This is the first Jaguar to have a front-wheel drive-based architecture since production of the X-Type ended in 2009. There is neither a V6 nor a V8. The platform is steel not aluminium. It’s only 4,395mm long. And this first attempt at a BMW X1 rival is close to being as great to drive as rear-wheel drive Jags.
One look at how many X1s BMW was able to sell last year tells you why JLR decided to push Jaguar into the compact SUV class: 119,323 in Europe alone. Volvo and Toyota want some of the action too, as the XC40 and imminent Lexus UX show. The Q2 and GLA-Class are also big sellers, with Audi and Mercedes delivering 81,467 and 72,589 units of their smallest SUVs to European buyers in 2017.
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Andy Masson, who is the product manager for the new E-Pace, points out the size of the opportunity in Jaguar’s home market. “We’re expecting about 80 per cent conquest”, adding that the compact SUV segment in Britain reached 169,113 sales in 2017. Three years earlier it was 76,437. What he didn’t mention, speaking over dinner at a media event ahead of a day’s driving of the E-Pace in England and Wales, was the identity of the vehicle which has done so much to expand this size class. One that even with an 11 per cent decline in 2017, still somehow stayed above the 50,000 registrations mark in Europe.
The Range Rover Evoque, which is the same size as the new Jaguar, is coming up for seven years of production (July) and must have brought in a phenomenal amount of money. Perhaps its real miracle has been the expansion of the Range Rover name without diluting the prestige. If anything, Range Rover as a brand is probably now more aspirational than ever. Much of that being due to the super-high pricing of many Velar, Sport and Range Rover model variants. With desirability to match. JLR can clearly see its chance to keep those whose Evoques are coming to the end of a lease in the family.
£50,000 is a lot of money for a vehicle from a brand with zero history in the C-premium SUV size class.
Jaguar’s Andy Masson highlights the attraction of a GBP28,500 “pricepoint”, although most of the cars on the media drive were replete with assorted options which pushed their average cost to around the fifty thousand pounds mark. That’s a lot of money for a vehicle from a brand with zero history in the C-premium SUV size class. So will the E-Pace succeed and moreover, is it good enough to justify that sort of transaction price?
The marketing claim is that the new model has ‘Jaguar dynamics with all-surface ability’. Which is a carefully worded way of making sure Land Rover officially remains the off-road brand. When the current Range Rover Sport was released in 2013, we were told it had been developed to be the most dynamically capable Land Rover yet. So these things are relative, meaning that surely all owners will spend 99 per cent of their time on tarmac.
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By GlobalDataAs the new Jaguar’s big brother is one of the better cars in its segment for keen drivers, it has much to live up to. The E-Pace is a step ahead of the Evoque and while it never rides too firmly, the suspension has been tuned for less float through long bends than the smallest Range Rover.
The optional GKN-supplied Active Driveline should be standard, such is this system’s ability to make you believe this vehicle is rear-wheel drive. Lesser variants use the same Haldex AWD system that propels the Evoque’s axles.
There will probably be a lot of people who want to test drive the E-Pace and then an Evoque and possibly the F-Pace and Velar too. Dealers won’t be unhappy about that, as this is the first time they have been able to offer such a varied selection of models. There might even be some prospects who take a close look at a Discovery Sport or even a Discovery.
Is there a danger that the Jaguar might eat into the Evoque’s customer base? Without a doubt. That doesn’t matter too much, as the Land Rover has had a massively successful run of sales and has more than achieved its targets. L551, the second generation Evoque, is due for release in 2019 so right now, development work on that model’s dynamics will likely be taking place with X540, the E-Pace, as the internal yardstick.
Jaguar offers three models grades – S, SE and HSE – plus R-Dynamic, which is a sports-luxury equipment package similar to Audi’s S-line. With the latter comes body-coloured wheelarches and black trim around the front foglights and the same shade of plastic at the back end. On the inside R-Dynamic means sports seats which left me with zero aches after many hours of driving and a leather-trimmed steering wheel which looks and feels like something from the F-Type.
The range starts with a diesel front-wheel drive variant – the GBP28,500 one – but all-wheel-drive features in other E-Paces.
Engines are all Ingenium four-cylinder units, while the transmission options are six-speed manual or nine-speed automatic. The range starts with a diesel front-wheel drive variant – the GBP28,500 one – with all-wheel-drive featuring in others.
Powertrains are as follows:
- 110kW (150PS) & 380Nm 1,999cc Td4/D150 (Euro 6)
- 132kW (180PS) & 430Nm 1,999cc Sd4/D180 (Euro 6)
- 177kW (240PS) & 500Nm 1,999cc Sd4/D240 (Euro 6)
- 183kW (249PS) & 365Nm 1,998cc Si4/T250 (Euro 5)
- 221kW (300PS) & 400Nm 1,998cc Si4/T300 (Euro 5)
The superior torque of the Sd4 diesels makes them especially appealing but the T250 does sound a lot better when stretched, even if I suspect the engine note has some artificial assistance. The petrol engine won me over, which was a surprise as until now I hadn’t found it to be anything special in other JLR models. That makes me want to see what the 300PS one is like in the F-Type.
Six months ago, JLR told us that it will offer every one of its vehicles with some form of electrified powertrain from 2020 onwards. This could mean mild hybrid, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric. Executives on the media launch weren’t saying what form of electrification is coming for the E-Pace but don’t be too surprised if there are eventually several options. As this model will be made in China as well as in Europe, some form of ‘New Energy Vehicle’ powertrain will essential. No doubt Jaguar wants to get the I-Pace launched before it starts talking about plans for other electrified models.
Whatever those at Jaguar who forecast worldside sales are hoping to see from their newest model, they aren’t giving journalists any firm guidance. And you can understand why, with the XE and XF being such disappointments, especially in the European region.
Were it not for the F-Pace, the Jaguar brand wouldn’t be doing too well. In January, Acea data revealed another tumble, this month down by 8.9 per cent to 4,962 registrations. The E-Pace should soon become the brand’s best seller and it’s clearly needed.
Aside from it being a weighty vehicle – the lightest example is 1,700kg DIN and the heaviest is 1,851 – the only other thing which I suspect people will criticise the E-Pace for is how it looks. But hold on, I love every bit of its appearance. It’s just that yet again Jaguar has made a new vehicle look incredibly similar to an existing one.
Jaguar’s new SUV is a dead ringer for its larger brother.
The E will be seen as an F-Pace in smaller form but that might be OK, as the brand’s pioneering SUV continues to sell in ever better volumes.
One of the major issues with the XE and XF is that neither stands out on the road or in a carpark. Even worse, it’s hard to tell them apart from pretty much any angle. Some will say it’s the segments in which they compete contracting that’s to blame for lacklustre sales. That doesn’t seem to be causing too many problems for Mercedes-Benz: C-Class and E-Class registrations are rising across Europe.
I really hope that I am proved wrong and that making the new model look so much like an existing Jaguar SUV was the right thing to do. Who knows, it may well lift awareness of the F-Pace and lead to a fresh boost for the larger of the two?
Apart from the headlights, the missing silver trim in the lower grilles, and vertical reflectors on its back end (plus a wiper which parks on the opposite side of the tailgate), Jaguar’s new SUV is a dead ringer for its larger brother. And by the way, some of us believe that the XE and XF could yet become a lot more successful than they presently are (JATO data show 18,932 XE and 12,394 XF registrations for all of Europe in 2017) – all it might take is a couple of well executed facelifts.
Which brings us to the third Jaguar SUV. The I-Pace. It’s to be hoped that people don’t get confused – doesn’t E-Pace seem like it should be the name of an electric Jaguar SUV? Well, we’ll see what happens but at least the I has its own unique look, with a short bonnet, differently shaped headlights and no repetition of the raised lines on the bonnet which the E-Pace and F-Pace share. As with the E, Magna Steyr has been tasked with the manufacture of Jaguar’s first battery-electric model – production of both is at Graz in Austria.
As my colleague Calum has been pondering, does the arrival of a third such vehicle make Jaguar an SUV brand? Probably. Insomuch as the success of the Macan and Cayenne are the reason Porsche insists on calling itself The Sports Car Company. The 911 and 718 coupes and roadsters are the purists’ Porsches but these models are not the reason why the company now sells a quarter of a million vehicles a year. So Porsche can be forgiven for being sensitive about how it wishes the world should see it. Without the profits from the first generation Cayenne, would Porsche be as financially secure as it is today?
All things being equal, the E-Pace has the potential to become Jaguar’s Cayenne. The F-Pace started the job; now what is needed is a model that pulls in a lot of money and makes the brand a household name globally. It hasn’t been that for a long time. So why not aim to achieve a large scale expansion of Jaguar production via the types of models that buyers the world over want?
There being little doubt that this new SUV is every bit as appealing as the bigger sellers in its class, the only question mark over the E-Pace is high pricing. That never held back the Range Rover Evoque, and none of its German or Swedish rivals could be accused of being excessively affordable. Could it be then that Jaguar at last has a model with the potential to sell in six-figure annual volumes?
