So someone tell me something. Remember the Nissan Murano cross cabriolet. You know. The funky looking, convertible SUV that Nissan graced us with some years ago. Does anybody remember that waste of R&D time/money, metal, payroll and the earths precious materials? If you do, continue reading. If not, STOP HERE, Google, Bing, Yahoo search the Murano Cross-Cabriolet, then return to finish reading this article.
So you do know what this monstrosity is? Didn’t we all learn from that experience? The Murano Cross-Cabriolet was a cool idea, with improper execution. It was a completely niche vehicle, without an actual niche. I mean, when was the last time we heard off a convertible compact SUV? I’ll wait….never, ever, ever, ever, ever. Oh…what about the K5 Blazer? That doesn’t count, it was full sized and actually a cool ride. The Wrangler doesn’t count either, as a matter of fact, the Cross-Cabriolet is and was its own distinct vehicle. Nonetheless, it failed but just when you thought that we would never see another convertible SUV, someone decides to bless us with another.
Guess who that company is. Go ahead, guess. I’ll give you a hint, the original focus of the company before luxury became a focal point, was off road ability to display British engineering. You have guessed it, Land Rover is planning an Evoque Converitble. I guess they didn’t learn.
While the idea probably is better suited for the market that Land Rover runs in, it still is a crapshoot. You gotta think about one thing. The point of a SUV. The point is to be a sport UTILITY vehicle. First question on every bodies mine is going to be the “sport” part. Will this Converitble Evoque be able to do, off-road, what its fixed roof counterpart will be able to? It’s Land Rover so maybe they have the correct formula for making this happen. The vehicle part is basically cut and dry. So that leaves the Utility part. Will, like the Cross-Cabriolet have the trunk space equivalent to that of a mid-engined exotic? That’s the problem. With all of that convertible stuff that is going to require a vast amount of real-estate to make the top usable, a don’t really see that working correctl
Then again, with the market that Land Rover is aimed at, maybe a drop top Evoque would satisfy a luxury niche. I could see competitors trying to play catch up with this one. Next thing we know Mercedes will make a GLK Converitble under the name GLKC. BMW would try with a X3C, Audi with a Q5C and who knows what the likes of Bentley and Rolls Royce, could cook up. Lamborghini Urus Convertible anyone? The sky could be and is the limit.
There is no telling if the Evoque Converitble will make for a major success, it could be the best thing to happen in the world of the SUV. Then again, like the “first of the breed” Nissan Murano Cross-Cabriolet, it could fall flat on its face, tank, basically…fail miserably. Only time will tell what this Evoque Converitble will do all I know is, if it does fail, apparently Land Rover didn’t learn from Nissan. Like the Cross-Cabriolet, it would become a waste of R&D time/money, metal, payroll and the earths precious materials.
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