Even more fantastic news for Land Rover’s new Range Rover Evoque as it was declared the overwhelming victor of the Scottish Car of the Year awards by the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers. Not only that, it won the award by receiving more votes than any previous winner. And to top off the success, the Evoque was also named Best Compact SUV.

Range Rover Evoque – Scottish Car of the Year – John Murdock, Murray Diestch – Land Rover Our Planet

Jim Murdoch, president of the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers, described the award-winning car as “wholly deserving” winner of the Scottish Car of the Year title.

“Built in Britain and with an iconic badge on its bonnet, our top car of 2011 has wowed everyone who’s driven it,” he added. “With more votes than any previous winner, this car is a runaway success. No surprise then that it already has queues of buyers stretching round the block and beyond. We’re very proud to be among the first to acknowledge the brilliant work that has gone into building this car, especially as it’s so ideally suited to Scotland’s unique driving conditions.

“As two tough winters have shown, the need for capable 4×4s is still as strong as ever in Scotland. When the snow isn’t falling, we also demand a car that works just as well for family and business needs. And as if we’re not already asking for everything in one car, we also want excellent economy and affordable running costs. Our winner achieves all of this and also manages to be one of the most desirable cars money can buy.”

Whilst accepting the award, Land Rover’s director of engineering programmes, Murray Dietsch, acknowledged the praise: “Scottish Car of the Year is undoubtedly one of the most important accolades in the industry. On behalf of everyone at Land Rover, I would like to thank the association for the award and for recognising that the Evoque is the most exciting car to be driven on Scottish roads this year.”

Phil Hodgkinson, product development director added: “We are all very proud. The Evoque is the result of a real team effort, with all functions across the company working together to create a unique, exciting and altogether outstanding new vehicle.”

Of course Land Rover has been recognised by the Scottish Car of the Year awards in the past when the Discovery 4 was voted top of the Scots in 2009. And for the Evoque, it is yet another fantastic accolade to follow success in the Auto Express New Car Awards, in which it was declared the magazine’s Car of the Year and Best Compact SUV.

The Evoque hit UK showrooms back in September, with 20,000 worldwide advance orders, of which 6000 came from British buyers.

The new Range Rover Evoque is not only the most fuel efficient Range Rover ever made but it offers customers an incredible range of options and accessories across a range of price points; the range starts at £27,955.

The new Range Rover Evoque is proving very popular for lots of reasons, not least because it is the most fuel efficient Range Rover ever produced. However, what you might not know is that it has been produced using sustainable engineering process which has ensured that everything about the vehicle – from manufacture to end of life – reduces the possible impact on our environment.

This commitment to sustainable engineering has led to the development of Land Rover’s ‘Life Cycle Assessment’ (LCA) tool, a new way of measuring a vehicle’s environmental credentials which is recognised as the most stringent and transparent measure amongst industry peers.

Before the introduction of LCA, the environmental impact of any vehicle was largely judged on fuel consumption and tailpipe emissions. With LCA the entire picture is examined; product creation, manufacturing, materials, manufacturing processes and the delivery network are all put under the microscope. And when a vehicle is on the road, not only is its’ fuel use and emissions analysed up to 200,000km, but the environmental cost of producing the fuel itself is factored in.

Finally, once a vehicle reaches the end of its life and is dismantled, the LCA studies the environmental impact of this process, including how much of it is recycled or sent to landfill.

What does this all mean? It means that Land Rover is able to create more efficient vehicles and processes, as well as using more sustainable materials. And that’s why LCA will be conducted on every new Land Rover and Range Rover model from now on.

In the future, the findings and innovations from LCA will go into producing vehicles that are able to meet the exacting driving standards of Land Rover lovers whilst having less environmental impact. This means Land Rover will continue it’s commitment to a sustainable business future and working toward the target of a 25% reduction of European fleet average CO₂ emissions by 2015.

So far, LCA has been fundamental in the development of the new Range Rover Evoque. If you are interested in finding how this has improved aerodynamic drag, reduced weight, improved fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions then keep checking back here as we will be taking a closer look at this fascinating process over the coming weeks.

In the meantime, this video is a great introduction to LCA!

We’re very excited about the Land Rover in Action exhibition next month – and the great news is that you can come along too!  If you would like to learn more about how Land Rover works with its conservation partners across the world, then we promise you a great and informative day out.

The exhibition is on from the 14^th – 18^th November and is completely free. It will feature insights into the invaluable work of Land Rover’s six Global Humanitarian and Conservation Partners; International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Born Free Foundation, Biosphere Expeditions, China Exploration & Research Society (CERS),  Earthwatch Institute and Royal Geographical Society (with IBG).

The event, which will take place at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in Kensington, London, will also feature PopBangColour’s Ian Cook, a UK-based radio-controlled car artist who will be in situ creating ‘live’ artworks all week.

In addition to the main exhibit there’s the chance to hear guest lecturer Ben Saunders speaking on the ‘Insights of a Polar Explorer’ on the 15^th November.  The lecture is also free but if you’d like to attend please RSVP LandRoverLecture@grayling.com. There are limited places available so get your RSVP in quickly!

The exhibition opening hours are; Mon – Fri 10:00-17:00 (except Tues 15 Nov when the exhibition will be open from 10:00- 16:00 and 19:30 – 22:00)

Lecture times for Tues 15 Nov – doors open for public at 18:30, lecture starts 19:25 -20:30 (last entry is 19:15, admission is free upon RSVP). Members of the public are welcome to visit the exhibition space after the lecture on Tues 15 Nov.