Jaguar has gone electric. You may have spotted that Jag is offering a service to retro-fit electric powertrains to the iconic E-type but this is the first new all-electric car from the big cat so there’s a lot riding on it.
Should Tesla’s Model X be worried? Let’s find out by taking a look at some of the reviews floating about on the internet…
Overview
First, some numbers. On a full charge, the I-Pace offers a 298-mile range, which can be restored in around 12 hours connected to a 7kW home charger.
Its 90kWh lithium-ion battery drives two electric motors that produce the equivalent of 396bhp, getting the car up to 62mph from rest in 4.8 seconds with a top speed of 124mph.
Sure sounds appealing, but do you have the £63,495 required to buy one?
The best you can get
Auto Express didn’t beat around the bush, hailing the I-Pace as ‘the best electric car on sale today’.
Dishing out all five stars, the motoring weekly believes ‘the future is here and it’s very exciting indeed’, going on to class the compact SUV’s blend of abilities as unmatched in this segment.
‘The silent, sharp dynamics, beautifully built cabin and rock bottom running costs are just a small part of the car’s unrivalled appeal,’ it writes.
Autocar held back half a star, describing the I-Pace as ‘simultaneously the most limited and unrestricted Jaguar yet built’.
They explain that the car could be potentially held back due to its dependance on a charging infrastructure outside of Jaguar’s control. It also relied on drivers planning journeys more carefully than if they were using a petrol or diesel car due to the mileage range. Additionally, Top Gear deemed that claimed 298-mile range ‘ambitious’.
On the flip side though, Autocar considered the I-Pace’s long range and sub-five-second acceleration to be liberating, while the interior was uncommonly spacious due to the clever packaging of the powertrain.
On the road
How does it drive though?
Bloomberg – admittedly, not our default source of motoring opinion for many people – said the the I-Pace felt ‘glued to the road, riding so low there’s no apparent body roll, and as good a handling around corners and switching lanes as you’ll find in the Model X’.
‘It’s no sports car, but it’s responsive enough,’ they add.
On a motorway, Top Gear found the ride ‘impeccable’, even if the drive was ‘worryingly similar’ to every other EV out there, something that could become a problem as more and more electric cars join the marketplace.
Looks-wise, the I-Pace was ‘interesting in a weird and fascinating way’, according to Motoring Research’s Peter Burgess.
‘It’s certainly not a traditional Jaguar saloon, but neither is it an SUV or coupe in the accepted sense. It stands out in a crowd – surely a good thing – while never jarring the sensibilities’ he wrote.
Summary
Everyone hoped Jaguar would nail its first electric car just like it aced its debut SUV with the F-Pace. And it hasn’t disappointed.
Pretty much every review we read agreed that Jaguar has got it right at the first time of asking.
But would you personally buy one? If not, why not? Let us know down in the comments…
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