What is it?
The Jaguar I-Pace, the British manufacturer’s revolutionary battery-powered ‘performance SUV’, first appeared as a concept at the Los Angeles motor show in 2016 – and we've also driven an early version – but in the 15 months since, the two most important questions about the car have not yet been answered.
First, is it a real Jaguar? Second, does it drive like one? On the outcome of these twin examinations rests the success of a huge investment in design and engineering, not to mention much of the company’s bold future strategy, namely to excite and inspire buyers with the finest modern technology, just as it did 70 years ago in the extraordinary post-war period that produced the XK120 sports car and a string of fabulous saloons that led to the seminal XJ6 of 1968.
We were given the first answers to those burning I-Pace questions as a prelude to the Geneva motor show when Jaguar fenced off a piece of taxiway at the end of Geneva’s busy airport and set up what amounted to an autosolo course of 'smart cones’ designed to indicate the desired handling course only at the last second, so drivers needed every ounce of the car’s agility to follow it.
This wasn’t a test drive per se, but it was a decent first chance to slip behind the wheel, and the kind of opportunity to test the car’s near-limit responses – conferred by a sophisticated all-independent suspension and an ultra-low centre of gravity – that you probably wouldn’t get in 1000 miles of driving on normal roads.
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The Apprentice
£81,495 taking...the...mick..
£81,495 taking...the...mick.... move along, nothing to see here.
scrap
The Apprentice wrote:
Why? People will pay for new tech, and this is new.
Compared to its only real rival, the Tesla, it looks competitive at the very least.
beechie
New tech...
What's new about it?
Luap
.
Its not 1990 anymore. Quality cars cost. As do decent electric cars. This was never going to be Golf money.
Citytiger
Luap wrote:
Exactly, its cheaper than an equivalent Model X, by a large margin, but I suppose people are paying for the geeky doors on the Tesla.
Symanski
The future, starting here.
There's no doubt that the automotive world is going all electrice. Now we have Jaguar creating an electric SUV from a clean sheet design. What they've ended up with is stunning.
Not following old Jaguar design cues? That's because it's leading the way, not following.
Make no mistake. This is a proper electric car and probably the first one from a proper automotive manufacturer. Not some halo-concept. Not quirky toy. But a real-world SUV, but electric powered and elminating the packaging you need for an internal combustion engine.
Does it drive like a Jaguar? It drives like the future, Jaguar.
eseaton
Yes, but it starts at £64k,
Blackseries
Remember £4.5k to come off
Remember £4.5k to come off that price - same acceleration as Bentley Continal GT - plus much more space & 5 doors.
Factor in an EV's much lower running costs and I would say it sounds a bit of a bargain to me.
Well done Jaguar.
TheBritsAreComing
I still think the best
I still think the best looking Jaguar of all time is the Mark X.
The Mark X set a styling precedent for Jaguar that lasted for 50 years but one that was, in my opinion, never bested.
The article refers to the risk Jaguar is taking with this vehicle. Jaguar is a company that is inherently reliant on the Internal Combustion Engine. They have designed their cars around it with their beautiful long-bonnet proportions and the emphasis has always been on the engine and it's characteristics.
I fear that Jaguar will struggle to replicate the concept of Character, that has been essential to their brand, in an electric vehicle.
My hope is that Jaguar can find a place for itself in the seemingly all electric future which we now face. The styling of the I-Pace is a good start as it turns conventional SUV proportions on their head.
I just hope it doesn't signal the death of the 'long bonnet' as beauty, once again, gives way to practicality!
Peter Cavellini
Ooooh! That price.......
what would have to be sacrificed to make a £35K one....?
Peter Cavellini.
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