Range Rover Evoque SD4 "Horus"

Named after one of the oldest and most important gods in ancient Egyptian religion, the Range Rover Evoque "Horus" is the work of German tuning firm Loder1899. The package for the Evoque includes both cosmetic and mechanical upgrades, though Loder1899 offers a performance kit only for the SD4 variant that comes with a 2.2-liter turbo diesel producing 188bhp (190PS) in stock form.
On the outside, the British firm's crossover model is adorned with a wide body kit that comprises a front apron, rocker panels, a roof spoiler, a new rear apron that incorporates a diffuser, and oversized wheel arch extensions to make room for the new 23-inch (!) alloys wrapped around massive Michelin Pilot Sport 315/35R23 tires.
The vehicle's stance is made more aggressive through a lowering kit for the suspension.
As mentioned previously, Loder1899 has a power kit for the Evoque SD4, which boosts output from 188hp (190PS) and 420Nm to 215bhp (220PS) and 500Nm respectively.
As a result, top speed has been increased from 195km/h (121mph) to 210km/h (131mph) while Loder1899's Evoque is also slightly faster in the 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint recording a time of 8.2 seconds, an improvement of 0.3 seconds over the regular SD4.
The complete package including the power kit for the Evoque SD4 is priced at €12,047 (GBP 10,070 or US$15,950).

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Chevy Volt and Opel Ampera win 2012 European Car Award

The Chevrolet Volt and its sister model, the Ampera, which is sold as under both the Opel and Vauxhall nameplates, have won the 2012 European Car of the Year (COTY) Award with 330 points. Coming into second place was the Volkswagen Up! city car with 281 points while the new generation of the Ford Focus finished third with 256 points.
The other cars that made it to the final round of the competition were the Range Rover Evoque (186 points), Fiat Panda (156 points), Citroen DS5 (144 points) and the Toyota Yaris (122 points).
The competition brought together votes from 59 automotive journalists in 23 European countries.
Last year's winner was the new, all-electric Nissan Leaf that beat the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and the Opel Meriva.

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BMW X3 Tops while Range Rover Evoque Flops Consumer Reports' Tests

Just like a Rotten Tomatoes review can make or break a movie’s reputation and its box-office success, Consumer Reports’ road tests have the potential to boost a vehicle's sales or in some cases force a an automaker to run back to the drawing board. The latest batch of vehicles tested by CR include two SUVs that even though different in size, will compete in the premium segment: the second iteration of the BMW X3 and the brand-new challenger in the category, the Range Rover Evoque.
To sum it up, the BMW X3 xDrive28i scored an 80 in CR's road test and received the “Recommended” tag, while the Range Rover Evoque managed a test score of 60 score and was placed near the bottom of its class.
“The X3 does an impressive job of combining sporty handling, a lavish interior and surprising fuel economy”, said CR’s Auto Test Center senior director David Champion. He added that it has strong acceleration, a smooth-shifting gearbox and very good brakes.
The Bavarian model also received good marks thanks to its steering, interior quality and its ability to keeps its occupants serene by isolating them from road imperfections and noise. All in all, the BMW X3 outscored every other model in its segment, bar the Audi Q5 3.2.
The 2.0-liter turbocharged Range Rover was praised for its design, impressive acceleration, braking power and six-speed auto transmission. CR also liked the finish of the interior and the full-length glass roof.
However, according to Consumer Reports, that’s where the good stuff ends. In Champion’s own words, “although the stylish Evoque has won lots of accolades in the press, including North American Truck of the Year, our more thorough testing reveals quite a few flaws.”
For starters, the Evoque is criticized for its artificial steering, choppy ride, cramped and noisy cabin and lack of visibility. CR points out that track testing also revealed flaws in its handling.
"The Evoque tackles corners well but its steering feels artificially weighted, impairing feedback. When pushed to its handling limits at our track, the tail slid out and the vehicle repeatedly lifted a wheel during our avoidance maneuver."
In the same issue, Consumer Reports awarded the “Recommended” tag to the Toyota Prius V and the VW Tiguan, but not the Wrangler Unlimited. Jeep’s 4x4 did well in acceleration and off-roading but was panned by CR’s testers in almost everything else, from handling and braking to more trivial issues like removing the roof.

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the North American Car and Truck of the Year Finalists

For the past 18 years, a committee of journalists from U.S. and Canadian magazines, radio and TV stations, websites and newspapers meet once a year and vote for the North American Car and Truck of the Year [NACTOY]. You'll have to wait until January to find the winners for the 2012 edition of the North American Car and Truck of the Year, but the three finalists for each category were announced on Thursday in Detroit.
The car candidates in alphabetical order are the new Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra and the U.S. market VW Passat, which recently won Motor Trend's 2012 Car of the Year award.
We're not sure how the enlightened committee defines the word "truck", but the final shortlist in this category includes the new BMW X3, Honda CR-V and Range Rover Evoque.
The jurors have until January 6 to vote among these vehicles, with the final results to be announced on January 11 during the 2012 Detroit Motor Show.
So far, domestic automakers have won the North American Car of the Year award 10 times, European automakers four times, Japanese automakers three times and a Korean manufacturer only once.
On the truck side, domestic automakers have won the award 12 times, Japanese automakers four times and European automakers twice.
For those of you wondering, here are the vehicles that made it to the jurors’ short list this year:
North American Car of the Year:
Audi A6
Audi A7
Buick Verano
Chevrolet Sonic
Chrysler 300/SRT-8
Fiat 500
Ford Focus
Hyundai Accent
Hyundai Elantra
Hyundai Veloster
Kia Rio/Rio 5
Scion iQ
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Camry
Toyota Prius V
VW Beetle
VW Passat
North American Truck of the Year:
BMW X3
Honda CR-V
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
Mini Countryman
Nissan Quest
Saab 9-4X

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Marangoni's Range Rover Evoque HFI-R

In keeping with its tradition of showing up at the Bologna Motor Show with an impressive concept, Italian tire manufacturer Marangoni chose this year's edition of the venue to reveal the Range Rover Evoque HFI-R.

The first thing that catches your eye as you look at the pictures is the experimental ruby red coloured Marangoni tires – well, for many it will actually be the curvalicious brunette model but that's irrelevant to this story.
Marangoni says that the bespoke “M-Power EvoRed” tires are made from special compounds with high silica content that helps rolling resistance and consequently fuel consumption. The 255/30R20 tires are wrapped around a new set of 20-inch alloy wheels from O.Z. Racing.
In addition, the bodywork of the car has been completely repainted in a special satin paint called Titanium Fluid Metal while the roof, the pillars, the door handles and the grille are finished in gloss black.
Other changes on the outside include the redesigned front and rear bumpers, and a carbon fibre aero kit comprising of a front apron, side skirts, wheel arch extensions and a rear diffuser. The same material is also used on the air intakes, the boot handle, all the bottom door guards and the mirror covers that feature small Italian flags. 
 
The Evoque's interior was also revamped with high-quality materials such as leather, Alcantara and carbon with the seats and door panels now featuring a diamond pattern with double red stitching.
Complementing the styling changes is a raft of mechanical upgrades the most important of which concerns the Si4 2.0-liter Turbocharged petrol engine that has been tuned and modified to run on either gasoline, natural gas or alternatively a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas from a separate tank. It delivers an output of 300-horsepower with the two tanks offering a combined cruising range of 1,000 kilometres or 620 miles.
Marangoni says that when using a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas, the system can completely eliminate fine particle emissions and reduce CO2 emissions by the same percentage (up to 30 percent) as the hydrogen contained in the mix.
Other performance mods include a Tarox B360 brake kit with 10-piston calipers and composite disks, with 330x26 diameter brake rotors.

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