Jaguar's most aggressive car is the first multi-sports car to be the first reliable competitor to TESIA because it outperforms its German rivals in the market in terms of designthat main manufacturers, not just Silicon Valley start-ups or
BMW, are prepared to invest properly in building new-from-the-ground-up electric cars you actually want to own, and may be able to afford.
Headline facts are thus: the I-Pace uses two concentric electric motors, one on each axle for permanent four-wheel drive, producing 394bhp and 513lb ft of torque, delivered through a single-speed gearbox. The lithium-ion battery, placed under the floor – de rigueur these days – is sized at 90kWh, good for a claimed 298-mile range on the new, more stringent WLTP cycle. Give it the berries and 0–60mph in 4.5 seconds and a 124mph top speed is rapid by any measure. Charging takes a little longer – 10 hours to top it up from 0–80 per cent with a 7kW home charger, or 45 minutes if you can find a 100kW DC supply. It’s a lot to take in, and that’s before you’ve considered whether you’ve actually got anywhere convenient to plug it in, or whether a limited range is compatible with your lifestyle.
It’s easy to forget that the I-Pace is still just a new car: four tyres, a steering wheel, some seats surrounded by aluminium and glass. If anyone’s going to be persuaded to cough up at least £58,500 (after the £4,500 government grant), or £76,995 for the fully-loaded First Edition, it still needs to go, stop, steer and turn heads with panache.
It does look good, doesn’t it? Those 20-inch wheels – standard on our HSE model and blacked out to merge with the rubber –are probably the Instagram/ride quality sweet spot… there are also 18s available if you want to look silly, or 22s if you must. But it’s the proportions that steal the show: the stubbed nose that brings the front wheels forward with it and the high, squared-off rear end set the template, while the rear spoiler, vented bonnet and flush doorhandles provide the detail. Its beauty doesn’t slap you like a botoxed Alfa, it’s a slower burn than that, but eventually its bravery hooks you in.
Perhaps surprising, given the Jetsons exterior, is that the inside of an I-Pace isn’t nearly as future-gazing as a Tesla. You still have several acres of screen, split over three displays, but also physical buttons. Fancy that. A floating centre console jazzes things up, as does an inexplicable slab of old-school veneer in our test car. Particular mention must go to the Recaro seats: the driving position is spot-on and comfort levels higher than the skeletal backrest suggests.
Switch it on – the screens do a dance but no noise – something that baffles the delivery driver as he attempts to back it off the trailer. “Know how to turn the engine on?” Sigh. But otherwise it’s as per a Range Rover Velar, or anything else in the upper echelons of Jaguar’s range, to operate. It’s refreshingly similar to ‘normal’ cars, with just the right amount of future. Problem is, JLR’s latest infotainment tends to over-promise and under-deliver – the interface isn’t as intuitive as a Tesla Model 3’s, for example – so half the time you’ll end up using the satnav on your phone.
Space-wise, the I-Pace excels. Because the front wheel have effectively moved forward and the rears stayed where they are, Jag claims it has the interior space of a Porsche Cayenne, but the footprint of a Macan. As well as a 27-litre cubby in the Jag’s foreshortened snout there’s roughly the same bootspace (577/1,453 litres seats up/seats down) as a 3-Series Touring.
It’s hard to know, I suspect purposefully, where the I-Pace fits into a conventional model hierarchy. It looks slightly like a hatchback, but, inside, the 656-litre boot (frunk included) is twice the size of a Golf’s and outside it’s well over 400mm longer. When you step out, your foot goes down further than you expect (unless you’ve set the suspension to lower automatically), and inside the driving position is surprisingly commanding. It’ll also handle four adults with ease. It’s a well-packaged, spacious car that just happens to be electric.
