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Jaguar I-Pace test drive

The electric I-Pace ticks all the boxes for performance, practicality and range

What’s it like inside?

Jaguar I-Pace dashboard | The Car Expert

The interior is unmistakably Jaguar, with a leather finish in the First Edition cars. The dashboard protrudes into the car as if someone had pinched it in the middle and pulled, further giving a feel of elegance and speed inside.

Sporty seats in the front and three in the rear give space on a par with other C-segment saloons and SUVs.

There are 656 litres of space in the boot – however, it’s high and flat with the boot lip because of those batteries and motors. At my measly height of four inches over five foot, lifting something heavy from the ground into the boot isn’t easy.

What’s under the bonnet?

For the technically minded among you, the I-Pace has two permanent magnet electric motors that each produces 200hp, putting power directly to each wheel and giving you all-wheel drive. The battery has a capacity of 90kWh.

But what does that actually mean for those who buy one? It means Jaguar has taken the best of both worlds in this car.

Performance cars have become synonymous with worsened economy figures, and I’m not going to pretend that if you put your foot to the floor it won’t hurt your range, but this car will manage up to 298 miles on one charge if driven sensibly.

That’s paired with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it acceleration thanks to the instantly available 696Nm of torque. There’s only one powertrain available and it has 400hp.

What’s it like to drive?

If you put all of the numbers to one side, there are two key benefits to driving an electric car that you really have to feel to understand. Firstly, because torque is available as soon as you put your foot on the accelerator, power delivery is nearly instant, giving that 4.5-second time of 0-60mph.

Then there’s the regenerative braking – something that you can switch between high and low if it’s too aggressive for you on the I-Pace – which means as soon as you pull back off the accelerator pedal the car will start braking for you and you’ll find you rarely need to use the actual brake pedal.

Thanks to the air suspension on the First Edition and available to specify on other models, the I-Pace floats down the road. The stability is increased too by the batteries that sit as low as possible in the car and reduce its centre of gravity.

Handling is responsive, although this can be switched up as well by putting the car into Dynamic mode, but Comfort and Eco modes are also available.

Verdict

What’s the best thing about this car? Once out on the open road, you could soon forget that it’s an electric vehicle at all if it weren’t for the dials showing your electric range rather than fuel remaining.

While the price will still make it unattainable for a lot of drivers, let’s not forget it’s still a Jag and a luxury one at that.

However, compare it with the only other all-electric SUV on the market, the Tesla Model X, and this car is a bargain even in this high-spec First Edition guise.

With genuine performance credentials and more range than most owners would ever need, the Jaguar I-Pace makes an extremely convincing case for EV driving.

Similar cars

Tesla Model X

Key specifications

Model as tested: Jaguar I-Pace EV400 First Edition
Price (on-road): £63,495
Powertrain: Two permanent magnet electric motors
Power: 400 hp
Torque: 696 Nm
Top speed: 124 mph
0-60mph: 4.5 seconds
Fuel economy (combined): n/a
CO2 emissions: 0 g/km
Range (claimed): 298 miles

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