Best Luxury 4x4 2012

Range Rover has been building luxury off-roaders for over 40 years – but it broke the mould with the Evoque. Its striking concept car looks give the smallest Range Rover a level of desirability that none of its rivals can match.

The beautifully crafted interior is classy and functional, and it's incredibly capable off road, thanks to its tall ride-height and Land Rover's clever Terrain Response system. It automatically tunes the car's set-up to optimise grip for a variety of driving conditions at the press of a button.

The Range Rover Evoque is available in practical five-door or dramatic Coupe body styles, and features a choice of petrol and diesel engines. The pick of the range is the impressively quiet 2.2-litre diesel, mated to the smooth eight-speed automatic gearbox. On the road the Evoque has remarkably agile responses and the optional adaptive suspension set-up allows the driver to fine-tune it for ultimate cornering composure or comfort.

A lengthy standard equipment list goes some way to making up for the Range Rover's high asking price, but exclusivity is almost guaranteed, and we’d choose the Evoque over any of its conservative German rivals.