg behind a Mercedes-Benz GLA. 

You also can’t get the Evoque with an electrified powertrain – no hybrid or fully electric model is available. When you want your city-friendly luxury crossover to burn as little fuel as possible, turn to the Lexus UX 300h and NX 300h hybrids or the all-electric Audi Q4 e-tron, Mini Countryman SE, Mercedes-Benz EQB, or Volvo EX30 and EX40. 

2025 Range Rover Evoque ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Evoque Alternatives

The Evoque’s top competitors in the subcompact crossover segment are the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and X2, Mercedes-Benz GLA, Mini Countryman, and Volvo XC40. The Evoque is smoother and more relaxed to drive than the BMWs or the mechanically related Mini; more fun to drive than the Audi; more solid-feeling and less overtly opulent than the Mercedes; and more graceful-looking than the Volvo. These rivals tend to cost less, have more room, and get better gas mileage – a powerful trifecta of victories. 

If you’re not attached to an extra-tidy size, recall that larger compact crossovers cost about the same as the Evoque. Our favorites include the BMW X3, Genesis GV70, Lincoln Corsair, and Volvo XC60. 

2024 BMW X2 xDrive28i ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Pint-Sized Luxury

When it comes to value for the dollar, the 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque comes up short. It’s smaller yet more expensive than its competitors. It’s neither especially quick nor economical. 

And yet, for the right buyer, that’s no problem at all. When a small size is a feature rather than a bug, the Evoque’s tight dimensions are a welcome relief from rival crossovers that keep growing less compact. And Range Rover infuses its smallest SUV with the same style and richly finished interior (and annoying dashboard controls) that you’ll find throughout its lineup.

By distilling many luxury qualities into a particularly small package, the Evoque provides many reasons to tolerate its foibles – as long as you’re willing to pay up for it. 

2025 Range Rover Evoque ・ Photo by Brady Holt