By Ian Strachan
Sitting behind the wheel in Jaguar’s award-winning compact crossover – the E-PACE – I could easily have been in the car’s bigger brother, the F-PACE, writes motoring editor Ian Strachan.
That’s how clever Jaguar’s designers have been with this compact SUV, and how much space there is in it. If you put the F-PACE and E-PACE side by side, you’ll see that the E-PACE is quite a bit smaller, but inside you still feel as if you’re in a substantial car.
Jaguar has combined smart, sporty looks with practicality and bags of internal space. Plus it has class-leading connectivity and a great specification. Pitched into the fiercely competitive compact SUV sector, this Jaguar will come out on top.
Don’t be fooled by its off-roader looks. This is not a Land Rover, and doesn’t pretend to be. It’s all-wheel-drive but is every bit as sporty as its companions in the Jaguar stable, with impressive performance. Despite being an SUV it still has sleek lines and classy design cues worthy of the Jaguar badge, which sits on an unmistakably Jaguar front grille.
My test vehicle was powered by a smooth two litre petrol unit which delivers smooth acceleration and great motorway cruising. The 2.0 litre 250 horsepower diesel unit is excellent. This is quite a big car, but its aluminium construction makes it a featherweight – easy for this engine to propel while still being quiet, refined and responsive.
Married to a silky-smooth eight-speed automatic gearbox this unit will propel you from 0 to 60 in just 6.6 seconds.
Ride and handling is as smooth as you’d expect from a Jaguar, and the E-PACE benefits from excellent suspension which absorbs bumps well and improves overall handling and dynamics.
The interior of the E-PACE in HSE R-Dynamic specification which I tested, combines subtle style with up-to-the-minute technology. Classy without being showy. The sumptuous leather front seats with distinctive stitching have 18-way electronic control with memory function to get the perfect position. The rear seats have a useful 60:40 split, and will fold flat to increase load space. The tailgate is electronically controlled with hands-free opening.
Specification levels are high on the spec I tested and include 20-inch alloys, satellite navigation with 10-inch touchscreen control, adaptive cruise control and speed limiter, front and rear parking aids with camera and park assist, traffic sign recognition, lane departure warning, automatic stop/start, keyless entry and ignition, 380W DAB radio and sound system with Wi-Fi hotspot, heated front screen and washer jets, dual zone climate control and rain sensing wipers
My test car also came with panoramic sunroof (£970), LED headlights and daytime running lights (£795) an upgraded sound system (£1,020), surround camera system (£310) and metallic paint (£615) .
The E-PACE HSE R-Dynamic with a 2.0 litre 250 PS petrol engine comes at £47,060 on the road, but you can get behind the wheel of an E-PACE for less. Entry models start at £28,545.
This really is a superb car – and yet another leap forward for Jaguar. With a high quality British-made vehicle like this available who would even want to consider anything else?
