Otago Daily Times

IPace prowls into town

- CATHERINE PATTISON

ELECTRIC vehicle fans can take a sneak peek at the allelectri­c Jaguar IPace at Armstrong Prestige Dunedin this weekend.

The fiveseater sports car is one of the first in the country to arrive as a demonstrat­ion model, and is touring dealership­s before the first shipment arrives midyear.

Armstrong Prestige Dunedin Jaguar Land Rover brand manager Ben Reed said the Jaguar IPace Roadshow provides a chance for customers who have paid deposits on the IPace, which starts at $159,900, to experience it in person through test drives.

Among its many features, the

Jaguar IPace is equipped with an Audible Vehicle Alert System (AVAS) to address the absence of any engine noise.

The system warns visually impaired and other vulnerable road users that it is approachin­g at low speed. The brand’s engineers developed a sound that can be heard at speeds up to 20kmh that exceeds the 56dB(A) minimum required by forthcomin­g European legislatio­n— the strictest in the world — for all new EVs from July 2019. The sound is emitted from a speaker located behind the front grille, can be heard in every direction and cannot be disengaged.

The alert increases in pitch and volume in line with the speed of the vehicle and, when in reverse, is accompanie­d by an additional tone that indicates the change in direction.

The IPace accelerate­s to 100kmh in 4.8 seconds and with a range of up to 470km, it has been popular internatio­nally, securing more than 30 awards.

It also has a Kiwi connection, with Auckland’s Simon Evans winning the inaugural Jaguar IPace eTROPHY race, in Saudi Arabia, last year.

The Jaguar IPace is on display at Armstrong Prestige Dunedin today from 9am to 5pm and tomorrow from 10am to 4pm.

 ?? PHOTO: SUPPLIED ?? The IPace packs a 90kWh battery and delivers 696Nm of instant torque. It is on display at Armstrong Prestige Dunedin all weekend.
PHOTO: SUPPLIED The IPace packs a 90kWh battery and delivers 696Nm of instant torque. It is on display at Armstrong Prestige Dunedin all weekend.

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