Time to tick boxes...Jaguar says of the E-Pace that it is a ‘compact performance SUV with sports-car looks’.
Tom Scanlan puts Jaguars latest through its E-paces.
Box ticked...that is if your idea of a sports car is no longer a low-slung open two-seater. The ever-admirable pen of Jaguar Director of Design, Ian Callum, obviously wants us to move on from that tired old idea and the Jaguar E-Pace is certainly, I think, a good-looker in its idiom.
Jaguar also says that the car ‘has all the connectivity and practicality solutions for busy families’. Another tick. Yes, it has everything that technology offers to keep occupants in touch with the office, the family at home, and so on.
The E-Pace just manages to prove itself as a five-seater, provided the fifth passenger in the middle of the back is not too big. The front is, of course, fine for both driver and passenger, and headroom in the back is good enough for adults of average height. The boot can take a couple of not-too-large suitcases.
The interior is very nicely kitted out with a variety of choices of material for the upholstery, depending on the depth of your pocket A smart central console features a grab handle for the passenger, making up somewhat for the lack of a grab-handle above the window...with that space taken up by a curtain airbag. The dashboard is of a swoops design with a noticeably large, bare expanse ahead of the passenger.
Driver-aids include a full-colour 12.3-inch TFT display. TFT stands for thin film transistor, new technology (also used by other manufacturers) allowing up to two thirds more full-colour graphics. Unusual in both where it’s sited, low down at the far right end of the dashboard, and its perhaps counter-intuitive modus operandi is the parking brake.
Engineering features include lightweight suspension, AWD (which Jaguar describes as having rear-wheel-drive characteristics), and ActiveDriveline and torque vectoring that add up to high traction levels for any surface along with agility in performance. The ride was mainly set in Comfort mode but still tended to be firm enough to show up how bad UK road surfaces can be. The seats were, thankfully, very comfortable.
The very latest in an impressive engine line-up is the 150 PS diesel. This provides 380 Nm of torque at 1750 rpm that, particularly in the higher of the six speeds in the easy manual gearbox, gives this least expensive E-Pace plenty of punch when it matters.
Zero to sixty-two mph can be achieved in 10.1 seconds and the top speed is 124 mph.
The car was taken over a variety of motorway, heavily-traffic’d town streets and narrow, muddy country lanes. Fuel consumption was displayed at 42.2 mpg at an average speed of 29 mph; the official combined consumption figure is 60.1 mpg and emissions are at 124 g/km.
The basic on-the-Road price is £28,500, but, taking the test car as an example, options can soon add up to a whopping further £10000 or more. These could be 19-inch wheels (£1830), leather interior (£1735), fixed panoramic sun-roof (£970), Upgraded sound-system and navigation (£1230), Memory seats (£1090), down to an Activity Key (£310): an activity key is worn like a wrist band and could let you keep your car key with you when, say, you went for a dip in the sea.
The Jaguar E-Pace range tops out with the 300PS petrol engine. The test car’s price including options was more than £56,000. As a compromise between that and the 150PS diesel, the 180PS diesel automatic turned out to be a particularly attractive choice, combining fine performance and reasonable frugality on the test route.
Car reviewed: Jaguar E-PACE 150PS Diesel S - Base Price On the road £28,500 price with fitted options as tested £38,545 0-62mph 9.5secs Top speed 124mph Fuel Economy combined 60.1mpg CO2 emissions 124g/km Engine 1999cc 4-cylinder Turbocharged Diesel Power 150PS@3500rpm Torque 380Nm@1750rpm Transmission Manual 6-speed
Quality interior
Good connectivity
Pretty stylish
Whopping price of options
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