Jaguar F-Pace

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Current page

123

Current page

124

Current page

125

Current page

126

Current page

127

Current page

128

Current page

129

Current page

130

Current page

131

Current page

132

Current page

133

Current page

134

Current page

135

Current page

136

Current page

137

Current page

138

Current page

139

Current page

140

Current page

141

Current page

142

Current page

143

Current page

144

Current page

145

Current page

146

Current page

147

Current page

148

Current page

149

Current page

150

Current page

151

Current page

152

Current page

153

Current page

154

Current page

155

Current page

156

Current page

157

Current page

158

Current page

159

Current page

160

Current page

161

Current page

162

Current page

163

Current page

164

Current page

165

Current page

166

Current page

167

Current page

168

Current page

169

Current page

170

Current page

171

Current page

172

Current page

173

Current page

174

Current page

175

Current page

176

Current page

177

Current page

178

Current page

179

Current page

180

Current page

181

Current page

182

Current page

183

Current page

184

Current page

185

Current page

186

Current page

187

Current page

188

Current page

189

Current page

190

Current page

191

Current page

192

Current page

193

Current page

194

Current page

195

Current page

196

Current page

197

Current page

198

Current page

199

Current page

200

Current page

201

Current page

202

Current page

203

Current page

204

Current page

205

Current page

206

Current page

207

Current page

208

Current page

209

Current page

210

Current page

211

Current page

212

Current page

213

Current page

214

Current page

215

Current page

216

Current page

217

Current page

218

Current page

219

Current page

220

An SUV with driver appeal? British talisman makes a flying start with its first step into a fresh sector

Unlike its name, the reason behind the Jaguar F-Pace’s existence is not hard to fathom. You may like, loathe or feel thoroughly indifferent about premium SUVs, but in the car world they are flavour of the month, year and decade. By the end of this one, sales are projected to double the sky-high level they enjoy today. But to a car manufacturer, these cars are better news even than that. In the past companies were forced to choose between or balance their ranges across low-cost, high-volume and low-volume, high-margin models. But cars like the Porsche Macan have shown that if you get the formula right, automotive utopia – a car with both huge sales and margins – can be achieved.

Jaguar has made the F-Pace a certain way – and that requires a little further explanation. While you and I may have been made aware of Jaguar by an XK, E-type or a MkII, in the wider world in general and vital emerging markets in particular, this is the first Jaguar that people will recognise. If it is not the best selling car in the company’s history something will have gone badly wrong, so it must serve not only as a car in its own right, but as a shop window for all the others. So it has to have a face that makes people realise that XEs, XFs, XJs and F-types are Jaguars too.

Nevertheless, at least while speaking to hacks assembled in Montenegro for its launch, Jaguar’s pitch is that the F-Pace is most definitely ‘a Jaguar that looks like an SUV’ rather than the other way around. The roads around the tiny Balkan state would soon reveal the truth or otherwise of that assertion.

You will read elsewhere that the F-Pace is based on the same platform as the XE and XF. It’s not. It doesn’t share a single significant dimension with Jaguar’s saloons and more than 80 per cent of its components are unique. Carry-over parts relate mainly to powertrains and electronic architecture. What it does share is the same design template, which is not the same thing: you can put two entirely different dishes into the same oven for the same time and they’ll never turn into the same meal. But it does mean an XE and an F-Pace can go down the same production line and be built by the same tools and robots, which is where the economies really lie.

The big seller, at least in Europe, will inevitably be the 2-litre diesel, mainly with automatic gears and four-wheel drive, though a manual rear-drive version is available to squeeze the car under the vital 130g/km CO2 barrier vital for fleet sales. All other F-Paces have 3-litre V6 engines, all-wheel drive and automatic transmissions, with either turbochargers, diesel fuel and 296bhp, or supercharger, petrol power and 375bhp. Prices begin at £34,170 for the base model, rising up to £51,450 for either of the V6s. The most popular in the UK will be 2-litre diesel, four-wheel-drive, mid-spec ‘R-Sport’ models retailing for £40,360.

Physically it’s a large car, bigger than rivals such as the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Macan in most dimensions. It will seat four adults in comfort, five at a squeeze. The interior is more smart than special and lacks the visual flair that has distinguished Jaguar cabins of the recent past. But you cannot complain about the bewildering array of what marketing types describe as connectivity solutions on offer. Jaguar design boss Ian Callum showed me an app on his smartphone that gave every detail of every journey his car had done, exactly where it was parked and the virtual button that could start the engine remotely as easily as if you were sitting in the car with the key in your hand. Given that at the time it was in Hampshire and we were quite near Albania, I was suitably impressed.

I enjoyed driving it too. The 2-litre diesel offers only adequate performance but compensates by being notably light on its toes, exceptionally for a car of its size and height. Its ride was not great, but good enough to make you feel the correct balance between comfort and agility had been struck for an SUV. In the class, only a Macan has a better chassis. I was at least as interested to discover how quiet the car was, having been disappointed by the noise the same engine makes in the XE and XF. And whether for reasons of installation, on-going development or both, I can report that – at least in the F-Pace – the problem is solved.

I tried the petrol powered V6 next and emerged slightly disappointed. It only felt as fast as its figures suggest (0-62mph in 5.5sec) if you caned it, at which point it made a rasping noise that to me sounded rather contrived, though I am assured there are no sound ‘symposers’ or other black magic apparatus fitted. And I’d not much fancy the fuel consumption either: Jaguar claims 31.7mpg, which probably means 25-26mpg in normal use.

It’s hard to see how it can be worth it when the 3-litre diesel actually feels quicker in normal driving (thanks
to a monster 516lb ft of torque at just 2000rpm compared to 332lb ft at 4500rpm for the V6 petrol), and does 47.1mpg on paper, so probably 40mpg in practice. It sounds more natural, is quieter, delivers its power in a way that is more appropriate to this kind of car and will probably go half as far again on a tank of fuel. The extra 100kg of mass in its nose means it doesn’t feel quite as nimble as cars fitted with the little diesel but, crucially, this is still an engaging and rewarding car to drive: a Jaguar that just happens to be an SUV indeed.

So the company should feel proud of its newest recruit, not least because it is its first SUV. Of course there is the know-how within the group derived from Land Rover living under the same roof, but this is no reconstituted Discovery; it’s a brand-new car designed to define how a Jaguar SUV should appear and feel, not a badge-engineered Land Rover. It doesn’t feel like a tall, imperious Land Rover at all; it feels
like a tight, taut Jaguar.

I am told that the fate of the faster versions you might naturally assume would follow is still to be decided. Jaguar is evaluating right now whether an F-Pace R, or RS would be a viable proposition in the marketplace. Certainly the car has been engineered to take the big, blown 5-litre V8 – already existing with outputs of up to 562bhp in other Jags – but Jaguar fears the sales volumes might not be sufficient to justify it. My inner cynic suggests very strongly the car will come and Jaguar is just speaking this way because for now it wants the focus to stay on F-Paces customers can actually buy, and I don’t blame them for that.

In the meantime Jaguar can relax in the knowledge that, as of now, it has managed what BMW, Audi and Mercedes have not, and produced a premium SUV which does all the things such cars must while retaining real driver appeal. Porsche’s Macan is the only other car in the class that can say as much. As company to keep, in this category at least, it gets no better than that.