JAGUAR’S GREEN DREAM
JAGUAR’S new all-electric I-Pace is causing quite a stir. Model and father-to-be David Gandy drove an early prototype and spent this week being chauffeured around in one for London Fashion Week for Men. With his girlfriend Stephanie Mendoros, 32, expecting their first child in November, the 38-year-old may be tempted trade in his two-seater Jaguar F-Type sports car. ‘I think we’re going to need a bigger car,’ he told me.
Double Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has just taken delivery of an electric I-Pace, and I know from experience that the performance of this leaping cat really is electric.
Priced from less than £60,000 and with a sleek, coupe-like silhouette, Jaguar’s first allelectric all-wheel drive SUV goes at a blistering pace.
Acceleration is instantaneous, and lightning fast — crackling from rest to 60mph in just 4.5 seconds up to a top speed of 124 mph. You forget it’s a ‘green’ zero-emissions car. But it promises a range of 298 miles — enough to drive from London to Newcastle — on one overnight charge.
Having no conventional engine creates a large flat floor and enough space for five adults and their luggage; boot capacity expands to 1,453 litres with the rear seats folded flat, and there’s clever stowage beneath for a laptop and tablet.
Press the start button and it is eerily silent as the cool electric dashboard dials spring into life. Silence continues when you drive, but should you miss the roar, Jaguar has included an artificial ‘brmm brmmm’ sound which the driver can adjust.
Energy from braking is used to recharge the battery on the move, and the whole package feels solid.
It’s no slouch off-road on dirt tracks. And who says cats don’t like water? Remarkably, it’ll wade through floods up to 50cm deep.
Priced from £58,995 to £76,995, which includes a ‘green’ £4,500 subsidy, it’s as far from a milk float or golf buggy as you can get.