what is a real Jaguar?

Two big novelties from Jaguar, radically opposed in their design, but which come together through their feline DNA. Powerful F-Pace SVR meets 100% electric i-Pace. Which one shows the sharpest fangs? Direction the region of St-Tropez and the Luc circuit.

There is no longer any doubt that the end of the decade marks a real turning point for the automobile. To be convinced, just look at Jaguar. The British manufacturer has just launched two new products almost simultaneously.

On the one hand the F-Pace SVR, the powerful version of the Jaguar SUV. On the other, a brand new mount. It is called i-Pace. Chronos guns, 4 driving wheels also, but for her performance is combined under the sign of electric.

So, is this the end of an era? Or the start of a new era? Can i-Pace take over from F-Pace? Or can the two coexist together in the Jaguar range? Faced with two such different specimens, the overriding question is to determine what makes a Jaguar a real Jaguar today.

The beauty and the Beast

If you’re wondering, the F-Pace SVR isn’t just the high-performance version of the Jag SUV. It would indeed be more logical to speak of the most bestial variation. Once entrusted to the Special Vehicles Operation (SVO) department, the F-Pace is transformed: sharp chassis, optimized aerodynamics, oversized brakes, boosted engine and unbridled sound. The beast, the V8 – 5.0 liters with compressor develops 550 hp and 680 Nm of maximum torque! Enough to make it one of the most efficient SUVs. But also one of those with the strongest character!

The i-Pace is a 100% electric vehicle. Ian Calum, the brand’s designer, had announced it a few years ago when the car was unveiled: he had dreamed of designing and presenting such a vehicle for decades! With this i-Pace, his dream came true. No heat engine at the front, which made it possible to completely review the codes and proportions of the vehicle as we know it, to free itself from the constraints of traditional architecture. The hood and the overhangs are contained to the maximum. All this for the benefit of the very advanced driving position. The passenger compartment unit makes optimum use of the size of the car.

They turn heads!

Indeed, level of livability, the i-Pace may be shorter than its big brother by 5 cm, it surpasses it in terms of space on board, especially in the rear seats. To drive the point home, although it has enough batteries to allow a range of 480 km in WLTP cycle, the i-Pace has a cargo volume strictly identical to that of the F-Pace!

Finally, a little detail: the i-Pace develops 400 hp and 696 Nm of maximum torque, without the slightest inertia. In short, the i-Pace is more beautiful, more elegant, more elegant! What can be left at F-Pace?

First part of the answer, the F-Pace SVR sings like no i-Pace owner will ever dare to imagine! The contrast is striking between the two machines: one of the noisiest and most unbridled in the Jaguar range, facing the quieter and more rational! One does not know the discretion, sound in any case, while the other turns heads, but by its aesthetics.

Nothing like a good old V8!

But what does that look like on the road? On paper, the i-Pace may be a 100% electric vehicle, but it does not give up on performance, quite the contrary. With its maximum torque immediately available, the i-Pace literally sticks their occupants to the seats with each acceleration.

Indeed, 0 to 100 km / h is atomized in 4.8 seconds which is very close to the lap times of the F-Pace SVR which performs the same exercise in 4.3 s! Ok for the sensations! Still, emotionally, everything can not be summed up in a simple matter of numbers.

No noise, no vibration, and above all an acceleration without gearshifts therefore completely smoothed out. It’s something else than aboard that thick F-Pace SVR brute!

On track !

The justice of the peace will therefore be the Luc circuit located in the Var department. And (little teasing) the finding is surprising! In essence, an electric car is always very heavy. However one of the primary qualities of the i-Pace is its agility! There are several explanations for this. First, the driving position is very close to that of a sedan. Second, the center of gravity is contained as close to the ground as possible with the batteries integrated into the floor.

The F-Pace SVR is also very heavy! But unlike the i-Pace, its center of gravity is perched high! As a result, roll hold is also fairly well contained (for a vehicle of this size), but it remains more important, as is understeer when entering a curve. It slips from the nose! Because to complicate things a bit, the rain is invited to the party!

Efficiency in a straight line is nevertheless at the rendezvous thanks to the all-wheel drive which is not idle to digest the monstrous power of the V8 compressor directly from the F-Type Coupé! But the i-Pace also has components from the sports coupe in the range. Indeed, it takes advantage of the front axle of the F-Type! We understand better why the grip is so effective! Especially since it also has 4 driving wheels with an electric motor on each axle.