Jaguar E-Pace
styling, together with S, SE and HSE specification packs and five power plants.
Engines are the familiar Jaguar Land Rover 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel and turbo-petrol units with 150, 180 and 240ps, or 249 and 300ps outputs respectively.
The two lower powered engines can be ordered with six speed manual gearboxes but they can be specified, like the rest of the E-Pace range, with intelligent all wheel drive and a nine speed automatic transmission. The entry-level model is front-wheel-drive only with the 150ps diesel engine.
To tempt buyers a First Edition E-Pace, available for 12 months, will showcase the new Jag and is powered by the 180ps diesel for £47,800 or £50,160 for the 249ps petrol version with ZF auto boxes. It is based on the R-Dynamic performance chassis in mid-range SE trim, but other equipment levels can also be ordered.
The E-Pace has an intelligent ‘Active Driveline’ powertrain which uses JLR’s grip control and advanced chassis dynamics to maximise grip and in the 4x4 versions I sampled it decides how to shift around the power, even operating a front wheel drive mode to optimise economy whenever possible or sending it to the back wheels alone.
Drivers can choose their preferred settings for throttle, steering, transmission and suspension across four modes, normal, dynamic, eco and winter with the grip control taking care of progress in go-slow conditions.
Not only does the E-Pace look like a Jaguar - it also drives like one. On Corsica’s testing twisting mountain roads it was up for the challenge and dealt with all kinds of surfaces and the never-ending tight bends.
The Jaguar team also provided challenging off-road experiences and the E-Pace proved to me much more capable than I imagined.
It tackled the rough stuff with ease, waded through a deep stream, dealt with mud and sand and proved that it was much more than a pretty face.
Most will not put their shining examples anywhere near that type of terrain but they will be able to boast that their E-Pace is the real deal.
I tried the car with the most powerful petrol and diesel engines and they are both very good delivering excellent performance.
Despite all the current anti-diesel clamour, more than 75 per cent of E-Paces will feature a diesel engine with the mid-range 180bhp model taking most of the sales. That’s no surprise as it is good for 127mph and can sprint to 60mph in 9.9 seconds. It also has a claimed combined 54.3 mpg with emissions of 147g/km.
If you demand more performance and don’t care that much about economy opt for the 300bhp petrol engine which will fire you to 60mph in just 5.9 seconds before going on to 151mph - true Jaguar performance.
The new E-Pace certainly looks like a Jaguar but its special quality is that it also feels and drives like one. In my opinion this is now the best compact premium SUV on the market.