We see the form versus function fight played out on a daily basis in the automotive realm. Designers, engineers and accountants lock horns on every model that ever makes its way to the street in order to come up with a suitable compromise that will successfully appease their respective masters. More often than not, a vehicle's more stylish aspects are left by the wayside as aerodynamics, packaging and economics hammer automotive forms into the same uninspired mold. Anyone who remembers the muscular form of the Chevrolet Volt concept need only look to the limp lines of the production model to see the process in action.

It's something special when an automaker cries "Damn the torpedoes!" and drives an undiluted concept design off of the auto show stage and straight into production. Pupils dilate, cheeks flush and hearts flutter with primordial do-want. Such is the case with the 2012 Range Rover Evoque Coupe. In an era when most automakers wouldn't waste firing a single synapse on the personal utility segment, Land Rover has kicked open the doors on an arena long thought forgotten. With its heart-stopping styling, powerful turbocharged four-cylinder engine and surprising off-road chops, the Evoque is exactly what we've been missing from this segment. But who's going to buy it?

The luxury CUV segment has just begun toddling out of its infancy. While buyers have been content to snap up full-size, gas guzzling beasts wrapped in leather since the early '90s, manufacturers have only recently begun offering smaller, more efficient models on tall-riding platforms. The BMW X3 has offered buyers an alternative to top-heavy beasts like the BMW X5 and Range Rover Sport since its debut in 2003, but with an overall length of 183 inches, the vehicle isn't exactly small by city center standards. The Mercedes-Benz GLK, meanwhile, nips nearly five inches from the X3's stem-to-stern dimensions to offer buyers a more modest runabout, but even that machine dwarfs the Evoque Coupe.

With a total length of 171 inches and a wheelbase of 104.7 inches, the 2012 Range Rover Evoque Coupe can't help but look athletic. Up front, the vehicle offers the world a scowling, bull dog face. The vehicle's short, domed hood forms a linear brow for the HID headlights and split metal grate grille, and the front fascia features deep insets for a set of LED fog lamps. Down low, a contrasting faux skid plate serves as a curled lower lip. With its sizable 20-inch wheels pushed far forward, the Evoque looks ready to head off road with a 25-degree approach angle, which is comparable to the X3 at 26 degrees and the GLK at 23 degrees.

2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Coupe side view2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Coupe front view2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Coupe rear view

The 2012 Evoque manages to balance the aggressiveness of its front valance with a stunning and elegant profile. With a raked windshield and a dramatic tapered roof, the CUV has managed to stay true to the company's LRX concept that first debuted at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. Exaggerated wheel arches work with strong character lines and well-executed details give the eye something to chew on. We've always counted ourselves as fans of the Range Rover floating roof, and the pillarless design is particularly striking here.

Move to the vehicle's stern and you're met with what could possibly be the world's smallest rear window. The demure rear glass is a byproduct of the tapered roof employed on the Evoque. Despite its size, Land Rover engineers managed to squeeze in a similarly tiny rear wiper. The Evoque makes use of a surprising amount of plastic body cladding, and while we typically recoil at the first hint of the quickly fading material, the cladding simply works here. That's especially true on the rear valance, where the painted and raw black plastics give the vehicle's aft considerably more texture than simple paint alone could manage.

Land Rover kindly incorporated rear fog lights on the 2012 Evoque – a feature that greatly increases a vehicle's visibility in fog, snow and dense rain. Our week with the CUV was mired in foul weather more often than not, so we were glad for the added illumination. Whereas our cousins in Europe have enjoyed rear fog lights for generations, this tech has been slow coming to the States.

2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Coupe headlight2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Coupe grille2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Coupe wheel2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Coupe taillight

We've seen plenty of show-circuit escapees bring heart-stopping exteriors to production only to leave us stuck with ill-envisioned cabins. The Pontiac Solstice Coupe, fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro and first-generation Dodge Viper all greeted the world with sheetmetal that dropped underwear for fun and profit but came equipped with interiors molded from Tupperware slag. For its part, the Range Rover Evoque is innocent of that folly. Despite our tester's black-on-blacker interior, the cabin offered well-executed ergonomics and the kind of materials we've come to know and love from Range Rover.

Having spent its hard plastic budget on exterior cladding, the Evoque keeps most surfaces soft-touch inside. The dash offers brushed metal accents paired with soft rubber covers. The material feels every bit like shark skin, and the matte finish helps class up otherwise plain innards. The cockpit feels relatively cozy, thanks in part to a high center stack that effectively divides the driver and co-driver's spaces. Since our tester came equipped with a six-speed automatic transmission, the console wore the same dial-o-matic gear selector as the Jaguar fleet. While some critics have bemoaned the hardware, your author prefers it to a protruding stalk from the steering column or a cumbersome shift lever jutting from the center console.