Jaguar F-Pace SVR
REPORT 4
£79,090 OTR/£83,060 as tested/£942pcm
WHY IT’S HERE
Does a V8 super-SUV still have a legitimate role to play?
DRIVER
Andy Franklin
HAVING MISSED OUT DURING COVID, THIS YEAR I WAS DETERMINED to drive over to France not to check my eyesight but for a holiday Two years is a long time to not go away and quite frankly I was missing those smooth pothole free and efficient open roads that France supplies
But first I needed a car the thought of doing a long roadtrip in my current eBerlingo lifer with an average range of miles was making me nervous our regular holiday spot is a good to hours door to door in a petrol car can you imagine how long it would take in the Berlingo? So I did the sensible thing and borrowed the FPace with the spirit of the words from Ferris Bueller ringing in my ear “If you had access to a car like this would you take it back right away?”
The trip started badly with three hour queues to reach border control Thankfully the SVR’s interior is a lovely place The bucket seats are both comfy and offer support there’s a highup centre console and for once infotainment that works and uses the same stylishly designed software as the new Range Rover Overall it feels snug welcoming and sporty
Once on the silky French tarmac the firm suspension was much less noticeable In fact it made perfect sense over there and opening up that smooth V is a sound I’ve missed over the last year or so I genuinely felt I could have listened to and driven this car for days straight
Still had to take out a small mortgage for the petrol of course but over there it’s cheaper than I was expecting around / a litre almost at prepandemic levels With all that money saved on fuel it meant I could get an extra tin of foie gras for the trip home Just the one mind Which is just as well because the boot isn’t spacious tiny in fact for a family of five Snug in the back too for the kids Still as long as the booze fitted which it did that’s all that matters right?