Popular mechanic shares stylish premium used SUV with faults 'coming from everywhere'
The YouTube mechanic Scotty Kilmer has warned used car buyers to avoid a premium SUV that has good looks but common electrical faults.
One of YouTube's most popular motoring experts has recommended that motorists looking for a dependable used SUV avoid one particular model.
Scotty Kilmer has been a mechanic for more than 55 years and regularly makes YouTube videos in which he tests a wide variety of new and used cars and shares tips that can help viewers avoid expensive issues.
In a recent video, Scotty takes a look around a 2013 Range Rover Evoque owned by one of his customers, claiming that it looks beautiful but can suffer from electrical issues.
He claimed: "There's no doubting that they're beautiful vehicles and they're very comfortable, a lot of legroom, it's got a decent trunk [boot] where you can put the seats down and carry quite a bit. And, even though it has spent its winters in Rhode Island, it's not particularly rusty.
"But he [the owner] is worried because he has a friend with the same year [a 2013 Range Rover Evoque], and the guy got a $13,000 (£10,200) transmission, he paid for a special warranty, and he started to get some fault codes. So, I'm going to scan it and go for a road trip."
The original-generation Range Rover Evoque, produced between 2011 and 2018, was the company's first compact luxury SUV, being widely commended for its attractive styling and pleasant driving style.
But some owners have found that examples are difficult to live with. According to a reliability study conducted by the UK's leading motoring publication WhatCar?, a number of drivers claim to have suffered with gearbox faults, whilst many others feature worn-out flywheels and mis-aligned tailgates.
Whilst used car buyers can get into a first-generation Range Rover Evoque from around £5,000, drivers who want to find a solid example are advised to spend at least £10,000 for a low-mileage example with a good service history.
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Plugging a fault code scanning tool into the 2013 example, Scotty claimed that there were a number of minor issues with the specific car he had recorded.
He said: "We're going to do an automatic scan, and there's 40 components it can scan. As usual for a Range Rover, as you can see, there's a lot of failures - the powertrain control module alone has 30 failures.
"Granted, some of these things are nitpicky stuff, but it's pretty typical with any Range Rover or really any English vehicle. On later model ones, you hook up a scanning tool and you'll get codes coming from everywhere. Electricity and English, maybe their cars should have stayed in the Dark Ages with candles."
Clearing the fault codes and getting behind the wheel, Scotty suggested that, whilst the Range Rover Evoque can be costly to maintain, they drive well and can fit in anywhere.
He continued: "Now, they're reasonably smooth riding and fun to drive - that's how they sell them. They're beautiful looking too, just like Jaguars. It's no coincidence that they are Jaguar Land Rover, neither of which are known for making vehicles that don't break down all the time.
"Now, there's one good thing about driving around in a Range Rover in Rhode Island: you don't feel out of place. There are so many millionaires around here that you can join the crowd.
"I should go the other way to the polo grounds, I'll fit right in. Actually, driving around, it feels perfectly fine, I can't feel any wiggles or vibrations. Mechanically it's in good shape but there are so many computer modules and control units."
