HEADSTART HERO

Imagine being cryogenically frozen in 2009, only to be woken a decade a later to find that Jaguar, of all people, has beaten the Germans down to the charging pool where it’s chilling to Tubeway Army and posting #EVLife selfies. Yes, that Jag, the one that’s been struggling for generations to escape the shadow cast by its crusty back catalogue.

The i-Pace made that happen. It arrives at this test as my current favourite EV and favourite Jag by miles. And it can do miles. A 292-mile range means the i-Pace isn’t merely some trinket confined to creeping round Mayfair. It’s a genuinely practical proposition in every sense. Though it can’t use Tesla’s Supercharger network, and the UK’s network of fast chargers, while growing, is still too small to rely on for cross-country journeys, that near-300-mile range is a real confidence boost.

So is the available push. Like the EQC and Model 3 Performance, the i-Pace employs two electric motors: one front, one rear. Their combined 395bhp is fractionally less than the Merc’s, but that’s more than offset by the 200kg lighter kerbweight. Punch the right pedal and the i-Pace leaps

nd forward like an electrocuted cat, reaching 62mph in 4.8sec, almost half a second quicker than the Benz.

And unlike the Kia, it keeps on pulling hard long after you’ve passed that 62mph mark and on to an (ample for UK use) electronically limited top speed of 124mph. Only now, in the company of the monstrously rapid Model 3 does that kind of performance look or feel anything less than epic. And only now, in the company of that same Tesla, does any doubt creep in about the Jag having the best chassis in the EV world.

On a straight motorway the Jag doesn’t isolate you from every bump but rides well, and feels happily planted. Almost too planted. The steering feels so weighty around the straight-ahead you wonder if it’s going to feel stodgy in the bends. Your first slip-road exit reassures you it doesn’t.

Because as soon as you start to carve left or right that weighting melts away. So does the weight of the EV battery pack, or at least that’s your impression. The Jag weighs 2208kg, but manages to feel at least 200kg lighter, and because that mass is balanced evenly end to end and mounted

low in the car, it turns in to corners smartly and resists lurch through direction changes well by EV standards. It beats the Merc black and blue.

But the lighter, faster Tesla feels more nimble still. And the Model 3’s minimalist interior and stunning high-resolution screen make the Jag’s look far less glamorous than it really is. While the Tesla houses every control and display in one giant digital rectangle, the Jag is more conventional. There’s a digital instrument pack, a second screen on the top half of the centre console and a third below it. Touchscreen naysayers will be glad to see traditional rotary controls for the heating functions.

Big windows mean rear passengers will feel less claustrophobic than in the EQC and the lower floor means better thigh support than in the Tesla, though wheelarch intrusion makes getting in and out of the back more awkward than it ought to be. There’s nothing awkward about the boot. Although its ‘frunk’ is minuscule compared with the Model 3’s, the boot proper is vast and accessed by a practical tailgate.

Jag’s price list tells us that you can get into an i-Pace for just over £60k including the £3500 government grant, though a trip to the configurator highlights why you ought to spend a bit more. As with every base-model Jag, the i-Pace’s standard wheels are so revolting you’d probably ask the dealer if you could hang on to those protective disc covers it was wearing when it arrived on the transporter.

Along with awful rims, the basic S model gets keyless entry and dual-zone climate, while SE adds the must-have larger wheels and adaptive cruise, and HSE goes further with Matrix LED lights. Fortunately, the Jag’s excellent lease and finance rates mean you can probably afford to go large and still come out ahead of someone buying the Mercedes EQC.

All of which would have helped the Jag cruise to victory if we’d run this test last month. But on price, performance and feelgood factor, the Model 3 has the measure of it. The i-Pace feels exotically futuristic for a Jaguar, but it’s the Tesla that gives us a real taste of tomorrow. ⊲

The Jag feels 200kg lighter than it really is; it beats the

Merc black and blue