The Evoque’s styling, penned by Land Rover’s chief designer Gerry McGovern, hardly beckons to drive into the untamed wild. But since I clearly recalled my previous Evoque press launch adventures, I was sure a sandy beach trip was appropriate since beneath the smooth bodywork, real Land Rover mechanicals surely lurked.

Before any adventure can commence, it’s always sound practice to locate the proper knobs and dials that control off-road driving. Inside the new Evoque and some other new Range Rover models, a new 11.4-inch curved glass touchscreen has replaced those analog devices. It’s quite Tesla like in appearance and function, letting graphic panels do your bidding. Pick your off-road preference menu, tap the screen choice and software will take it from there.

When I arrived at the beach, I dialed “Sand” and the Evoque lifted up its skirts, shifted to four-wheel-low and off we went to find a photo opportunity by the water. After the pics and a walk on the beach, we returned toward the exit but stopped momentarily for a vehicle ahead of us. That’s when the Evoque’s software decided we should be back on pavement and restored the “Comfort” setting and no amount of reboot fiddling would change its digital mind. Fortunately, we were quickly rescued, pulled out by a friendly chap in a Super Duty pickup. His very nice young son greeted us with “can we help you sir?” I love it here.

New Land Rover vehicles incorporate over-the-air software updates (OTA) and I’ve shared the experience with the company and I’m betting they’re working on a solution, even if this was the only reported event.

Back on paved roads, the Evoque is a poised, comfortable machine with its turbocharged 2.0-liter, 246HP engine easily moving the SUV’s 3,935-pounds of curb weight with assistance from a nine-speed, shiftable automatic transmission. Fuel economy is a not unreasonable 22 MPG combined city and highway. A Meridian audio system is onboard to entertain up to five passengers in grained leather seating under a panoramic glass roof. And for curb appeal, our Tribeca Blue paint contrasted nicely with a Corinthian Bronze roof.

Range Rover’s Evoque won the North American Car and Truck of the Year award when it was launched thirteen years ago and collected other accolades from reviewers. Aside from our off-road adventure, the week’s experience was most everything I would expect from a small, luxury SUV, although there are plenty of options at the $62,930 MSRP of our fully-loaded vehicle. An interesting alternative is its kissing cousin, Jaguar’s E-Pace P250 R-Dynamic with the same specs at a bit lower price and it still has switches and dials.