Range Rover Evoque the cool convertible

The 165 international awards scooped by the Range Rover Evoque is likely to be eclipsed if its convertible stablemate is anything to go by.

The new Evoque Convertible hits the streets next spring with a starting price of £47,500 and Car Review UK has been treated to a preview of the new model.

Billed by Land Rover as the world’s first luxury SUV convertible, the car will be built alongside the Evoque three and five-door versions and the Land Rover Discovery Sport at Halewood on Merseyside.

It looks every inch the cool cabrio too – and is sure to prove a massive hit with Brit buyers who love their soft tops more than any other European nation.

An open top car for all seasons, the convertible comes with a fully automated fabric roof that stows in 18 seconds and can be raised in 21 seconds at speeds up to 30mph.

The promise is of high standards of refinement when closed thanks to a layer of acoustic insulation to ensure interior comfort on a par with the five-door Evoque.

Nor does the position of the roof affect load space, as a 251-litre boot offers unrivalled practicality for a convertible.

Not only is the fabric roof the longest and widest currently fitted to any vehicle on sale today but its Z-fold mechanism is flush with the rear bodywork for a sleek appearance when lowered.

As the fifth member of the Range Rover family – and the first ever convertible – the newcomer seats four and features a choice of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines.

Diesel power comes from the company’s 2.0-litre Ingenium units boasting fuel economy of up to 55mpg and CO2 emissions from 149g/km. There is also the 240PS Si4 petrol engine.

All-terrain capability is the same as the Evoque five-door and Coupe variants so the likes of four-wheel drive, nine-speed auto transmission, Terrain Response system and Wade Sensing are included.

Inside is a high-res 10.2-inch touchscreen with Jaguar Land Rover’s next-generation infotainment set-up – InControl Touch Pro – for smartphone integration, door-to-door navigation, 3G connectivity and a premium sound system.

Safety features include a roll-over protection device with deployable bars, which deploy within 90 milliseconds, hidden in the rear bodywork.

The convertible has already made its world debut in Santa Monica, California, where SPECTRE actress Naomie Harris was one of the first to view the newest member of the Range Rover family.

In her role as Moneypenny, Harris has been paired with Land Rover vehicles including the Defender in the James Bond film Skyfall and more recently the Discovery Sport in SPECTRE.

And she said: “I was so impressed by the design of this car; it’s like nothing I’ve seen on the road before and is so sleek!

“I love the fact that it is just as much at home driving down the Pacific Coast Highway in LA, as it is off-road in the British Countryside.”

More than 450,000 Range Rover Evoques have been produced globally since its introduction in 2011 making the premium compact SUV the fastest-selling Land Rover of all time.