SECTOR SUV  PRICE £36,630  FUEL 57.6mpg  CO2 129g/km

Front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, four-wheel drive – let’s face it, when a car looks as good as the Evoque, no-one really cares to which wheels the power is transmitted.

But for those with a greenish bent, 2012’s car of the moment is now offered in front-wheel drive guise, allied to a lower powered diesel engine, which brings useful savings on fuel economy and CO2 emissions.

Badged eD4, the 2.2-litre diesel musters 150bhp and returns 57.6mpg and emits 129g/km of CO2 (the similarly-powered 4×4 model offers 49.6mpg and 149g/km). So, some useful savings in terms of fuel and company car tax, but does the entry-level Evoque feel like a cheaper relation?

No, is the simple answer. It still looks fabulously right, a concept car which has gone from show stand to showroom without having the wow factor diluted, while the interior is a lovely mix of leather and metal trim and some calming mood lighting.

On the road the Evoque has a lightness of feel which you don’t associate with SUVs – its squat stance and wheel at each corner layout promoting flat cornering – and there’s little in the way of body roll during direction changes.

The diesel engine is fine, nothing more, nothing less, and 150bhp is probably the limit when it comes to shifting a 1.6-tonne car like this around. Thankfully there’s a lovely short gear-change action to liven up the driving experience.

But none of this matters a jot, because an Evoque is not a car to enjoy driving in, it’s a car to savour being seen in.

Land Rover bosses maintain that the full-fat, four-wheel drive models will take the lion’s share of Evoque sales, and that will be true, especially since the price differential between front and all-wheel drive Evoque is less than £1,000.