Land Rover (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd officially launched the first ever Range Rover Evoque in Malaysia in November 2nd2011, some nine years ago with great success as Malaysians who wanted a ‘Range Rover’ and we a little short of funds could now get a ‘Range Rover’ vehicle for the same money as luxury sedan.
At the time its was the smallest, lightest, most fuel efficient Range Rover ever produced with no rival in Malaysia. The completely built-up (CBU) Evoque was offered in three variants, the two-litre Petrol Coupe Dynamic Plus for RM393,888 (Peninsular Malaysia), RM397,388 (Sabah and Sarawak), 2.0L Petrol 5-Door Prestige for RM363,888(Peninsular Malaysia), RM367,388 (Sabah and Sarawak), 2.2L Diesel 5-Door Prestige for RM353,888 (Peninsular Malaysia) and RM357,388(Sabah and Sarawak).
By 2014, in just three years more than 400,000 units of Range Rover Evoque had been produced for the world since its introduction in 2011, making this premium compact SUV the fastest-selling Land Rover of all time. Then from 2015 the sales progress slowed down as the immediate rivals released hotter and sexier rivals catching the successful styling of this Evoque.
2014 marked the Evoque’s most successful year to date, with 125,364 units sold around the world. In Malaysia, Jaguar Land Rover Malaysia (JLRM) had put more than 2,000 Evoque’s on the road since its launch.
This sales success came with critical acclaim, as the Range Rover Evoque had won more than 165 international awards since its launch.
Powered by a 240PS/340Nm Si4 2.0-litre petrol engine matched to an advanced ZF nine-speed automatic transmission, the Range Rover Evoque could accelerate from 0-100km/h in just 7.6 seconds and achieve a top speed of 217km/h.
Yes, there is a diesel variant, but we suggest to look for a petrol version which had less problems over the years.
So, what’s the running costs in Malaysia?
To service your Evoque will be about RM690.00 for an engine oil and oil filter change. Consumables like brake pads will cost about RM1,900 a pair. Not that expensive when put side by side with its rivals.
Over the years there have been issues reported starting with the 9-speed gearbox which under warranty have been sorted out in Malaysia. Then there were reported issues with its climate control (A/C) system, which was sorted by its warranty program. There were also turbocharger issues that were taken cared off during its warranty period.
However, grey/used/reconditioned imported Evoque’s did not get this great warranty service and owner’s who initial thought they were saving money by buying reconditioned units were lumped with heavy repair bills for their Evoque and so, used prices moved downwards quickly.
Today there are hundreds of units on sale in the Malaysians used car market and we spotted a few gems. Best to buy are NON-reconditioned imported unit. Buy a local import from Jaguar Land Rover under Sime Darby Motors so you can get a full service history and confirm that the previous owner did get all the relevant upgrades and recalls done professionally.
A 2014 JLRM import unit sells from RM125,000 and you can also find a slightly higher mileage 2014 unit for RM109,000. This is just 28 to 33 per cent of its original selling price and almost 99 per cent of Malaysian owners never took their Evoque off-road.
Today, there is a brand new 2nd generation Evoque in Malaysian showrooms and its asking price starts from RM428,282 which is a hefty RM75,000 more than the 1st generation Evoque some 9 years ago.
