Jaguar F-pace SVR
Our super-suv falls momentarily ill, but is quickly back to its best
THE SVR HAS HAD A STUMBLE. Don’t worry too much though, our ‘used’ long-termer hasn’t snapped a crankshaft or really disgraced itself. It simply had a small hiccup as we closed in on the 30,000-mile mark.
The first I knew about it was when the ‘check engine’ light appeared. I hadn’t noticed anything untoward, but after logging the fault with Jaguar and awaiting their response I started to pay particular attention to how the powertrain was working. To begin with I could detect nothing, but then one day at cruising speed on the motorway I noticed a slight pulse in the engine’s delivery despite my right foot not wavering on the pedal. Then I began to feel – or was I imagining it? – all sorts of odd things: a sudden tremor at idle, or a slightly poorer response to the throttle. It was at this point that I also noticed the trip computer’s average economy readout was looking rather grim. A pang of guilt came over me, recalling how I’d extolled the SVR’S surprisingly reasonable fuel economy in these reports recently, and now here it was struggling to reach 20mpg…
Of course, all was not well, as diagnosed by Jaguar Assistance tech Liam, who turned up promptly once the call was made, plugged in his laptop and discovered that the oxygen sensor on the second bank had failed. Hence the misfire and, with the closed loop of engine control broken, the very rich mixture. The part was ordered, and on his return a couple of days later was fitted in 15 minutes on the driveway.
So once again all is good in the world of the big Jaguar. I did think I was going to have to have a little additional whinge about the infotainment sometimes unexpectedly disconnecting from my phone, but it transpires that may be more to do with my ancient lead than the Jaguar…
Unfortunately, the aforementioned contact with Coventry was also an opportunity for them to confirm that the SVR’S days with us are numbered. I reckon we’ll have put the best part of a further 10,000 miles on it in the six months it’s been in our possession. That it feels virtually the same as a brand new one is entirely to its credit, and while its frugality only really kicks in on longer trips (you’ll be doing well to get a 25mpg average just pottering around), its cultured but muscly V8 is such a star attraction that I find myself magnetically drawn towards this car. If only Jaguar made more models in this vein.
Date acquired July 2022 Total mileage 28,701 Mileage this month 1301 Costs this month £0 mpg this month 22.1