The Range Rover Evoque Convertible is a strange car with a lot of charm

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

When you hear the words "Range Rover," you think rugged luxury; a wood and leather-lined SUV fighting its way through an inhospitable desert. Or perhaps that of a 4X4 towing a horse trailer on its way to a dressage competition.

Either way, a Range Rover must be refined, luxurious, and highly capable. Which made the introduction of a two-door convertible Range Rover all the more surprising.

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In recent years, Jaguar Land Rover has worked to expand the reach of its Range Rover family of premium SUVs, from the "entry level" Evoque to the ultra-premium Range Rover Autobiography.

In late 2015, Range Rover unveiled the production Evoque Convertible at the Los Angeles auto show to generally positive reviews.

Personally, I didn't quite know what to think of the Evoque Convertible. From the Chrysler PT Cruiser Convertible to the Nissan Murano Cross Cabriolet, drop top crossovers have been disasters waiting to happen, until they do happen, and then they're just disasters. At the same time, we've been thoroughly impressed by everything we've encountered from JLR in recent years, ranging from the Jaguar F-Type sports car to the Land Rover Discovery SUV.

So I was curious to see and experience the Evoque Convertible in the flesh. Recently, Jaguar Land Rover dropped of a 2017 Range Rover Evoque Convertible HSE Dynamic in Yuling White.

The base SE Dynamic model starts at $52,000. Our HSE Dynamic test car starts at $57,275, but a healthy complement of optional extras pushed the price to $63,585.