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A friend of mine
recently bought a 2012 Toyota FJ, and knowing that my current daily
driver was some sort of Range Rover, he asked if I'd meet him in Death
Valley for a weekend of deep canyon exploring. I agreed, but reminded
him that this Range Rover is not quite as capable as its bigger
brothers, and that his FJ would likely have to take lead when the going
got tough.
Death Valley is a huge place filled with layers and layers of desert
grandeur, lots of which can be accessed by well-kept, twisty ribbons of
asphalt. These roads are perfect for zipping up and over with the
Evoque's sticky rubber and grip-happy suspension, but I wondered how
those same tires and suspension would do when we'd leave the asphalt?
Our destination was the Barker Ranch via the
Goler Wash. Getting to the mouth of the wash meant slithering down a
fast, gravel-compacted road, then driving a few miles up a large
alluvial fan to the start of the canyon. The Evoque handled all with
ease but not without audible fuss. The low-profile tires result in
plenty of rough road noise drumming into the cabin -- the price you pay
for such big rims.
As we neared the mouth of the canyon, I began to notice that the terrain
looked recently disturbed. Sure enough, the canyon was completely
washed out. Two weeks prior to our arrival, a strong thunderstorm
appeared to have wreaked havoc on the canyon, allowing Goler Wash to
live up to its name. The Evoque wasn't about to go up it, and even the
more capable FJ began to shiver in its boots. Rather then risking
getting stuck, we instead used the newly created terrain at the mouth of
the canyon to learn more about Evoque's Terrain Response System.
Toggling through the settings, then rolling through the boulders and
sand allowed my spotters to see how each setting tackles the terrain
with a different approach. Though none of the setting were going to
change the Evoque's lack of robust tire tread or underbody clearance, I
now have a better understanding of the sort of terrain the Evoque is
capable of tackling. An FJ it is not, but it's ability to click off
triple digit speeds on the asphalt while also zipping down the majority
of unpaved roads makes it a unique crossover offering and (mostly)
perfect for visiting a big, vast place like Death Valley.
Death Valley is a huge place filled with layers and layers of desert
grandeur, lots of which can be accessed by well-kept, twisty ribbons of
asphalt. These roads are perfect for zipping up and over with the
Evoque's sticky rubber and grip-happy suspension, but I wondered how
those same tires and suspension would do when we'd leave the asphalt?
Our destination was the Barker Ranch via the
Goler Wash. Getting to the mouth of the wash meant slithering down a
fast, gravel-compacted road, then driving a few miles up a large
alluvial fan to the start of the canyon. The Evoque handled all with
ease but not without audible fuss. The low-profile tires result in
plenty of rough road noise drumming into the cabin -- the price you pay
for such big rims.
As we neared the mouth of the canyon, I began to notice that the terrain
looked recently disturbed. Sure enough, the canyon was completely
washed out. Two weeks prior to our arrival, a strong thunderstorm
appeared to have wreaked havoc on the canyon, allowing Goler Wash to
live up to its name. The Evoque wasn't about to go up it, and even the
more capable FJ began to shiver in its boots. Rather then risking
getting stuck, we instead used the newly created terrain at the mouth of
the canyon to learn more about Evoque's Terrain Response System.
Toggling through the settings, then rolling through the boulders and
sand allowed my spotters to see how each setting tackles the terrain
with a different approach. Though none of the setting were going to
change the Evoque's lack of robust tire tread or underbody clearance, I
now have a better understanding of the sort of terrain the Evoque is
capable of tackling. An FJ it is not, but it's ability to click off
triple digit speeds on the asphalt while also zipping down the majority
of unpaved roads makes it a unique crossover offering and (mostly)
perfect for visiting a big, vast place like Death Valley.
| Our Car | |
| Service life | 7 months/18,029 miles |
| Average fuel economy | 21.6 mpg |
| CO2 emissions | 0.90 lb/mi |
| Energy consumption | 156 kW-hr/100mi |
| Unresolved problems | None |
| Maintenance cost | $0 (oil change, inspection, cabin-air filter, engine-air filter) |
| Normal-wear cost | $0 |
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