Land Rover is selling this as the world’s first luxury convertible compact SUV. And I’m 99.9 per cent sure I didn’t get any more attractive in the 15 minutes since I collected the Evoque – proof positive that this is a desirable little motor. That certainly doesn’t happen when I’m driving my own Ford Mustang. That’s confirmed when I park it for the first time: two passing middle-aged women stop and stare.
I have images of an iconic scene from the Ben Stiller movie Zoolander, wherein he and his fellow male models go for a joyful drive to the tune of Wham!'s Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go – the moments before they ignite an entire petrol station after an impromptu fuel-splattered hose fight.ĭuring my first few kilometres in the Evoque – the 2.0L HSE Dynamic, to be precise – I’m wondering if I’m being paranoid, but it seems that the only envious glances I’m receiving are from female motorists, notably including one or two Emiratis running their eyes over the car. Except when I go to pick up my test car, it’s in a jaunty shade called Fuji white, and as it’s brought around the corner, the Jaguar Land Rover representative smiles and announces (with pride, not malice): “Here comes the queen”. Having never spied one of the two-door Evoque Convertibles on the road, though, my pre-impression was based on some striking press shots in burnt-orange paintwork.
Naturally there’s the model-making-a-car-model thing: the first response from more than one friend when I mention the car revolves around Victoria Beckham’s special-edition Evoque, which strutted on to the roads five years ago. Yet even before I have chance to jump into the driving seat of the new convertible variant of Range Rover's popular Evoque, it becomes clear that this is a vehicle that is, by accident or design, rocking its X chromosomes unabashed. There are no jobs for the boys there isn't such a thing as a "girl's car". In the year 2017, there really shouldn't be stereotypical gender divides in professions, designations or major belongings.