Saar: Available only in the HSE Dynamic variant, the topless Evoque is powered by a 2.0-litre Ingenium petrol motor

Tata-owned British marque Land Rover has upped its SUV game in India by launching a sexy topless beauty. It is called the Range Rover Evoque Convertible and it wears a price tag of Rs 69.53 lakh (ex-showroom, India). Available only in the HSE Dynamic variant, the convertible just raised the bar of what a good-looking SUV is. Sure, it is over Rs 9 lakh dearer than its hardtop sibling but that’s a small price to pay for endless awes, wows and oh my god(s)!

Underneath the bonnet lives a 2.0-litre Si4 Ingenium petrol engine that puts out a 241PS of power and 340Nm of torque. The engine comes mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission. The setup is enough for the high-riding convertible to complete the 0-100kmph sprint in 8.1 seconds and go all the way up to 217kmph. Sure, those figures will come down with the roof retracted but who cares when the SUV looks this good!

Like all other Land Rover models, even in the top-spec variant, the Evoque Convertible is available with a few optional extras. For instance, the standard 5-spoke, 18-inch alloy wheels can be traded in for a set of 7-spoke, 18-inchers with an additional fee and, the front heated only seats can be upgraded to accommodate the cooling functionality as well. Another optional extra is the park assist function which helps in parallel/perpendicular parking and parking exit.

That said, the Evoque Convertible comes with a lot of kit as standard. Some of the standout features include hill descend control, four-wheel drive, adaptive LED headlamps, tyre pressure monitoring system, automatic climate control, a 660-watt 13-speaker Meridian surround sound system mated to a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment, head-up display and surround camera system.

In its drop-top form, the Evoque has no direct competition in India. But a lot of bigger SUVs, with their old-fashioned non-folding roofs, fall in the same sort of price bracket including the Mercedes-Benz GLE, Audi Q7 and the BMW X5.