Full disclosure: after my recent marriage, I'm now the proud owner of an Evoque. I've driven it enough to know what I like and dislike about it. Overall, it's a really nice ride, but I wouldn't throw down $50k on one. The reason they're so popular is because there isn't anything quite like them on the road. It's not really a crossover. It's not really an SUV. It's somewhere in between, a sweet spot that no one has exploited yet. Give it another 3-5 years and every company will have a direct competitor.
Full disclosure: I built this from spare parts at the tender age of 18: Yep. That's a Triumph TR-7 on 31" mud tires. it has a blueprinted Chevy 400 on a cut-down Scout 800 chassis. Realistically speaking, I did my best to build a Range Rover Evoque in 1992. It even had matte paint. Trendsetter, I. If the Evoque came in at $30k it'd be a done deal. That's kind of what a Juke is but it's a little too tweeny. The designer, Shiro Nakamura was also responsible for this: ...and I was inches from buying one of those, homely as it is.
It's funny, the Japanese aesthetic is my favorite for all things home. Their cars, on the other hand, have never resonated with me. I think they all look silly and cheap, almost like they don't take themselves seriously. The Bolt was actually designed at GM's facility in Korea, which goes a long way to explain its looks. They're trying to capture that part of the population that would buy a Korean or Japanese economy car. Not a wise move, IMO, because there's a reason many of us who would love a fuel efficient car won't buy one--because most of them make me queasy. This on the other hand: This is would buy... Except that it's like $70k, so, yeah...
