Land Rover confirmed in December 2018 that it would introduce the plug-in hybrid version of the second generation Range Rover Evoque in 2019, but we have seen no sign of it.
Until now.
Today we can confirm that the Evoque PHEV is not far from its debut as our supporter Stuart Theobald has mailed us a photograph of the car’s first prototype from the roads of Staffordshire, England. Land Rover is pulling no punches with this test vehicle, clearly labeling what its engineers are perfecting on the driver’s side, and the #HelloEvoque, the hashtag it promoted last year during the global premiere, applied across the tailgate.
New Evoque will be available from launch with the 48-volt mild-hybrid electric vehicle powertrain. This will be joined by a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) model in 2019.
Land Rover’s announcement published on 17 December 2018
From what we can gather, the plug-in hybrid will debut Land Rover’s 1.5L three-cylinder Ingenium engine with an output of 150-200 hp paired to a circa-100 hp electric motor at the rear axle. The configuration would allow the Evoque to operate as a FWD petrol car, a RWD pure electric vehicle or an AWD crossover with both power units activated. It is understood that the PTA platform (the development of the D8) cannot house fully-electric powertrains, so the PHEV would be the most ‘electrified’ Evoque for this generation.
On the 1.5L three-cylinder Ingenium engine, Jaguar Land Rover has stated that it is capable of producing outputs of 200 PS and 280 Nm, and is optimized for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Common features to the Ingenium engine family are Advanced boosting systems, direct fuel injection, variable cam timing and needle roller bearings, electronically-controlled coolant and oil pumps, aluminium design and offset crankshaft.
The Evoque is presently available in the limited mild-hybrid form featuring a 48V underfloor battery and belt-integrated starter generator. The system harvests energy from braking and deceleration and stores it in the battery to provide torque assist (up to 140 Nm), shut-off the engine under 17 km/h while decelerating, and turn off the engine while keeping the air-con running in stationary position. Land Rover says its MHEV system reduces fuel consumption by 8% on the Evoque, and the gains are going to be considerably higher with the full-blown PHEV version which would go on to become the most fuel-efficient Evoque.
Also See: Next-generation Range Rover to receive pure-electric variant, Velar-inspired body
With Land Rover not confirming yet whether it is going to the Geneva Motor Show (March 2020), the first Evoque featuring a ‘plug’ could be launched at a company event in the following months.
