Personal owner's review - X1 vs Evoque

[Grovsnus]

As an owner of both an X1 35i and an Evoque Si4 (Pure Plus), I thought I'd make a mini-review of some of the similarities, differences and annoyances of both.

Sorry for making a long post - if it's too long, skip it

Size:
The X1 is longer, and the Evoque is wider. The X1 doesn't look it, but it really is slightly longer than the Evoque is wider.
For the interior, this translates to much better driver/shotgun leg room in the X1, and much better shoulder and, ehrm, posterior width in the Evoque.
In the rear seat area, neither will win prizes for roominess. The Evoque is harder to get in/out of the rear, but you have better room once you're in. And the middle seat can be used by an almost normal sized person, unlike in the X1.
For the cargo area, the X1 has less volume, but is slightly deeper. The Evoque wins on being wider, and when folding the rear seats forward, gaining more space that way too.
The Evoque also has four sturdy eye bolts in the cargo area, which are extremely nice for fastening your cargo. And metal sliders on the cargo opening lip. And a cargo door that opens automatically. But it's far easier for my older dog to get in and out of the X1; both the rear and side doors.
Heightwise, the Evoque looks very squished, but isn't as low as it looks. The ground clearance is much better in the Evoque, which makes it look more squished. You sit higher in the X1, though.
Overall, the Evoque wins by a narrow margin.

Comfort:
For going on long trips, the Evoque wins, hands down. I don't know what the Motortrend journalists had smoked when testing the two and finding the Evoque hard and the X1 soft. It's the exact opposite. The bigger wheels with fatter non-runflat tires helps making the Evoque a smooth ride, despite potholes and road debris. Combine this with much softer seats, and wider track, and the Evoque is the one you want to drive your aging grandmother in. However, that also means you have less of a road feel in the Evoque. The steering being electric instead of hydraulic as the X1 doesn't help there.
I said drive your grandmother in the Evoque. For transporting your mother in law, you want the X1. The Evoque lacks MIL-handlebars, also known as oh shit handles.
The dashboard is also so far away that you can't brace against it.
As for seats, well, I already said that the Evoque had a much softer seating. But for the shotgun passenger, you can adjust neither the height nor the seat angle.
Add to this a serious design flaw in that the foot well for the Evoque only fits up to size 11 (45 European) feet. The angled portion butts against the dashboard, and if your feet are bigger, they won't fit. You have room to angle one of your feet diagonally, but not both.
But you won't bang your knee against the cup holder, as on the US X1. The Evoque's cup holders are stationary, in the center console. And unlike the X1, the arm rest won't come flying forward, decapitating your latte and spewing coffee all over the iDrive.
If you or your main passenger are, ehrm, heavyset, the Evoque wins on comfort.
If you're tall, or have big feet, the X1 wins.
But if you need to put three people in the rear, and one of them isn't a Bantu, the Evoque wins for rear seat comfort.

Driving:
300 German cavalry horses vs 240 Indian polo thoroughbreds.
The X1 is a far more agile car.
The Evoque, which really isn't heavy and sluggish at all, just isn't as nimble. The torque is lower, and at higher rpm, so you have to drag the gears further to get a good response.
As said earlier, you also don't "feel" the road as well in the Evoque, due to the electronic steering and wider wheel base. But it certainly is more comfortable, especially where the road isn't perfect.
Being slightly shorter, the Evoque also has a smaller turn radius. At low speeds, that is. At high speeds, it does not turn all that well, tending to understeer. The X1 M-Sport oversteers slightly, but to quote Lemmy: That's the way I like it baby, I don't want to live forever.
It's slightly easier to park in the Evoque. If you can find a parking space wide enough, that is. Get the 4 door and not the coupe, or it will be a real problem.
Both are six-speed automatics, but the gears are lower on the Evoque than the X1, which gives it more power to climb and descend hills in style. Where the X1 can do up to an 18% hill, the Evoque can do an impressive 25%. That's so steep that you feel you lie on your back when going up the hill.
And it has settings for snow, mud and sand, presumably adjusting the 4WD, traction control and gears.
Still, I have to give this one to the X1. No contest, unless you go on long trip, in which case the driving comfort of the Evoque is nice. Or you need to drive your grandmother up ski jumps on a regular basis.

Technology:
The Evoque has a touch screen interface. For better and for worse. It's not as easy to navigate when driving, but easier when standing still. The voice recognition for addresses also works in the Evoque. Sort of. At least better than the X1, where you have to[*] use the knob.
But the navigation map itself is a heck of a lot better in the X1. It's more responsive (updates more often) and gives you better control of what to see. With the Evoque it's pretty much limited to whether you want to see golf courses or not. The golf course functionality is deemed so important that it has its own button. Think about that.
Also, if you override the route choice by not making a suggested turn, the Evoque will throw a hissy fit in the form of a black overlay that obscures the map for several seconds while it announces that it's recalculating the route, you bastard. The X1 lady in the box is much better behaved and will demurely accept your choices without passive-aggressively interfering with your map.
Both offer CD ripping to atrocious quality, have good stereo/speaker upgrade options (Harman Kardon in the X1, Meridian in the Evoque), and can play a DVD while parked. But the X1 seems to have an edge, with better FM HD+ reception, and an easier to navigate interface. The Meridian's midrange is a little better, but the HK wins for bass and a much clearer treble.
And you can do bluetooth and have USB connected at the same time, unlike the Evoque.
Phone clarity is perhaps slightly better in the Evoque, due to the better midrange speakers. But the reception is worse, inside that big metal cage.
The backing camera is better quality on the X1. It also shows you more information, and is far quicker to react.
The Evoque has more information in the area between the speedometer and rpm gauge. Like upcoming turns. But I don't really need to see the radiator temperature all the time. Or do Land Rover people expect it to boil?
Overall, this is a win for the X1. Unless you're addicted to touch screens, it's just so much better in all ways.
[*]: I don't know how it can hear "Main Street, Manchester, Connecticut" as "Boise, Idaho, start guidance". Unless it's revenge for all the times I didn't turn left.

Economy:
The two cars are surprisingly similar in purchase price and fuel consumption. Both want 91 octane (95 EU). The X1s tank is slightly larger, but if you step on it, it also uses more gas. If you don't, the two are fairly similar. The X1, having a proper stick, is easier for hypermiling (like high gear pulse and neutral glide).
Insurance is slightly more for the X1, for three reasons: B, M and W.
Overall, it's a tie. Both are decent for the size.

Three things I love about the X1:
Agility.
Road feel.
Telling the lady in the box to avoid highways and toll roads.

Three things I love about the Evoque:
Shoulder space.
Goes more places, almost like a real SUV.
Rear seat comfort.

Three things I hate about the X1:
The moving center armrest decapitating drinks.
The rubber seals falling off the bottom edge of the doors, having to be reattached.
The traction control kicking in too easily.

Three things I hate about the Evoque:
The footwell. You know what they say about guys with tiny feet[*]
The gear knob. Or lack thereof.
The detached feeling from the road.
[*]: They need small shoes.

[danielj]

Nice review, thanks for sharing.

I looked at the Evoque but when loaded, didn't like the price.

[leatherpants]

Originally Posted by Grovsnus

...things I hate about the X1:
The moving center armrest decapitating drinks.

Great reviews. This was my favorite part!

[Spinynorman]

Originally Posted by Grovsnus

Where the X1 can do up to an 18% hill, the Evoque can do an impressive 25%. That's 45 degrees.

Actually, a 25% grade is 14 degrees (rise/run=0.25). Not quite as impressive as 45 degrees, which is a 100% grade. But still good.

[bimmerfile]

Originally Posted by Grovsnus

.................... things I hate about the X1:
The moving center armrest decapitating drinks.
.................................................. ..................

[Mtpisgah]

I test drove the Evoque and found there to be a horrible blind spot at the right rear and the tiny back window to be deal killlers. Do you find this to be a problem or is it just a matter of getting used to it when driving it daily?

[Grovsnus]

Originally Posted by Mtpisgah

I test drove the Evoque and found there to be a horrible blind spot at the right rear and the tiny back window to be deal killlers. Do you find this to be a problem or is it just a matter of getting used to it when driving it daily?

The visibility out the letterbox back window is low. But no worse than driving another car with passengers in the back, or with big cargo. And certainly better than vans. And the view is wider than the view out the X1 rear mirror. (The X1 also has a problem with the rear window getting dirty very quickly due to turbulence, and the wiper only clearing the middle part of it.)

To compensate for the letterbox rear window, the Evoque has really big side mirrors.
The non-basic model also has blind spot (dead angle) detection, where it will show a lit icon in the side mirrors when there are nearby cars outside your field of view.

I always rely more on the side mirrors than the rear mirror, so it doesn't bother me. For backing up, it may make you rely more on the rear camera, but otherwise, I don't see it as a problem.

[Grovsnus]

Originally Posted by Spinynorman

Actually, a 25% grade is 14 degrees (rise/run=0.25). Not quite as impressive as 45 degrees, which is a 100% grade. But still good.

Ah. Being European, I never understood the percentage grades. Depending on country, a grade in Europe would be noted in notations like "1:10" or "12°".

I'll remove the incorrect translation from my review - thanks for the correction!

[nospam]

Very fair compare...thanks.

We had our heart set on the Evoque but found it didn't have the value or features of the X3. We didn't know the X1 was here in the states until we showed up at the dealer for the test drive. The X1 makes the X3 and Evoque feel like trucks. It made trading in my E90 335i easier to swallow and we spent $10k less.

[edx1]

Wonderful review. Thank you.

[Grovsnus]

Originally Posted by nospam

We had our heart set on the Evoque but found it didn't have the value or features of the X3.

It's not a bad car at all, really. It drives more like a car than a truck, while having much of the versatility of an SUV. Landrover is back on the right track after the decline while being owned by Ford.
I can recommend it to anyone who finds the X1 too demanding to drive, and want an easy comfortable ride, no matter where you go. And compared to the X3 and GLK-350, I think it's well priced too. I'm probably biased because I bought one, but it really drives nicely.

But unlike the X1, I won't track it

[danielj]

I spent some time in my friends Evoque over the weekend. I actually found the ride to be quite firm. Driving the same roads as I do in my x1 with M Sport and 19" wheel package, my x1 glides over the imperfections with little feedback while the Evoque was actually rough. The seats were Buick soft but I would have liked more side bolstering.

Love the Evoque's interior. All the tech goodies and illumination makes the x1 feel dated inside.