Jaguar adds to its SUV stable By comparison
Vall automakers have figured out that their key to current and future success lies with building utility wagons of varying sizes and descriptions.
That lesson hasn’t been lost on Jaguar. Beginning in early 2018, it will introduce the compact E-pace as a junior partner to the midsize F-pace wagon, which arrived for 2017.
The E-pace name sounds like it might refer to an electric vehicle, but it uses good, old-fashioned gasoline propulsion. Jaguar’s upcoming 2019 I-pace tall wagon will actually be the brand’s first electric.
What is unique about the E-pace is that it rests on a front-wheel drive platform derived from the Land Rover Evoque (Jaguar and Land Rover are owned by the same company). Like the F-pace, however, the E-pace has standard all-wheel drive.
The F-pace and E-pace are unmistakable as kin, right down to their similar-looking front-end shapes, which are clearly influenced by other Jaguar fleet members. The common thread also extends to the opposite end, where the fashionably sloping liftgate looks attractive enough but ■ Audi Q3 Quattro
Base price: $36,000
Good-looking wagon is well-priced. Quattro AWD is considered a top system. ■ BMW X1 xdrive
Base price: $36,750
Second-generation model uses the Mini Countryman platform. Can get pricey.
■ Lexus NX
Base price: $37,500
Less than subtle styling breaks from the pack. AWD Hybrid version available.
results in reduced cargo space when compared with other more squaredoff designs.
The cabin appears equally inviting, especially the cockpit-style driver’s pod, which could have been lifted straight out of the F-type sports car. The touch screen is nice and big, and the large, round ventilation controls will no doubt assist the fumble-fingered.
The E-pace is more than a foot shorter and nearly 3.5 inches narrower than the F-pace and has more than 8 inches less distance between the front and rear wheels. But the real head-scratcher is that the E-pace outweighs the bigger Jag by 155 pounds, which goes to show that compactness doesn’t necessarily result in a corresponding