Offering the best of both worlds
Engine downsizing, increased efficiencies on display at AutoShow
Jaguar Land Rover’s display at this year’s Canadian International AutoShow is a good representation of the corporate dichotomy that appears to be occurring at this premium automaker.
On the one hand, the company will be featuring the all-new Range Rover Evoque premium compact CUV — which now offers a “mild” 48-volt hybrid system to supplement its 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder gas engine — alongside the company’s impressive new all-electric I-Pace crossover.
Ralf Speth, Jaguar Land Rover’s chief executive officer, has stated the company’s goal of offering all of its new or significantly redesigned vehicles with an electrified powertrain option by 2020.
On the other hand, the Toronto show will be highlighting the top-dog performance version of Jaguar’s mid-size F-Pace crossover, the 550 horsepower, 283 km/h-capable F-Pace SVR. There will be a quartet of 575 hp vehicles: the flagship XJ’s XJR575 model, a Range Rover Sport SVR, and a pair of F-Type SVRs packing the same punch.
If those somehow aren’t sufficiently frisky, the automaker’s stand will also feature an example of the bonkers 592 hp XE SV Project 8 sedan, a limited production model that recently met Jaguar’s goal of setting the four-door sedan lap record at the famed Nürburgring (7:21.2, if you’re curious).
Rotating the earth beneath you with more than 500 lb-ft of torque; it reduces greenhousegas emissions through electrification. These would seem to be widely conflicting goals.
As it turns out, they’re not mutually exclusive. It can be argued about whether or not Jaguar’s I-Pace is actually a crossover (standard height-adjustable suspension, all-wheel drive) or simply a dramatically styled luxury four-door hatchback (relatively low ground clearance, car-like dynamics, just look at it …), but there can be no argument about whether it’s quick. Or electric — there’s definitely no gas engine here.
In its sole EV400 configura- tion, JLR rates the I-Pace at 394 horsepower and 512 lb-ft of torque. The latter figure is within spitting distance of the peak output of the top SVR versions of the company’s 5.0-litre supercharged V8. With maximum torque in an electric motor being available at 0rpm, and with two robust motors being fed by a 90 kWh battery pack, the I-Pace launches with genuine authority, good for a manufacturer-claimed (and very credible, possibly even pessimistic) 4.8-second sprint to 100 km/h. Only the mass of the batteries required to provide a maximum 377-kilometre range keep it from being quicker.
Electrification notwithstanding, a look around the show floor reveals that Jaguar Land Rover has recognized and embraced the modern realities of engine downsizing and increased efficiencies, as most JLR models feature either six or even four-cylinder power — albeit enhanced by forced induction. This includes the still sexy F-Type coupe and convertible, whose base engine is now a 296 hp 2.0-litre turbo four, one of JLR’s “Ingenium” family of gasoline and diesel inline fours, which powers many XE and XF sedan models, as well. Rather unexpectedly equipped with an Ingenium turbo four as standard equipment is Range Rover’s stylish mid-size Velar crossover, whose alternative engine options include a 180-hp turbo diesel four (of the same 2.0-litre displacement) and a 340/380 horse supercharged 3.0-litre V6 that’s available throughout most of JLR’s product range. Even the brand-flagship Range Rover now features a boosted six as its standard engine choice, with the corporate 5.0-litre supercharged V8 reserved for upper trim levels.
As it evolves, Land Rover has its work cut out to keep this originator of the luxury SUV market competitive in the face of powerful and technologyladen rivals coming from the VW Group, BMW, Mercedes, and possibly even Lexus (witness last year’s LF-1 Limitless Concept).
True off-road capability may be what sets Land Rover’s top model apart from most of these intenders, even as the brand’s product line expands to include less capable models such as the Evoque and Velar — less capable, not incapable, as even the mildest Rovers have considerable wading depth ratings (60 cm for the urban-chic Evoque!) and multi-mode off-road traction and stability settings.
With Discovery models intended to represent a more rugged (but still upscale) persona, and the four Range Rovers serving as the more sophisticated premium products in the maker’s line, there are plenty of choices.
Those who prefer their utilities with a more on-road orientation can look across the showroom at Jaguar’s Pace models (E, F and I). And don’t forget the origin of Jaguar’s reputation for quick, luxurious transportation: its cars.