F-Pace is Jaguar’s entry into the high-octane SUV world

Jaguar is almost a 100-year-old company. They began by making sidecars, moved on developing bodies for passenger cars. And all this while they just kept making sedans until the year 2013 when they revealed their first ever SUV concept at the Frankfurt motor show. The production version of the concept CX-17 was then christened as the F-Pace. The car made its way to India late last year and was launched at Mumbai’s iconic Marine drive in the company of the city’s rich and famous. Why the British brand has had to take the SUV route is anyone’s guess and to retain its famed sports car DNA must have been the biggest challenge. The Indian market has been flooded with luxury SUVs over the last few years so the F-Pace has a tough road ahead. Key question is does it have the balance between luxury and sportiness that that works wonders. 

The J shaped LED headlamps wraparound tail lamps, the bulge in the wheel arches and the angled tail gate make the SUV look anything but boxy and the twin exhausts along with 19 inch wheels play their part in the portraying a sporty character. There were multiple challenges here. Make a vehicle that looks like a proper SUV yet retain traditional design cues of Jaguar sedans. Also despite being an SUV it should look distinct from other SUVs from the Land Rover family. And this is where the genius of one of the best car designers in the world came in. Ian Callum has been serving Jaguar for almost 20 years now, and has been credited for the design success of Jaguars in modern times. In his words he swore he would never design the F-Pace. Well eventually he did and looking at the result once again he’s done a fantastic job. According to him some of the earlier design attempts were generic but later they moved on to the Jaguar mode. And the result is there for all to see. Now he says the F-Pace will become largest selling car from Jaguar. 

The design challenge didn’t get over with just the exteriors. The challenges were same inside as well, plus in terms of luxury the F-Pace had to be better than other Jaguars. Ergonomically too the F-Pace is different. The Interiors somewhat remind of the XE but there’s a lot that differentiates as well. The red stitching for one, and ambient lighting being the other standout feature.  The top first edition variant gets tan seats and wood trims and offers a different level of premiumness. The big 10.2 inch touch screen infotainment system gives a lot of practical options like navigation and The Park assist feature is a boon for a luxury car like this one. This in addition to the rear and a front parking cameras. And some superb interiors are rounded off by a well performing 380 watt Meridian sound system. The second row is good on space and the seats here can be reclined. But the middle passenger doesn’t get the same amount of leg space as his neighbors. The boot space is good but some part of it is eaten by a spare wheel that is kept in there.  

Now look at things that you want from Diesel engine. It should be responsive and power should be delivered in a linear manner. Also the level of refinement should be at a decent level. All that is true for the R-sport variant you see here. It runs on a 3.0 liter V6 motor that churns out 300 PS of maximum power. A very impressive torque figure of 700 Nm that too at 2000 rpm aids in a lively drive. Expect to reach a speed of 100kmph from zero in a shade less than 7 seconds on the F-Pace. That for an SUV that weight 1884 kgs is a good number. Top speed can go up to 240kmph. The 8-speed ZF automatic transmission does a very effective job with the engine. It has 2 modes, Drive and Sport. The former up shifts quicker than the latter and gives a fairly different drive experience. There’s also 2.0 litre 4 cylinder motor that does its duty on two base variants of the car. There are four different driving modes namely Eco, Normal, Dynamic, All-Surface Progress Control or APSC that aid in different driving situations.

An impressive dynamic feature the F-Pace comes with is Torque vectoring by braking. Dynamic stability control applies unequal brakes to different wheels to make sure that the SUV does not leave its path even if it is going really fast. The steering is the other highlight, its precise, its dynamic and its light. Despite the size it’s a joy to maneuver the F-Pace in the city traffic. The ride quality is largely not compromised which is good for Indian road conditions. The first edition also gets the very useful adaptive dynamics system. The F-Pace gets 6 airbags as standard and emergency brake assist system are there but the car could do with a few more safety features. 

A critical factor is price and in the case of the F-Pace this might prove to be a bane for a relatively newer brand in India trying to enter a new, competitive segment. It starts at Rs. 68.4 ex-showroom and this 3.0 litre R-sport variant will set you back by Rs. 1.02 crores. And just in case you have more money to spend, you can lay your hands on the top first edition for an extra ten lakh rupees. Looking at the price Jaguar should just hope that the buyer will overlook that and consider the positives which include the design, the technology and of course the reliable brand name.