The face of war has changed. The fight no longer takes place on open ground over great expanses of land. Combat in the 21st century is fought in confined spaces, building to building. The only reasons to leave the security of the home compound are excursions to the tight constraints of strip malls, or, worse, urban combined-use properties, for artisanal cupcakes and organic frozen yogurt. Three-ton war machines don't intimidate combatants; the winners of conflicts must be fast and agile. A three-row SUV is not so much a luxury as it is a burden. The answer is the smaller, more efficient and carlike CUV, and we invited three of the best to battle it out.
The oldest of these is Motor Trend's 2012 Sport Utility Vehicle
of the Year, the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque. Despite the king-size
name, the Evoque established a new benchmark in small premium CUVs. It
wraps an efficient four-cylinder drivetrain in fashion-forward
sheetmetal. The BMW X1 arrives hot on its heels for 2013, despite having
been on sale in Europe since 2010. Smaller and sportier than the X3, it
is also the first BMW SUV to be offered in rear drive. Last is the Audi
Allroad, the slightly hiked-up replacement for the departed A4 Avant
wagon.
All our test vehicles are equipped with
2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 engines, automatic transmissions, and
all-wheel drive. While the Land Rover name certainly carries the best
off-road pedigree, none of them is a serious rock-crawler. That's
appropriate for the market, as 99 percent of these will never see an
unbeaten path. For singles, couples, and small families, this type of
vehicle often makes more sense than a full-size SUV. It's aimed at
buyers who need more space than a sedan, but want something more
rugged-looking than your average hatchback or wagon.
3rd Place: Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
With the Motor Trend SUV of the Year Calipers
strapped to its roof, you might think the Evoque would have an easy
time walking into this competition. But our expectations are higher for a
vehicle we've previously deemed the best in the business, and both the
Allroad and X1 had an extra year of training before this showdown. In
our SUV of the Year competition, we look at a very wide range of
vehicles and requirements. A vehicle is not judged against the other
vehicles present, but rather on how it stacks up against its performance
of intended function. In comparisons like this, vehicles are evaluated
with very specific missions in mind. They are fighting against each
other.
Two years ago at our SUOTY competition, we were
bowled over by the Evoque's edgy styling and aggressive driving
dynamics. It looks and feels futuristic, but with a classic Land Rover
flair. Some of that translates into compromises in usability. Rearward
visibility is just about nonexistent through the mail slot-sized rear
window. To compensate, there are oversized sideview mirrors, which
associate editor Benson Kong remarked "definitely affect how quickly you
want to turn left and right."
The Evoque's 2.0-liter, turbocharged inline-4 matches the BMW's 240 hp,
but has the least amount of torque at 251 lb-ft. The bigger problem in
acceleration and fuel economy might be the six-speed transmission being
down two gears on the other competitors. While the transmission is good,
the other two are great examples of a modern automatic. With the
highest weight and least amount of torque, it's not surprising that the
Evoque's straight-line performance lags behind the other two -- it shows
up a half-second later to 60 mph and in the quarter mile.
We still love the Evoque's interior design and unique high-quality
materials. The inside looks like a designer's vision went straight to
production without stopping along the way in the accounting or
ergonomics departments. The width of the vehicle is apparent from
inside. The low seating position forces your legs straight out in front
of you, requiring the front seats to be positioned further back, which
eats up some backseat space. When fitting our Recaro child seats in the
vehicles, the rear-facing seat was noticeably tight in the back of the
Land Rover, requiring the front passenger seat to be moved forward.
While we appreciate this vehicle as a benchmark in design and crossover
off-road capability, it has too many compromises to win as an urban
warrior.