It all began on a rather chilly November morning. Graham ‘my significant other’ as Del Boy would say, was sitting in his Dentist’s waiting room for a nerve-wracking appointment and by chance picked up a copy of ‘What Car’.

There, on the front cover in bright bold lettering was ‘The New Baby Range Rover’. He immediately turned to the pages and became enthralled in the  2011’s hi-tech, green and super cool Evoque. 

When his name was called, he rather begrudgingly left the magazine and later bought a copy and became increasingly excited at the prospect of changing our cars.

I will admit that we had been considering a 4x4 for a little while. With the snow from the previous January and the snow in November, a change of car had become a practical rather than just an aesthetic decision.

I drive a Mini Cooper, which I love, bright red with white stripes over the top of the roof, low-profile wheels and a body kit. For me (and I know I sound vain and a little girlie) it is all about the look. Graham drives a Porsche 911 so, as you can imagine, we need to be a bit more practical and sensible! Our cars are all good fun in normal conditions, but put them in the snow and they become a nightmare.

We had considered various options. My biggest problem is being only 5ft 2” I look absolutely ridiculous stood next to the traditional Range Rover and really do need a step ladder to gain entry! I had also test driven the Ford Kuga, Audi Q5, and VW Tiquan. Although, I had enjoyed many elements of these cars, something was missing.

When Graham came in, excited and full of enthusiasm, I half-heartedly started to read the article and as I read, I too began to feel some excitement brewing. Could this be true? A truly ‘girlie girl’ being interested in a car?

It will be exactly four decades since the birth of the Range Rover, that Land Rover are getting ready to launch the new Evoque, the smallest, lightest, most fuel-efficient car it has ever made. Fortieth birthday presents do not come much better than this.

The car was shown at the Paris Motor show in its 3-door configuration, but as you will read as my blog progresses, we got our first hands-on viewing at the London Boat Show at the ExCel Centre on 7^th January 2011.

As you may have guessed, Graham and I are converts and have put down our deposit with our local dealership in Edenbridge.

There is so much more to tell you, so I hope you will enjoy following my journey through buying, driving and indeed living with this very exciting new car.

Next time…..London ExCel centre, The Launch of the Range Rover Evoque.

Find out what happened when I met Gerry McGovern, Land Rover's chief designer…and got cosy with Ben Shepherd!

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