RANGE ROVER / NORTH AMERICA
Evoque takes North American Truck of the Year
Detroit recognition for the compact Range Rover came from a jury across the United States and Canada.
The Range Rover Evoque won North American Truck of the Year on 9 January 2012. Announced at the Detroit motor show, the result placed the compact Range Rover ahead of the BMW X3 and Honda CR-V.
At a glance
- Event: Detroit, 9 January 2012.
- Other finalists: BMW X3 and Honda CR-V.
- The Truck category included SUVs and crossovers.
Why an Evoque could win a truck award
The category name did not mean that the Evoque was a pickup. Contemporary coverage explained that the finalists were SUVs and crossovers in a year without a field of new pickups. The award therefore belongs in the history of the compact Range Rover without changing how its body or purpose should be described.
A North American judging process
Fifty automotive journalists from the United States and Canada took part. Their criteria included value, innovation, handling, performance, safety and driver satisfaction. Points-based voting first reduced the field to three finalists, followed by another vote to determine the winner. Ballots went to Deloitte & Touche in Detroit.
A first win for Land Rover
Land Rover identified this as its first victory in the competition. Earlier nominations had included the Defender 90 in 1994 and the LR3 in 2005. The result added a new name to that sequence: a smaller Range Rover rather than one of the traditional full-size utility models.
Illustrations recomposed from period press imagery. Image licence.