Turning up the pace

Jaguar has unveiled the second SUV in the marque’s history. The E-PACE is a follow-up to the marque’s successful F-PACE crossover SUV.

The new addition recently made its debut at a ceremony in London’s ExCeL Centre where one of the cars showed off its capabilities by performing a record-breaking barrel roll inside the show hall.

The Jaguar E-PACE is expected to allow Jaguar to further capitalise on the SUV craze. As a subcompact offering, the E-PACE also allows Jaguar to reach buyers for whom the pricier F-PACE may be out of reach.

Actress Sienna Miller was among the stars at the launch event at the Docklands venue, compered by radio DJ Nick Grimshaw with music by Pete Tong and celebrity guests.

In keeping with its family credentials, the E-Pace has been nicknamed ‘Cub’ by engineers and designers, and even carries some cub motifs, such as the one beamed down from the wing mirrors.

Jaguar Land Rover UK managing director Jeremy Hicks said: “The new E-Pace will attract a whole new audience which is younger and will see more women. In the past Jaguar was seen as a car mainly for men. That is all changing. The gender and age balance is shifting and will shift even further with this car.”

It should arrive in showrooms in early 2018 with a starting price believed to be under BD15,000, reports suggest.

Jaguar wants the world to think of the five-seater as a sports car with utility vehicle space and practicality, which means its design team drew from both the F-Pace and F-Type.

The E-Pace clearly shares facial features with both vehicles, its front layout of grilles and vents following the F-Pace, its headlights, the F-Type.

Ian Callum, director of design, Jaguar, said: “Established Jaguar design principles ensure the E-PACE is immediately recognisable as the sports car of its class. Our new compact SUV combines the interior space, connectivity and security that families expect with the kind of proportions, purity of design and performance not usually associated with such a practical vehicle.”

There’s a choice of two four-cylinder engines belonging to Jaguar Land Rover’s all-aluminum, turbocharged 2.0ltr Ingenium family and come paired with a ZF nine-speed automatic transmission. The most powerful 300 horse-power petrol engine will propel the E-Pace from rest to 60mph in just 5.9 seconds, with a top speed electronically restricted to 151mph. Even sportier performance models are in the pipeline. 

The JaguarDrive Control system offers four different modes – normal, dynamic, eco and rain. These modes fine-tune not only the suspension, but also settings related to the throttle response, steering and transmission.

Other standard and available systems include dynamic stability control, electronic traction control, torque vectoring by braking, and low-speed, low-traction all-surface cruise control. Driver-assistance technologies include hill start assist, blind spot assist, forward traffic monitor, park assist and emergency braking.

While Jaguar seems to have things covered nicely on the styling and performance fronts, crossover buyers also want to know that the vehicle has space and versatility, especially when it comes to the school run.

Inside the lift-gate with available gesture control opening and closing, the E-Pace offers up to 1,487 L with the rear seats folded and 685 L with them upright. The 60:40 split folding seats help drivers find the necessary blend of passenger and cargo space. Jaguar credits the 2,681 mm wheelbase and compact Integral Link rear suspension with helping in space optimisation.

Up front, Jaguar points out that you can go ahead and lay two one-litre water bottles in the 8.4-litre centre console compartment and still have plenty of room for other stuff. Don’t worry, though, you don’t have to do that … you can also equip the E-Pace with a smaller 5.9 L compartment and cup-holders.

The E-Pace carries Jaguar’s latest 10-in touchscreen-based InControl Touch Pro infotainment system standard although it becomes the first Jaguar to get the option of a new-generation head-up display, which can show information like speed, navigation directions, engine speed, entertainment details, as well as driver-assistance system settings and warnings. Jaguar promises graphics that are sharp, bright and clear.

Jaguar Land Rover’s InControl suite of connected features offers remote vehicle smartphone monitoring and system control, connected navigation, in-vehicle app access and a vehicle 4G Wi-Fi hotspot. Each seat also has access to a dedicated USB charging port and up to four 12 V sockets are spread around the interior.

Jaguar will rely on Austrian engineering and manufacturing specialist Magna Steyr for E-Pace production. Magna will also build the I-Pace electric utility vehicle starting next year.

For further information visit jaguar-me.com or call the Euro Motors Jaguar Land Rover showroom on 17460460.

THE E-PACE completed its world record 15m leap with driver Terry Grant, who has completed stunts on many film sets and holds an impressive 21 Guinness World Record titles, behind the wheel.

He said: “As far as I am aware no production car has ever cleanly completed a bona-fide barrel roll and therefore it has always been an ambition of mine to perform one ever since I was a boy. After driving the Jaguar F-PACE in the record-breaking loop-the-loop, it has been amazing to help launch the next chapter of the PACE family in an even more dramatic dynamic feat.”

Unsurprisingly, the barrel roll is not one to be tried at home, months of testing and analysis were completed to fine-tune the stunt, including achieving precisely the correct speed of run-up. Terry experienced a G-Force of 5.5 during the 270 degree twist, and required a 160m run up to hit the air at the correct speed.

Guinness World Records adjudicator Pravin Patel said: “This amazing feat really was a sight to behold. While I’ve seen the barrel roll stunt in film, witnessing this incredible feat in real life was something pretty special. Congratulations to Terry and Jaguar for setting another epic Guinness World Records title.”