Jaguar i-Pace Black review: This ‘performance SUV’ is a fantastic beast
The Jaguar i-Pace in its new ‘Black’ guise has a host of add-ons, including gloss black detailing, privacy glass, full panoramic roof, and 20” five-spoke alloys with a glass black finish.
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Jaguar i-Pace Black |
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Rating |
★★★★★ |
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Price |
From €74,940 — €83,615 as tested |
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Engine |
There isn’t one, but the twin electric motors provide |
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The Spec |
Spectacular |
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Verdict |
A great car |
We have often vented in these columns about the abomination that is the coupe SUV genre. In a majority of cases these beasts are nothing short of the devil’s own work.
These are cars identified by the motor industry as a niche market from which plenty of raw cash can be mined without much effort and which will sate the needs and desires of narcissists and egomaniacs alike.
Alas, it is impossible to categorise coupe MPV buyers as a single morass of gold-bangled humanity because there are the usual exceptions that prove the rule; in this case that means that sensible people, otherwise solid of integrity and regular with their charitable donations, sometimes get caught up with car purchases they might later regret (hello Brendan).
In general these cars look like grossly inflated monstrosities that are as ugly as a baboon’s bum — apologies to all baboons here, of course — and are usually so truck-like in size they are unfit for any purpose other than inflating the esteem of trippy self-aggrandistas for whom standing out from the crowd is far more important than any other factor. With the exception of the aforementioned.
Now, it must be said most of them are really nice to drive — despite their truck-ish demeanour — but as they are seemingly solely aimed at the oligarch classes, they find little other than naked loathing from the common man or woman. Ourselves included.
In certain circles, and around Red Square in particular, the genre is particularly prevalent and while we here at Examiner Motoring are generally noted for even-handed reporting, there are certain things that remain unacceptable and opulent vulgarity is one of them.
However, there are exceptions that prove the rule and this week we are driving one of them — the Jaguar i-Pace Black.
Now, Jaguar being Jaguar, the mores of current fashion do not apply and therefore the use of the term coupe SUV is strictly banned because, of course, nothing so common could possibly be associated with the brand.
No, what we have here in lingua-Jaguar is “a performance SUV”, which just so happens to be all electric and in its new ‘Black’ guise has a host of add-ons, including gloss black detailing, privacy glass, full panoramic roof and 20” five-spoke alloys with a glass black finish.
Whatever about the finer aspects regarding what type of a car this actually is, it is most certainly a very striking one. While it might not be the most beautiful of cars to some eyes, it is definitely attractive.
It looks muscular and powerful from any angle (the deep scallop vent in the bonnet suggests breathing capacity for a big V8 but is in fact redundant because there is no engine) and the way Jaguar has designed the sloping roof to meld into the fat rear haunches is a design triumph.
So too the grille, which is an object lesson for those designers who have capitulated into the ‘oh, we don’t need them anymore so let’s put something bland there instead’ school of thinking.
Usually, when something of this nature comes along — in the case of the i-Pace, it debuted in 2018 — other manufacturers quickly ape the good bits for their own needs and the design gets swallowed up in a quagmire of copies. However, curiously, the Jaguar has not seen its glory stolen by wannabes.
Rather, those who would like their cars to be as glamorous and individual as the Jag have gone a different route and bigged up their contenders into unnecessarily and often ugly bulk in their attempts to stand out from the pack.
It is only four years ago that we first saw the i-Pace and it was indeed a groundbreaker and while other mainstream manufacturers have boarded the bandwagon, the Jaguar still stands as a unique flag-bearer for the premium electric car.
As a result, the Jaguar engineers and designers were able to fully let rip on this beast in terms of allowing it explore the potential of its battery architecture to create not only a novel shape but one that allowed more room for passengers and their luggage.
Twin synchronous motors on each axle provide permanent all-wheel drive and the power comes from a large capacity 90kWh lithium-ion battery (which comes with an eight-year guarantee) and this in turn gives you a range of about 465km which is very workable. The transmission is a single-speed epicyclic unit.
Jaguar claims a top speed of 200km/h and a 0-100km/h capability of 4.8 seconds from a power source that offers just under 400bhp and has pretty impressive 696Nm of torque available.
Of course were you to utilise these outputs on a consistent basis, you’d never achieve anything like the predicted range.
However, while the Jag offers potent and on-demand power, it is obviously not something you have to exploit every time you get behind the wheel.
That it will cruise nicely with the accelerator getting the merest whiff of your right shoe makes it a decent prospect for urban driving despite the fact that it is a big car.
When offered an open road, though, it becomes a beast of a different colour altogether — if you want it too.
Again, if you’re exploiting what’s on offer here, you’re not going to maximise your range, but a steady approach should see you getting to pretty much any destination on this island without raising a sweat.
On the other hand, if your are an adrenaline junkie and have a need to exploit the Jag’s potential, you’ll find an eager and willing partner and one that will swat away most opponents with casual ease.
It is worth noting that if you do need to charge during a journey, you’ll get an 80% fill in just 40 minutes at a rapid charger.
On the road the i-Pace is an exceptional handler; the siting of the weighty batteries between the wheels (the wheelbase is nearly 3m) provides excellent weight distribution and this is immediately apparent in its handling and in its ride characteristics.
Sure-footed and stable, this is a car which is a wonderful companion no matter what roads or road conditions it is required to endure.
While you’re enjoying the drive, you will not be let down by the quality of the interior, which is every bit as premium as every other aspect of the car.
There is a twin touchscreen infotainment/climate system, which was first seen on the Range Rover Velar and is a doddle to use.
The seating too is fiercely comfortable, particularly in the front, and because of the long wheelbase, those in the rear will not be disappointed by either the amount of head or leg room on offer, despite the heavily sloped roof.
Boot space is generous and there is also a small ‘froot’ at the front, which can hold all cables.
Back in 2018, the Jaguar was a trend-setter and it still is today, largely thanks to the innovative and all-encompassing approach to the design that the company took back then.
That level of innovation and class is still very much in evidence here, which is a compliment to Jaguar’s foresight and a condemnation of the opposition’s lack of vision or ability to steal good ideas.
This isn’t just a great electric car, it’s a fantastic beast — full stop — and that’s why it gets a very rare five-star rating.
