Great Britain and India have a long and complex history in terms of their relationship to each other, and it is likely to continue for ages to come. There’s been a lot of back and forth (which is a mild way of putting it) and while Britain ruled ages ago India now the relationship is vastly different. Who would have thought 100 years ago that in 2012 an iconic British company like Land Rover would be owned by the Indian company Tata? But that is the way things are now, although brand purists would be pleased to know Land Rover (and its upscale Range Rover division) are still very British in design and construction. And while there is a great deal of tradition in their new products, the company is certainly not shy about embracing the latest in both style and technology.

The Range Rover Evoque is the lightest of the range, and one of those distinctive new models that bears a near-as-dammit resemblance to a concept vehicle (the Range Rover LRX) seen on the auto show circuit back in 2008. Available in two or four-door variants, it’s pretty amazing to see the production version in the flesh and realize this is not a show car, but a very stylish machine you can drive to work (or into the bogs-n-boonies, if you so desire). It has a very distinctive look; adopting the squished profile philosophy where it looks like a very large, heavy object of some sort was placed on the roof when the Evoque was still young and growing and therefore stunted further upward roof development. This is in direct contrast to usual Range Rover practice where you typically have a big greenhouse and a low beltline for excellent off-road visibility. The Evoque’s lower roofline would actually seem claustrophobic if not for a brilliant engineering solution: a panoramic glass roof. Naturally there’s a power shade if you want more of a “hardtop,” but I never used it as the sun didn’t cook the interior unduly while I had the vehicle. It a very clever feature that is getting more and more popular on a variety of vehicles these days. “Wheel at every corner” architecture almost gives the machine a Giant Mini vibe, and helps reduce front and rear overhangs for those who actually do wander off the beaten path from time to time.

There’s an amazing amount of stylish detail inside and out so there’s something interesting everywhere you turn. A favorite such attraction is the shifter, which is actually a dial in the center console that rises up hypnotically out of the surrounding substrate to meet your hand when you hit the start button. This is the kind of thing that drivers will love to show virgin passengers (any sexual references are purely coincidental, of course).  Near this transmission interface you’ll find a mode selector that includes the optional Adaptive Dynamics Ride Control system with MagneRide. This is an ultra-techy on-the-fly damping adjustment system that helps tame the Evoque’s long-travel suspension instantaneously thus reacting to any and all road conditions. It seems to work quite well, for the ride is firm but never punishing and the famous Rover rock-gobbling compliance is well-represented. 

So what’s eet got under the bonnet, then? Here again we see that there’s nothing on the new Evoque that you could call commonplace. It’s powered by a 2-liter turbocharged Inline Four, that despite it’s modest displacement doles out 240 horsepower. There’s plenty of get up and range, but like many turbos power delivery can be a bit abrupt at times. Overall it’s a great mix of performance and fuel economy as I got around 21 MPG while I roved about. The six-speed automatic suited the power delivery well, and the multi-mode intelligent all-wheel-drive system has settings for General Driving (on-road and easy off-road); Grass/Gravel/Snow (slippery conditions, on and off-road); Mud and Ruts; and Sand. Thus spaketh the press release; I myself did not hammer the Evoque in Snow, Mud and Ruts or Sand situations as I preferred to engage its urbane manners in multiple situations the likes of which I think most owners will likely encounter.

And it is here where is proved to be a very neat vehicle indeed. It’s heavy on style and most of it is absolutely functional. The glass roof in particular is awesome, and really does make the vehicle feel roomier than it actually is which is quite a trick. Complaints included a touch screen interface that had too many menus and was very slow to react in many cases. I also am almost never a fan of 20” wheels/tires (18″ are standard) as they can introduce some bump-steer in smaller vehicles. But en toto, the Evoque is a great pleasure to live with and is fly (and all the way live), innovative and interesting. It’s no surprise to me that the Rover folks are promoting the hell out of the thing, and who can blame them? It really is worth making a fuss over. 

Once upon a time there was the Chevette, but there was, at the same time, the Corvette. Verily I say unto you the day came where there was the Aveo, and yet over there, in a different part of the lot, was the Corvette. You see what I’m saying? It’s an auto manufacturer yin and yang thing; a wild phenomena that stretches the whole balance-of-opposites concept to extreme proportions. On one side of the spectrum resides a rental mule, the other has arguably one of the sharpest sports coupes in the world that can run with the best exotica out there. I mention this because even during its best moments of controlled moto-mayhem, there are still times when you’re in a Corvette and you sense the presence of Chevrolet. What I mean to say is during such moments you feel, albeit briefly, you’re in a vehicle that is a bit less exotic and polished than one might expect for a $70K plus price tag. 

It’s OK, though, because such moments vanish quickly (like reflector markers on the side of the road) and to be honest it’s all part of the Vette’s unique charm. The car (in Grand Sport trim) has a wonderfully vocal and respectfully strong LS3 6-liter V8 that is as much a treat to listen to as it is to open up on an empty stretch of curvy tarmac. The engine audio was especially tasty because the Vette I enjoyed had the optional Dual-Mode exhaust that boosts horsepower to 436 and does both the Basso Burble and Banshee Blast with equal vigor. There are more powerful variants of the engine available in more extreme Corvette models of course, but I found this mill (in concert with a very sharp 6-speed manual) to be a fine fit for the chassis as a whole. It’s a balance thing, and involves everything working in harmony to get you down the road with great dispatch. 

This of course is a segue to what makes a sporting automobile worth its salt, which is the handling. Anybody can drop an enormous engine under the bonnet and go like stink in a straight line, but it’s the process of straightening a challenging serpentine road that separates the muggles from the wizards. The Corvette has a very unique chassis, including composite body panels, a hydroformed steel frame with aluminum and magnesium structural and chassis components and the use of composite leaf springs (both fore and aft) to gobble up bumps. This is a really unusual way to suspend the car, and the single leaf at each end is incredibly feathery in mass and transversely mounted so low it nearly scrapes the pavement. The Z16 Performance Package includes stiffer springs and stabilizer bars, specially-tuned shock absorbers, larger brakes with six-piston front and four-piston rear cross-drilled rotors and high-performance AA-traction rated tires. This package also includes extra cooling for the engine, and a Z16-specific six-speed manual (when ordered with six-speed manual transmission).

But wait: there’s more suspension goodness. The Magnetic Selective Ride Control option dumps all kind of black-box magic into the soup, including “magneto-rheological dampers able to detect road surfaces, and adjust the damping rates to those surfaces almost instantly for optimal ride control.” There’s Tour and Sport settings but I never messed with them as suspension response was just fine, thank you, and the sophisticated (and adjustable) Active Handling traction control lets you have a bit a tail-sliding fun but does a great job of keeping you going where you’re pointed. Pointing the Corvette is one of motoring’s great pleasures, too, as the steering feel and response is perfect for this package and is an integral part of why the car is such an entertaining ride. The Vette gets more comfortable the harder you push it (at least at the pace I ran which wasn’t near its limits-this is the street after all), and the finely molded sport seats both cradle and comfort your person whether you’re hustling or just cruising along. Some controls (like the turn-signal-mounted cruise buttons and a counterintuitive radio/NAV interface) are annoying and very Chevy-centric, which goes back to that yin/yang thing I mentioned earlier. But hey, that’s all part of the Corvette experience and there’s something strangely nostalgic about this kind of dated hardware. This GM icon is and always has been kind of special, and at its core is a seriously competent sports car that can really get your blood pumping at a pace that only a few serious road machines can achieve. The car is continuing to grow and evolve, sure, but it has managed to maintain the essence of what after all is a very entertaining beast; unique to the American performance ethos and a truly singular driving experience. Some things, it must be said, do age rather well.