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Yes they should have called it the E-PACE. However as a comprehensive list of things that Jaguar has got wrong with its first ever fully electric car, that is pretty short. Sometimes we like to spin this out but in the case of the I-PACE it is cards on the table; we love it!
So what’s so great about the Jag? Firstly we know that styling is very subjective but we think that Jaguar has nailed it. It is hard to get a feel for the dimensions from pictures because the crossover style tricks your brain into thinking it is much taller than it actually is. In reality it’s only 1,566 mm tall which means that the roof is halfway between an XF and F-PACE. The result is a car-like feel which is more shooting brake than SUV.
Then there’s the electric drivetrain which is at the cutting edge of technology. A 90 kWh battery feeds two permanent magnet synchronous motors which together produce a very healthy 512 lb ft of torque. Jaguar claims that the battery system has been optimised to cope with ‘protracted periods of sustained maximum power’ which is good because the I-PACE doesn’t hang about.
So what you really want to know is what happens when you put your foot down. Firstly the I-PACE explodes towards the horizon, so far so Tesla. But the interesting bit is when you get to a corner it lets you know what’s going on and that means you have confidence to push on and therefore fun! Jaguar 1 – Tesla 0.
One downside of the performance on offer is the temptation to tap into it on a regular basis which does dent the real world range somewhat. The good news is even when driven as Jaguar intended, 200+ miles are achievable, and driven with some moderation 250 miles is possible. The adoption of a heat pump for interior heating and advanced battery management also bode well for cold weather range.
The I-PACE is the first premium model to deliver driver involvement and that makes it a winner with Green Car Guide. The fact that it also wraps that keen chassis in a body that is both refreshingly new and looks great is a great achievement. Jaguar’s first attempt at an EV goes straight to the top of the class.
Read our initial Jaguar I-PACE 2021 review
Read our Living with the Jaguar I-PACE review
View all Green 4x4s, SUVs & Crossovers
Estimated real world range: 200 – 250 miles
Official range: 258 – 292 miles (WLTP)
Official electricity consumption: 252.2 – 220 Wh/km
Battery pack: 90 kWh lithium ion; 8 year / 100,000 mile warranty
Recharge time: 7 kW charge 12 hours 50 mins; 11 kW charge 8 hours 36 mins; CCS 50 kW charge (0 – 80%) 1 hour 25 mins; CCS 100 kW charge (0 – 80%) 40 mins
Please note that CO2 emissions quoted for electric cars are not directly comparable to diesel and petrol cars. This is because CO2 emissions quoted are calculated by Green Car Guide and include the emissions created at the power station turning fuel (e.g. gas etc) into electricity and in transmitting and distributing the electricity to an end user. They do not include the actual production of the fuel (e.g. gas extraction and refinery emissions). Petrol and diesel emissions are supplied by car manufacturers and are based solely on the fuel burnt in the engine (tailpipe emissions) and do not include the production of the fuel or distribution to a fuel station. In practice this means that electric car emissions are over-estimated relative to petrol and diesel. For instance if an electric car, a petrol car, and a diesel car are all reported to emit 100 g/km CO2, the electric car actually has lower emissions.
