First Drive: 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Dynamic SE

The name of the 2025 Land Rover Evoque Dynamic SE is nearly longer than the pint-sized compact crossover we’re testing this week. The smallest, least “range-y” rig in the R-R pantheon rides on the same platform as the Jaguar E-Pace and the

and this second-generation Evoque has been on the market since 2019, so it’s getting pretty late in its lifecycle.

The Mythology of Range Rover

Car people tend to know model histories, powertrains, lineups, etc. We think it matters. Then, three miles from my house, as I was entering the big-box store mega parking zone in this gleaming coppery gold Range Rover Evoque Dynamic SE ($55,100), a woman exiting the lot drove toward me, took both hands off the wheel, leaned across the dash of her

, and mouthed “LOVE IT!” I nodded, grinned—and realized I knew zilch. Who cares if the mini Range Rover has a “mere” 8.3 inches of ground clearance and doesn’t have a dedicated off-road system? It has 19-inch gloss black rims and a shiny black roof that perfectly offsets the copper paint. Which, by the way, is called Corinthian Bronze. Now you know.

• At the traffic circle, I downshifted the nine-speed gearbox via the left paddle and robustly matted my right foot. I got instantaneous tire squeal. I was being a jerk, yes, but I wanted to see how well it cornered. Well, it corners, but there’s a bunch of body lean to go with the hooning.
• Steering feel is soooo light. Hey, it’s meant to be easy to drive, and it is. But on the Interstate the tiller is numb. On-center, hello? You in there, somewhere? No reply.
• The 2.0-liter four is peppy, because you get 269 pound-feet of torque straight off idle. But then there’s this long delay, for the horses to come galloping lazily along, since peak horsepower arrives at 5,500 RPM.

Performance Specifications

Sound Design

I want to like the powertrain, but the exhaust note isn’t singing my tune. In Sport mode it makes more thunder, but it’s not clear what the commotion is about. So I leave it in drive, and resist the urge to self-shift. Instead, I test out the optional Meridian sound system ($450), a 14-speaker unit with dual subwoofers. (CAUTION: Audiophile nerd alert, ahead!) Rather than using a low-bitrate streaming service like Spotify, I use an app called Roon Arc, so you get the full resolution, not the thin-straw audio of most streaming. And, glory be! This is an excellent system. I fire up the Black Keys and darn near weep at the grittiness of Dan Auerbach’s vocals. Nice.

Tap the gear icon and it brings up four options: Quick (stuff you want to adjust most often, like dimming the backlighting), Smart Devices (duh, your phone), Audio, and All. This is brilliant, because it’s a distillation of the way-too-many-choices default that most carmakers insist on cramming onto screens. Here, you’re always about three taps from success, not 17.

A Mini Cooper Countryman Has More Rear Legroom

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can be spec’d into the mid $45,000 range pretty easily. That wagon will also go most of the places you’d pioneer up, across, or down in your Evoque (like snowy suburban driveways). But the hangup with the Evoque is that, unlike that Subie, it has paltry second-row legroom.

• The margin is a full six inches fewer than in the second row of that Subaru. Even a Mini Cooper Countryman has three more inches for second-row passengers.
• On the other hand, with the rear seats flipped down, 62 cubic feet is a decent hauling capacity for what’s clearly a car meant for two adults, not a parenting-mobile—at least not once the kids are out of diapers.

Interior Dimensions

The Digs are Sweet

If cars are becoming rolling living rooms, they might as well be good at that part. The Evoque is a really pleasing place to hang out, so it’s winning there for sure.

• Phone pairing is super quick, and I also parked, paired to Wifi, got on Slack, and it all just worked. This should be a default for any luxury carmaker.
• The seats are very comfy. The tester has a 12-way adjustable driver’s seat, but I sat in the front passenger seat for my Slack-ing, and it’s plenty comfy, too. Also, the seat heaters are blisteringly effective.
• Pro tip: If you get the cold weather climate pack that’s a pretty good deal. For $980 you get a heated windshield (because scraping is for amateurs), heated washer jets, headlight washers, and even if the rear seats feature limited legroom, a heated second row.

TopSpeed’s Take

Initial impressions are exactly that. I will drive the bottle-rocket Range Rover more, to get a better feel for what exactly this is, and where it fits in the realm of small luxo-crossovers. But one word to puzzle over: hybrid. That’s not on the menu, and that means that what’s rapidly become a very mainstream way to add power while saving fuel, isn’t in the cards. Maybe someone spending $55,000 is disinterested in the fuel savings, but vs. some hybrids, there’s a gumption deficit that might chafe.