COTY
Gallery 1
Cat shown flap: insufficient advancement of breed.
In terms of formulas guaranteed to work, you don’t get much more of a sure thing than a luxury SUV. Throw in good looks and a sporty demeanour and it’s sure to sell like hotdogs at the Superbowl.
That Jaguar took so long to produce its first SUV, then, is perplexing. Blame it partly on sister brand Land Rover, which has long taken care of that desire for off-roaders with class.
As unfashionably late as it is, the Jaguar F-Pace comes out fighting with a sleek aluminium-intensive body offered in a vast range encompassing two diesel engines and a flagship supercharged V6 petrol. Choose between four trim levels and it’s an expansive range covering a $50K price spectrum that kicks off at about $75K.
Yet leather and a decent safety suite – encompassing autonomous emergency braking and a lane-departure warning – are included.
Sizeable rubber beneath (up to 22 inches on optional wheels) and a clear focus on being suitably lashed down at speed make it among the more dynamic of the five-seat SUVs. Wielding 1.8 tonnes through the high-speed lane change barely ruffled the big cat’s demeanour. Judges noted much of the chassis goodness of the XE and XF has been injected in the F-Pace.
The engines, too, are a mixed bag. The 30d has truckloads of grunt but is 110kg heavier than the four-pot diesel, taking the edge off the inherent agility.
The 20d gets a mild smokers cough to its exhaust note at high revs but is otherwise smooth and seductive, albeit lacking the go some may expect from a Jag.
Enter the 35t; with up to 280kW it’s fast and fun but has points docked for its thirst.
Add it all up and the F-Pace is about design flair and dynamic ability rather than genuinely resetting any SUV benchmarks.
It is undoubtedly an important part of the future for Jaguar, but its future at COTY ended at stage one. It played hard, but in this battle, it was out-played.
Specs
BODY Type: 5-door wagon, 5 seats Boot capacity: 650 litres Weight: 1775 – 1884kg
DRIVETRAIN Layout: front engine (north-south), AWD Engines: 1999cc 4cyl turbo-diesel (132kW/430Nm) 2993cc V6 turbo-diesel (221kW/700Nm) 2995cc V6 supercharged (250kW/450Nm) 2995cc V6 supercharged (280kW/450Nm) Transmission: 8-speed automatic
CHASSIS Tyres: 255/55R19 – 265/40R22 ADR81 fuel consumption: 5.3 – 8.9L/100km CO2 emissions: 139 – 209g/km Collision mitigation: Yes Crash rating: not tested Prices: $74,340 – $120,415
