Auto review: The 2019 Jaguar I-Pace transforms expectations for luxury electric vehicles
Whatever image you have of Jaguar, it will soon be rendered obsolete by the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace, the first all-electric vehicle from a brand that has long lived by its founder’s maxim of “grace, pace and space.’
Forget the long hood look of previous Jaguars; since this is an electric vehicle, there are few if components up front. To compensate, the I-Pace incorporates other familiar attributes, such as Jaguar’s signature flowing waistline, although it accentuates the front haunches. Then there’s the grille lifted from the F-Pace or XJ6. The new aesthetic continues inside, which eschews the cliched walnut-paneled library look. Instead, two large high-definition screens anchoring the instrument panel, augmented by a pair of rotary switches. It’s modern, elegant and intuitive. A full-color head-up display, which projects key information onto the windshield in front of the driver, is available. Finally, a panoramic glass roof lends the roomy cabin an enormous feel far beyond this vehicle’s 184-inch length.
The test drive route started with a conventional mix of city and highway driving until the navigation directed us off-road, where the I-Pace forded an 18-inch-deep stream. Stop and think about taking an electric vehicle with its undercarriage battery pack of 432 cells effortlessly wading through water.
Emerging from the stream, the road went up an unpaved dusty mountainside, which the Jaguar handled effortlessly. The final stop was a Formula One racetrack, where the I-Pace swiftly yet silently generated speeds of more than 100 mph. And why not? It’s a Jaguar.
On-road, the I-Pace clearly proves itself as a classic Jaguar for the new millennium, with a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 124 mph. If you’re used to an internal combustion engine, going this fast this silently will take some getting used to. You can turn up the electronically produced artificial noise, but why? There’s a spectacularly good Meridian sound system that’s better at that.
The I-Pace uses a Jaguar-designed electric motor on each axle fitted around a compact, single-speed transmission and differential, enabling power delivery to all four wheels. Nevertheless, the vehicle is filled with features meant to extend the I-Pace’s range:
The climate control adjusts airflow to the number of passengers so that air doesn’t blow on empty seats. The I-Pace can also pre-condition the cabin to the proper temperature while plugged in, rather than drawing power to do it once underway.
The navigation system factors in the topography of routes, driving styles and available range to accurately calculate routes. It also locates charging locations along the route.
A standard air suspension delivers an impeccable ride/handling balance in the best Jaguar tradition, lowering the car by 0.4 inches above 65 mph, and raising it 2 inches in off-road mode. Of course, as you’d expect of a car with such a huge battery pack, the I-Pace perfectly plants itself during cornering. Fortunately, there’s enough power that you rarely realize how heavy this car feels. You just silently rocket forward, thanks to 512 pound-feet of torque.
It’s quite a package, one that truly reimagines the automobile, not just in terms of packaging, but also in design, proportion, performance and interior accommodations. It’s truly a landmark Jaguar.
In another time, they might have even called it the E-Type.