Bucking trend, Consumer Reports gives nod to BMW X3 over Land Rover Evoque

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Filed under: Etc., Crossover, BMW, Land Rover, Luxury



The turn of the year didn't merely lead us into the Year of the Dragon, but also the year of the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque. Halewood's small softroader won a boodle of awards: Autoweek's Best of the Best, Top Gear magazine's and Jeremy Clarkson's choice for Car of the Year, Motor Trend magazine's SUV of the Year and the North American Truck of the Year. For starters. Consumer Reports, however, isn't as swayed, saying that the new BMW X3 "handily outpointed its European rival" in a head-to-head between the two compact luxury crossovers.

We expect there's an Evoque out there with a sore backside because CR did not spare the rod, saying the Evoque scored near the bottom of its category because of "a cramped cabin, stiff ride, artificial-feeling steering and troubling emergency handling." On top of that, its "rear view is poor," its "cargo area is small" and its interior is "noisy" albeit "well finished," and was outdone by the X3's "lavish interior." The baby Land Rover finished so far in the hole that CR couldn't give the vehicle its coveted Recommend rating.

That seems a bit harsh at first glance, especially since comparing interior measurements between the two seems disingenuous when the BMW is so much larger that it's basically in another class. That said, we haven't read the full piece yet, so we'll withhold further commentary. For CR's press release on the Evoque vs. X3 cage match and its comments on the Toyota Prius V, Volkswagen Tiguan and Jeep Wrangler, look no further than after the jump.Continue reading Bucking trend, Consumer Reports gives nod to BMW X3 over Land Rover Evoque

Bucking trend, Consumer Reports gives nod to BMW X3 over Land Rover Evoque originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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