Jaguar I-Pace review

Underneath the aluminium bodywork resides an electric powertrain of predictable architecture. A ‘skateboard’ battery pack (423 lithium ion cells, liquid cooled) of 90kWh is spread below the cabin floor and sits entirely within the car’s wheelbase for a claimed 50:50 weight distribution (53:47 as tested).

It drives a lightweight permanent-magnet electric motor on each axle. Each drives through a single-speed epicyclic transmission and open differential (there is brake-based torque vectoring in lieu of a locking diff) for maximum compactness.

At low speeds, the I-Pace is powered by just one of its motors, though both can combine to deliver 394bhp and 512lb ft through all four wheels, and a claimed 0-60mph time of 4.5sec – the latter coming despite a claimed 2133kg kerb weight, which presented as 2236kg on the scales in the case of our test car. We weighed a Genesis GV60 Sport Plus at 2192kg, so the fact that this smaller and newer EV with a smaller battery is only 44kg lighter than the I-Pace shows Jaguar did a good job keeping the weight down.

Range for the I-Pace is quoted at 292 miles, and falls to 255 for the 400 Sport, with its 22in wheels. When it launched, its ability to rapid charge at up to 100kW was quite a standout feature, but five years on, the charging network and the competition have caught up. Now, 150kW is the least we’d expect, and a Genesis GV60 will do 240kW. At launch, AC charging topped out at 7kW, but the 2020 update added 11kW three-phase charging.

Thus far, the decisions have been made for you. That changes when it comes to the suspension, which operates through an encouragingly conventional double-wishbone front and integral-link rear design. As standard, the I-Pace is equipped with a passive steel coil suspension set-up.

Adaptive air suspension (it lowers the car beyond 65mph for a more aerodynamic stance and can raise it at low speeds for greater ground clearance) and adaptive dampers (for an even more driver-configurable drive) are offered as options – and both were fitted to our test car.

Less delicate is the ride quality. With so much weight and power to contain, and the expectation that a Jaguar is a sporting car, it was almost inevitable the I-Pace would seem firm in most driving scenarios.

In our experience, the I-Pace’s ride, if not styling, benefits quite a bit from a more modest wheel choice. It will always fidget over bigger intrusions and body movements are sometimes dealt with a touch too abruptly for our liking. Driving the Sport 400 on 22in wheels, one tester likened it to a Porsche GT model. It’s never harsh or uncouth, just unrelentingly firm.

It’s also a touch disappointing that the I-Pace isn’t quite as hushed out on the motorway as you might expect an electric vehicle to be, particularly one positioned towards the more expensive end of the market. At a 70mph trot, our sound meter recorded cabin noise at 66dB when we road tested it in 2018 on 20in alloys. That’s 2dB more than the very quiet Audi E-tron (tested before its transformation to Audi Q8 E-tron). On the 22in wheels of the 400 Sport we tried in 2023, road noise is more noticeable still.

Track notes

The I-Pace’s clever packaging and potent electric performance would have had more of a chance to shine here were it not for an incredibly heavy-handed electronic stability program. Any downwards vertical travel through the many compressions of the Millbrook Hill Route seemed to be particularly good at setting the systems off, which would then result in a complete, though temporary, loss of power.

Past this, however, the I-Pace’s sense of balance and agility are really rather impressive. It will change direction with far more conviction than a Tesla Model S, which can at times feel as though its weight is still travelling one direction long after you’ve turned the wheel. The standard 245-section tyres provide decent, though not brilliant, levels of grip. Some models get 255-section items instead.

And as always with JLR products, the spectre of unreliability looms large. Despite promises of improved quality, its products consistently finish near the bottom of reliability surveys. It’s not something we can usually test during a week-long loan, but it is telling that our test car in 2023 suffered an air suspension fault that made the ride even more unyielding than normal. There was a rattle coming from one of the A-pillars as well.