It's called the I-Pace, it has 400 horsepower and 480 kilometres of range. Jaguar's first electric SUV is now arriving at dealerships. The test drive, the price and all the details
After the true innovators (Tesla above all) but ahead of many other early adopters of electric vehicles (Audi, Kia, Hyundai, to name just a few manufacturers set to debut with other electric SUVs before the year is out), Jaguar (following its commitments in Formula E) is launching I-Pace onto the market — its first electric car. Zero emissions. Zero particulates, obviously. But breathtaking performance and the body of an SUV: compact enough not to feel out of place in an already crowded urban landscape (it is 4.68 metres long), yet spacious enough for weekend getaways with the whole family in tow.
The keywords? Electric, all-wheel drive, 480 kilometres of declared range (we'll see later in our test drive what that translates to in real-world use…), 400 horsepower (for anyone unfamiliar with the figure, the Ferrari Testarossa in the 1980s had 390…), a 90 kWh lithium-ion battery and a base price of around €80,000. The Jaguar I-Pace arrives after the Tesla Model X, but ahead of the eagerly awaited Model 3, and with a decent head start, at least in terms of timing, over the Audi e-tron, the other premium SUV expected before the year is out. In short, after years of Nissan Leaf and little else, the electric mobility landscape is being enriched with new models and, though still light years away from the choice offered by petrol and diesel, it is heading in the right direction. And it should come as no surprise that many manufacturers are focusing precisely on SUVs and crossovers — once demonised models, now the new champions of zero-emission mobility.
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Tesla has set the benchmark. Anyone who has driven a Model S or a Model X knows the wow effect of the acceleration: that feeling of being pushed back into your seat, for some almost the sensation of having the breath knocked out of you. Well, Jaguar slots right into that mould — into the "wow" electrics, the high-performance ones, those that unite head and heart, performance without emissions. 400 horsepower and a 0 to 100 km/h sprint in 4.8 seconds are, more or less, the performance figures of an 1980s Ferrari Testarossa. Except that here, under the bonnet, instead of a 5-litre 12-cylinder engine there are two electric motors fed by a 90 kWh lithium-ion battery. And instead of an old road atlas in the glovebox, there is a sat-nav that analyses the route, draws on data from previous journeys, "learns" the owner's driving style and calculates the electric range with "exceptional precision" — or so Jaguar promises.
The styling is unmistakably British. Indeed, almost "preppy", with elements that recall the great Jaguar classics (the front end above all) and more "muscular", sporting elements typical of the most recent British models. The whole thing is built making extensive use of aluminium, a technology to which Jaguar has been committed since the 1950s. With an electric car, as we know, materials and lightness are significant — indeed decisive — factors in delivering the best possible range. The same goes for aerodynamics, another area in which the I-Pace excels, and another factor tied to battery life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF1kPptiKfI
Electric. Silent. Powerful. Incredibly fast. In a word, fun. The Jaguar I-Pace hits the mark and, alongside its styling and its spacious, welcoming cabin, it adds driving enjoyment to the package. A great deal of enjoyment… Perhaps it's down to the low centre of gravity, with the battery mounted in the middle of the car and beneath the "floor". Perhaps it's the sports-car-like weight distribution: 50 per cent at the front, the rest at the rear. Perhaps it's the air suspension, which improves efficiency and energy consumption by lowering the car by 10 millimetres above 105 km/h. The fact remains that the I-Pace is one of the most enjoyable electric cars on the market. You can almost drive it with one foot — the accelerator; simply lift off and without touching the brakes the car decelerates gently or more sharply (your choice), calling to mind another enjoyable electric, the BMW i3. Except that here you also get 4×4 all-wheel drive, which allows you to tackle snow, sand and unpaved tracks in complete safety. And in the magic of silence.
Jaguar goes its own way. It makes no exclusive deals with major energy utilities. It forges alliances and collaborates with the University of Warwick on the recycling and regeneration of end-of-life batteries. But it doesn't forget — obviously — that someone who chooses an electric car like the I-Pace cannot be left to fend for themselves, especially in a country that still invests far too little in electric mobility. And here, among the many pros, there are also a few cons: the I-Pace is so enjoyable to drive that it's easy to forget that driving an electric car requires a certain amount of care, at least if you want to reach your destination without any surprises. That is, without running out of charge. So it happens that in the I-Pace it's hard to resist the pleasure of driving, the enjoyment of corners, the dynamism that is reminiscent of a sports car — with the risk (almost a certainty) that the range will drop, to around 300 real-world kilometres, let's say.
You just need to know that… So, on one hand there is, shall we say, a "hardware" element that helps (a 90 kWh battery that, for those fortunate enough to have access to fast charging, charges to 80% in 40 minutes). On the other, there are several conveniences: a domestic wall box included in the price of the car, which promises to restore full range overnight; an "E-Angel", a dedicated consultant who helps those choosing electric mobility to navigate the inevitable issues related to charging; a dedicated app that makes it easier to access public or private charging points regardless of the different operators, including at the charging stations of Jaguar dealerships (114 across the country, of which 30 are fast chargers), to be followed by further "destination charge" points to create a dedicated charging network for I-Pace customers, loosely modelled on the Tesla approach.