News : Jaguar E-Pace breaks cover in style

The new Jaguar E-Pace has been unveiled in glitzy style in London, with it breaking a new world record for stunt jumping. Yes, it’s a Jaguar that leaps. This new entry-level SUV is going up against some very talented rivals – but is a vital piece of the jigsaw if JLR wants to meet its ambition to build a million cars per year.

As with the rest of the Jaguar range, the E-Pace is made from aluminum, and is powered entirely by the company’s efficient range of Ingenium engines. The new car is the smallest member of Jaguar’s Pace-family of SUVs, and shares its underpinnings with the Land Rover Discovery Sport – but it’s an altogether different proposition.

What’s the engine line-up?

The Jaguar E-Pace engine range starts with a 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel that develops 148bhp and is mated to a – gasp – front-wheel-drive transmission. Given it’s a stylish family car on stilts first, all-weather SUV second, that is par for the course. It does, however, make this the only front-wheel-drive car in the current Jaguar lineup, and the first one since the X-Type.

It’s efficient on paper, too. The 148bhp E-Pace returns an official fuel consumption figure of 60.1mpg and develops 124g/km. There are also 177bhp and 237bhp diesels on offer, but these are exclusively four-wheel drive, and are available with a six-speed manual or nine-speed automatic transmissions.

The two petrol options are 2.0-litre turbo petrols with the range-topper offering 296bhp and 0-62mph in 6.1 seconds.

What’s it like inside?

It’s more F-Type than F-Pace inside, which is a very good thing. There’s a set of sporting-looking seats, and the dashboard features the passenger grab rail of the sports car, too. There’s plenty of tech inside, too, with a 10-inch touchscreen for its infotainment system, and the welcome use of rotary controllers.

You get a traditional gear selector, unlike the rest of the Jaguar saloon and SUV range, which will probably help it appeal to new people coming to Jaguar. One area which Jaguar has received criticism in recent years is its interior quality, but the company says that the E-Pace is an improvement in this area. First impressions are certainly positive.

In terms of room and accommodation, it’s commodious upfront, the rear seat room is acceptable, and the boot is well-shaped and offers up to 1234 litres in capacity.

How will it drive?

Clearly, Jaguar is talking up the E-Pace’s dynamic ability. Given the poise of the F-Pace (if it is at the expense of ride quality), we can believe that, although a final judgment will have to  wait until later in the year.

But it’s light in structure, and employs aluminium suspension components, so it certainly looks good on paper. It is also offered with adaptive dynamics, active four-wheel drive and torque vectoring by braking.

The most sporting version will be the R-Dynamic model. The rest of the range comprises of First Edition, S, SE and HSE. The First Edition (pictured) will come with ‘Caldera Red’ paint, 20-inch alloys, a head-up display and load rails as standard.

The full range details are yet to be revealed, but Jaguar has announced that it will cost from £28,500 and is available to order now, with first deliveries taking place ‘before the end of 2017’.

That record-breaking Jaguar leap…

Keith Adams
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52 Comments

  1. Let’s hope that this FWD based Jaguar sharing it’s substructure with another brand fares better in the marketpace than the last FWD Jaguar sharing it’s substructure with another brand. Is this the new X-Type?

    • The structural architecture and engines etc have been designed for use in both Jaguar and Land Rover models from the start. It hasn’t harmed the F-Pace’s image and sales – it’s Jaguar’s best selling model!

    • The X-Type wasn’t that bad, don’t know why people go on about it so much. I’ve had two, one of which I’ve kept besides the interior is better quality than my XE. If VW/Audi can get away with this sort of thing, why not Jag?

      • VW/Audi have the media wrapped round their finger.

        Pick up any red top motoring publication and look at who is paying for the double page adverts.

      • Exactly what do VW/Audi “get away with”? Platform sharing?

        I think most people understand that the Golf and A3 are mechanically identical. Even their biggest fans in the magazine world (Haymarket) have never shied away from stating that fact.

  2. If I remember rightly wasn’t there a cheap Jaguar a few years ago that customers thought had all the appeal of an automotive leper because it was based on a Ford..
    I’m not sure the torque vectoring is an entirely fantastic idea either since it’ll go through brake pads like nothing else and I can see warped and overheated discs in owners futures, which won’t be cheap.. and are deeply unpleasant as I know from experience. Of course people could learn to drive competently but where is the fun in that?
    Still it will probably sell, unfortunately. It’s great isn’t it – all those people who worry about climate change and then buy something like this, it makes you so happy that the English driver is doing their bit for the environment *sarcasm mode: off*

    • The fuel economy and emissions look good, so not sure what you mean!

      Looks good and is purrfect for the current market place. Good luck Jaguar!

    • No need to worry about the cost of brake pads, everyone on here is convinced this is just a Mondeo in drag, so just ask Kwik Fit for a set of Mondeo pads and you’ll save £££s.

  3. But there is good news, I can see Jaguar SUV barrel roll Darwin Awards in humanities future, I’m sure someone will try it, after all we’ve had the 22kv bus-bar selfie (spoilers: she fried, spectacularly) and book vs bullet, not to mention Asian teen vs limestone karst (honorary mention since the idiot girl in question survived) .. I’m looking forward to Asian Hornet nest rugby, should be a real buzz..

  4. I think that the car is based on a Land Rover and not a Ford may stop the cheap argument, though the problem with the X Type was that it didn’t feel like a Jag.

    Glad to see Jag haunches on this car just like its bigger brother, shame they can incorporate them onto the saloons!

    Not sure why they have not offered 4 wheel drive though – is it to try and stop it affecting LR sales?

    • I had assumed it was 4×4 since it’d be pretty pointless to put torque vector on a fwd, especially a fairly heavy/tall car like this..
      It might be to stop cannibalising LR but it’s not as if there isn’t competition, BL were famous for exactly that (princess boot prime example) and look where it got them..
      I hope the Tata execs haven’t been reading BL histories and thinking they’re articles by the “for dummies” team…
      That would be bad..
      A thought occurs, what would have happened if Jaguar had taken the Rover 3.5 components & made a v12 out of it.. A 4.7 litre instead of a 5.3 v12 producing between 190 and 255hp, more economical & better parts commonality..

      • What would have happened is that you would have had an engine that would shake itself to pieces. 90 degree angles and V12s just do not work. Either the crankshaft is so complicated that it is likely to break at frequent intervals, or you have uneven firing intervals that are a nightmare from an NVH point of view, and in turn have an effect on durability

        • I doubt it, because if they’d any sense they’d have used a 60° block, or whatever the angle du jour happens to be with rover internal components (pistons, valves, all the related bits), not just cobbled it together and hoped.
          If it could have been made to work it probably would have helped Jaguar a little when the fuel crisis hit, having either two options for a v12 or a single smaller one, possibly with a supercharged version? Or even made a supercharged 6 halfie – almost as much power as the na v12 (say around 85-90%) but better mpg, less tax and better handling (less weight).

          • 230hp out of a supercharged intercooler 2.35 litre engine is fairly respectable after all, and you’d still be sharing a lot of components.. Makes sense all round. If you aren’t BL..

          • You were talking about using the GM/Rover V8. How would you use that if you wanted a 60 degree angle ?????

          • Note, I said components of, not the whole engine. Since the only way you could do that is staple the thing together.
            However that does make some sense. It used to be that engines would be built with units of 2,3,4 cylinder banks that are common. The driptroit diesel is a perfect example. A 16 cylinder motor would be built of 4 by 4c blocks on a 16c crank case.
            Its surprising that car companies don’t do that now, since it would make repairs cheaper, manufacturing simpler and parts much more common between engines.
            A more modern version might be the alpha 1500 na & turbo (88hp/115hp). With modular construction you could have had a 3 litre v8 na & turbo (176/230), and a 750cc turbo twin @ 58hp (a 2000s version of the fiat multiair twin). That particular motor is quite smooth running although the peak torque is quite high.

          • It would be easier to take the V12 and make a 60° V8 which is what Yamaha did for Ford and Volvo later (based on a V6).

            Though the Rover V8 did have a long life, as did it’s iron cousin the Buick 90°V6, even at the time Rover adopted it, it wasn’t a new engine. Having said that Rover could have developed their adopted V8 further. Rover, themselves, during the ’70s were looking at 32V developments, with many new parts. Even the ‘tall deck’ 4.4 litre version that went into the Australian P76 and Terrier trucks could have been developed further. 5.0 & 5.3 litre capacities are very straight forward and with wet liners these engines can be taken out to 6.0 litres plus. With the standard deck height, LR only took it to 4.6 litres, TVR’s approach leading to a slightly fragile 5.0 litres. All this capacity available without more cylinders and massive extra tooling costs.

        • Exactly my point, it makes much more sense to only use torque vectoring on all 4 wheels because then you aren’t dragging around the deadweight of the undriven axle and stressing the driven tyres and brakes to their limits – especially since most will be front wheel drive and the most braking effort is from the front.. At least with an awd system driven by a nutcase all the tyres and brakes are wearing equally.

  5. The problem with the X-Type was it looked like a traditional Jag, so didn’t appeal to enough new customers and the people it did appeal to didn’t like the fact it had some Mondeo bits underneath (although not as many as people think).

    As others have noted, the E Pace is based on the Evoque and Discovery Sport – both of which have sold very well and are premium vehicles. While these used Ford engines to start with, all now use the JLR ingeniums.

    The Audi Q3 shares its platform with the 2nd gen Skoda Octavia, and that doesn’t seem to harm sales. The latest X1 is a Mini underneath.

    @daveh – only the entry level model is 2WD, the others are all 4WD with ‘rear-biased’ handling supposedly.

    As a design I quite like it, though will need to see one in the metal in a sensible specification. Having just played with the configurator the price jumps a lot if you want an automatic in mid-range spec. A shame that there isn’t an entry level petrol model, but with 1700kg to haul around I guess we know why. It’s also damned wide, but so are the cars it’s based on. Have read elsewhere that hybrids are in the works.

  6. Another trend following bland chav wagon which has about as much to do with “Jaguar” as an Austin Allegro.

    In my opinion they are continuing down a very foolhardy route not dissimilar to what happened to Rover in the late 80’s when BL decided it was the best badge to use for volume products.

    However, if the internet commentary is to be believed I am talking out of my arse and JLR is and will continue to be a massive success story.

    Sadly where Jaguar is concerned, part of me wishes they’d gone bust and stayed the same as I remember them when I was a kid – suave, sleek, luxurious and fast saloons, coupes and sports cars which were quintessentially British and highly desirable.

    • Much as I would like Jaguar to have continued making six and twelve cylinder large saloons and coupes adorned with wood and leather everywhere, the world has moved on, although you can still buy an XJ and an F Type if you want a traditional Jaguar. Surely Jaguar entering the crossover world is a good thing, and making affordable cars like the E Pace that people want to buy. We’ve already seen Rover go, and losing Jaguar would have been too much, which could have happened in the nineties.
      My main gripe now with modern cars are infotainment systems. Do you really need such a complex fitting that when it goes wrong will cost a fortune to fix, and I think are distracting? Surely all a car needs is a DAB radio, a CD player, bluetooth connection and a sat nav arranged seperately on the dashboard. Also the end of CD players in many cars is a bugbear of mine.

      • Totally agree about all these infotainment sh*t. Problem is that a large percentage of the world population are now hooked on tech and have become the I-phone generation so manufacturers have to include it on cars to try and sell them. That most of these new cars have touchscreen controls for everything is so distracting when you are driving should they not be banned – just like using your handset or texting when driving?

    • It’s nothing to do with the internet commentary, it’s about business results.

      Looking at the June sales figures, this “foolhardy route” has led to doubling of sales compared to June 2014.

      They have a range of “suave, sleek, luxurious and fast saloons, coupes and sports cars, which are quintissentialy British and highly desirable.”

      The thing is, the F-Pace sells twice as many as either the XE or XF.

      I do question whether the Evoque/Discovery Sport platform is a good idea. This car looks very thirsty compared to a XE, to a degree which can’t be justified by being 20 cm taller.

    • If you look at the opposition from Germany, Jag are just following their lead. They are also realising that without strategic alliances with other manufacturers, JLR will need to produce a million cars a year to be able to keep developing new models as the costs are rising all the time. BMW bought Rover for that reason before dropping it like a hot potato it was, and concentrating on BMW and MINI.

      Jag also need to move into the SUV market as this is where sales are going – old fashion saloons – which I love – are now a dying breed for everywhere but the far east as the world is following the American fashion for SUV’s. Without the SUV Jag will not be able to survive.

  7. MSMS (Main Stream Media), report it is steel frame!!

    “The car, which weighs 1700kg, is much heavier than its main competitors. Jaguar counters by saying that its D8 architecture has authentic SUV capability, unlike that of its road-biased rivals. The use of high-strength steel in the structure helps to reduce the weight, says Wilkins, while aluminium is used for the boot lid, bonnet and fenders . . .

    The five-door, five-seater will be built under licence by Magna Steyr in Austria, rather than alongside the other transverse-engined cars in the Jaguar Land Rover range: the Discovery Sport and its Range Rover Evoque sibling . . . “.

    • Oh great… I can see the tagline on sniffpetrol..

      “built with tractors, bought by no one… “.

      It almost makes you want to cry. Still they could paint the unsold stock Fordson blue and call the 4×4 version the triple-D (and then get sued by Doe’s).

      You couldn’t put it in a book, no one would believe it. Still Aston was owned by David Brown for years..

  8. This is a very attractive vehicle. I hope they end up selling in large numbers. Congratulations to Jaguar and the entire British auto industry. Rule, Britannia!

  9. The car looks good and appears from the pictures to be an appealing overall package. My one criticism is the high price and spec for the entry level petrol engine. With a lower price it could be of interest to would-be Qashqai buyers who are put off by the lack of powerful engines in that car. One other point – at last a Jaguar that can be specced without leather seats (cloth).

    • I thought the £28.5k entry price was OK. Normally I look at JLR pricing and think “how bloody much?” but this is competitive.

      A top spec Qashqai goes as high as £32.5k and only has a weedy 130bhp 1.6 diesel engine. As others have already said, Jag will shift loads of these if they market it well and the dealers do their bit.

  10. The irony is that this second fwd Jag is again based on the Ford Mondeo; if you trace the underpinnings of the E-Pace back, you’ll see they originated with the 2007 Mondeo – E-Pace – Evoque (LR-MS) > Freelander II > Mondeo (EUCD). Granted, they have evolved substantially since.

    This shouldn’t detract from the E-Pace however, which highlights that JLR is really targeting on-trend marketing and honing its model and platform strategy to cover as many sectors as efficiently as possible. The car has ‘success’ written all over it and I can’t wait to see it on the road.

    It is a shame that JLR are contracting assembly out to Magna Steyr in Austria as it would be a natural fit at Halewood with its platform siblings – maybe capacity at that plant is being stretched?

    • Halewood is full, both the Evoque and Disco Sport are big sellers, and I imagine a new Evoque can’t be far away

    • “it’s just a Mondeo underneath, you know”

      No. It’s. Not.

      What a daft comment. The car is made of aluminium and has Jaguar’s own range of Ingenium engines and the latest ZF automatic transmission. It doesn’t resemble any Mondeo I’ve ever seen. Even the Evoque had 90% of the EUCD platform parts redesigned by LR. (http://ae-plus.com/vehicle-development/range-rover-evoque/page:2). The E-Pace will have even less in common.

      No doubt you’ll tell me that my old Jag XK8 is related to the Mk4 Fiesta because they share the same indicator stalks and electric window switches!

      • As Autocar put it in one of their articles on the launch of the E-Pace. In describing that Jaguar’s new compact(ish) crossover will be produced in Austria by MagnaSteyr for JLR due to UK capacity constraints.

        “Magna will bring back a steel-bodied, transversed-engined, front-wheel-drive Jaguar to the range for the first time since the X-Type”

        The JLR transverse engined cars, Jaguar E-Pace, Discovery Sport, and Evoque, (and previous Freelander), are built on a steel platform with some of it dating back to the Ford platform that started off as the Mondeo. LandRover have developed it quite a lot over the years though

        It’s not daft, it’s the truth.

        The larger F-Pace and it’s Velar sibling are on aluminium platforms, as are all the other longitudinally engined Jaguars and LandRovers now.

      • I understood/read that, the E-Pace “chassis” floorpan and superstructure was steel . . with alloy doors, bonnet, tailgate.

        Whereas, the XE is the opposite: alloy “chassis” floorpan and superstructure, but with steel doors, boot lid and bonnet “to optimise weight distribution”!

  11. Concinnity : Jaguar in the mid 1970s built a 60 degree V8 using two-thirds of the V12 with a view to using it in the XJ6 as a replacement for the XK engine. Unfortunately, although it produced plenty of power , despite extensive testing and modification with balance shafts etc they could never get it to run smoothly or to produce a nice noise, and the idea was abandoned

    • Volvo’s B8444S has a great big balance shaft tucked into the vee to make the engine balance work as does the slightly smaller capacity Ford V8 used in the Taurus SHO. Computer simulation has come a long way since the time when Jaguar tried it, I’m sure that helped. And Yamaha, the designers, are probably one of the top four engine developers on the planet, they’ve designed and productionised many,many more engines than Jaguar. Half the V12 made a pretty nice six, which there was plenty of room for in the XJ40 on.

  12. Yes, this will sell

    It will be interesting what JLR do with future models in this class, as the basic structure is a bit heavy and still has some Ford origins

  13. Not my cup of tea. But it will sell well.
    And Jag, unlike most manufacturers, are continuing to produce saloons and coupes.

    In the strange parallel universe we seem to have landed in where family cars resemble military vehicles and even Rolls Royce are producing an SUV, they need to produce what the demand calls for.

    I preferred the “hot wheels” sleek hatchback look of the iPace.

  14. This and the F-Pace are the products which will make Jaguar. I don’t think it’s a radical departure for the brand at all, you line these up against the equivalent Audi or BMW and the German vehicle just looks fat crude and ungainly. They’re applying the jaguar ethos to a segment which is actually growing. As someone well acquainted with a key target market (London school run mummies) the Paces are the first Jags in ages that have really broken through into popular consciousness.

    For all the hype about the F type the reality is it doesn’t sell, what you’ve basically got there is a Toyota GT86 priced against a 911.

    My only question is how and why Ford are allowing them to continue using the platform, they must have been keen to get JLR off their hands and/or Ranan Tata is a clever chap.

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