FASTLANE

We drive the compelling and entertaining Jaguar F-pace SUV, which is true to the stylish brand with its superbly responsive drive that is perfectly suited to our cities and comes fully loaded, with plenty of room and eye-catching good looks.

A compelling drive, plenty of space for five and eye-catching looks.

Few SUVS are as entertaining or capable as the Jaguar F-pace, and in its R-sport guise, it's as fun to drive as any SUV in its class and, with its extra inches, more practical too.

Substantial and fully loaded with comfort and infotainment features, the F-pace is an immense city and cruising SUV, but it truly comes into its own on a twisting mountain pass or winding its way through forests on less than perfect roads.

DESIGN

Happily for those who value style, chief designer Ian Callum ensured the production Jaguar F-pace retained quite a lot of what impressed the automotive paparazzi when the C-X17 concept car was first revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2013.

The current F-pace is an imposing vehicle and, in the R-sport version, sporting the signature grille flanked by long sweptback headlights, 22-inch alloys and a sleek coupé-like profile, it has genuine road presence.

The F-pace design team has taken inspiration along with some shared components from the Jagaur XF and XJ and, just like its saloon and sports car cousins, it has precise steering, power to spare and a light, stiff body that gives impressive agility for a vehicle of this size. The interior too takes cues from the

XF and XJ in both style and ergonomics. With easy-to-operate buttons and switches, a beautifully crafted thick rim steering wheel, sporty trim and intuitive infotainment system, the airy cabin is functional and very stylish.

The standard Jaguar F-pace R-sport is fully loaded, but naturally Jaguar offers a significant range of options designed to help you create an even more exclusive and eye-catching beast.

POWER

The F-pace R-sport uses the 3-litre V6 supercharged engine found powering the fantastic F-type sports car, albeit with a different and less noisy exhaust system. The highly respectable 340 BHP and 450 NM of torque is delivered to its 22-inch alloys by Jaguar's excellent eight-speed automatic gearbox, which propels the R-sport to 100 kph in just 5.8 seconds on its way to an impressive top speed of 250 kph.

DRIVING

The fusion of the impressive power-train, AWD and the F-pace's light and stiff chassis has produced a responsive vehicle that drivers will fully enjoy no matter where they go. For current Jaguar owners this won't be a surprise, but the F-pace has some new and particularly userfriendly control features that make it feel even more surefooted and secure in heavy rain or icy conditions. Aside from Jaguar's typical Normal, Dynamic and Eco modes, the F-pace also has an additional Adaptive Surface Response mode. With ASR the onboard computer constantly monitors the grip level and adapts throttle, driveline and electronic stability and traction control systems to suit. Impressive stuff and a feature most welcome in a region prone to sudden dramatic deluges.

LIVING WITH THE F-PACE

The F Pace is Jaguar's first crossover vehicle and the R-sport models get Incontrol Touch infotainment system, sat-nav, Bluetooth, DAB, parking sensors, heated leather seats, cruise control and autonomous braking all as standard.

Carrying five adults in comfort, it has easy access, thanks to doors that open wider than is normal. The boot capacity is 650 litres with the seats in their standard position, but with seats folding 40:20:40, there's a myriad of combinations that add even more space and practicality.

In summary then the F-pace offers buyers a compelling drive, plenty of space, eyecatching looks and a badge that is sure to impress.