At $39,500, Does This 2017 Range Rover Evoque Bring the Bling?
Today’s Nice Price or No Dice Evoque may be dressed up to look like it’s auditioning for a new Tron movie, but will all that excess make up for a tainted title and a nearly forty grand price?
So, I’m embarrassed to admit that I completely forgot to mention the non-working A/C when going over the pros and cons of yesterday’s 1982 Chevy Camaro Z28. In my defense, that’s something that the seller somewhat glossed over too, offering that it is unnecessary when the car has T-tops. For many of us, T-tops or not, that is, in fact, a pretty big deal. Especially so when the A/C in question is of the old-school R12 variety and most of the country is experiencing a massive heat wave. A broken cooler wasn’t the only daunting issue faced by the Camaro’s seller. The other was a $13,500 price tag. That didn’t fly with many of you and eventually took the Chevy down in a heated 60 percent No Dice loss.
Last week we looked at a Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet, a model that the manufacturer claimed to be “the world’s first and only All-Wheel Drive crossover convertible.” That drop-top also featured Quasimodo-like styling that many of you deemed to be one of the most freaky-deaky in all of auto-dom. On both those counts, today’s 2017 Range Rover Evoque convertible folds back its top and says “hold my pint.”
The full name of this model is Land Rover Range Rover Evoque convertible. Obviously, that’s a lot to write in icing on a happy birthday cake, so most people just go with the shorter and fancier Range Rover Evoque.
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Fancy, however, doesn’t begin to describe this particular Evoque in appearance or its contribution to urban light pollution. The car appears to have been given a formal black tie paint job at the factory, but that has since been appended with some unique reflective chrome decals in a design that is somewhat reminiscent of the Dazzle camouflage used by some navies during the First World War. All that culminates in a stylized Union Jack on the bonnet and chromed RANGE ROVER badging on the nose.
Not to be left out, the factory wheels have been replaced with some deep-dish aftermarket alloys wrapped in tires that thankfully look to have enough sidewall that kidney replacements for the car’s passengers won’t be needed. The convertible top appears to be in solid shape and, like a teenager’s first time, is able to do its thing in less than 20 seconds.
The interior features a light show with color-changing ambient lighting around the doors and dash and some seriously bright LEDs in the footwells. Those bathe the floor mats with an ethereal glow which would be a nice way to show off some really fancy footwear or maybe a recent pedicure.
The rest of this littlest Range Rover seems to be pure, uncut Evoque. That means a 240 horsepower turbocharged DOHC 2 liter four-cylinder engine, 9-speed ZF automatic transmission, and front-biased full-time AWD.
According to the seller all that works as it should, claiming the car “Runs great” and that its maintenance is “all on time and Up to Date.” In total, it has a mere 46,000 miles on the clock, so it should be good for at least a few more trips around the block.
There’s a big fly in this Evoque’s ointment, however. A monkey in its wrench. A turd in its punchbowl.
That’s a salvage title that is claimed to be the result of what the seller says was a “small fender bender.” It must have been one lackadaisical insurance adjuster to write off a car that’s less than five years old and that originally cost over $55,000 new for just a “small fender bender.” Call me crazy, but I think there may be more to this story than we’re being told.
Too bad we don’t have time for that. Instead, we’re going to dive right in and vote on this Evoque and its $39,500 asking price. That’s a good ten-grand less than what you might find from a dealer-offered example, but this one is a private party sale and admittedly it does come with that tainted title.
What do you think, is this expressive Evoque worth that $39,500 asking as it sits? Or, do the title and the decals mean it’s unlikely to ever get close to that?
You decide!
Sacramento, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to swasscaddy for the hookup!
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