News : Jaguar I-Pace goes down a storm in LA

Keith Adams

jaguar-i-pace-concept-la_025

Jaguar‘s latest concept, which looks set to preview the look and underlying technology behind its next new product – an SUV that sits below the F-Pace – has created something of a media storm at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The I-Pace’s arrival, which coincides with the recent news that parent company Tata is now running at a profit bodes well for Jaguar’s future prosperity.

Although it’s a radical departure for the company, the I-Pace is bang on the money with where buyers are going – SUVs and crossover sales are booming globally and battery-powered cars are becoming increasingly practical for a larger number of buyers. As for styling, the two-box layout, with its swooping haunches has met with almost universal praise.

What for the future?

AROnline readers seem to love it, too – something that doesn’t always happen with new-generation Jaguars. ‘Tony’, an Automotive Industry Engineer’s response is typical. ‘Great looking car and some good engineering and packaging work going on underneath, too. Electric cars are our immediate to medium term mobility solution whether we like it or not and at least this one looks good,’ he says.

The name of the production version of the I-Pace is yet to surface but, logically, it’s looking good for an E-Pace moniker if that’s not reserved for something smaller and more conventional. Given the car’s radical underpinnings, it’s unlikely that we’ll see a conventional petrol, diesel or hybrid version, without it looking much different to the concept.

Expect an early reveal of the production version late in 2017, with sales the following year. Prices of the I-Pace are expected to start at £65,000 in today’s money.

Keith Adams

20 Comments

  1. Oh crikey : an electric Tonka toy . The Jaguar train now seems to me to be not only off the rails , but plunging down the embankment. I suppose the hope must be that it will sell in the USA, but in the UK it seems to me that Jaguar are headed for disaster. The number of new Jaguars of any type which I have seen on the road in the last 12 months is derisory – for example last Friday on a 220 mile motorway round trip to the NEC we saw 1 XE and no others at all. I do not know what the model by model registration figures are this year but the situation looks seriously worrying in domestic terms

    • Quick look on the internet – Jaguar Land Rover sold a record 62,314 vehicles in the UK in the first half of the year – up by 21 per cent on the same period in 2015, with the Jaguar brand having the largest proportional system no reason – up 68%. July and August also saw record sales.

      I’m seeing loads of new Jaguars where I live. They look great!

    • We need to ensure that under no circumstances must joy and positivity break out – record sales, jobs and investment must, at all costs, be ignored. References to children’s toys and impending disaster is the only worthwhile narrative. Grrrr.

      • I have been an enthusiast for Jaguars since I was 14 , now sadly approaching 60 years ago, and I have owned a few and indeed still have 3 in the garage. But it is no use closing one’s eyes to the realities of the situation . Jaguar have sold some 29,000 cars in the UK this year to the end of October . Its 3 main competitors – all German – have all sold between 145,000 and 152,000 cars each – and this is Jaguar’s home market . All the optimism in the world will not alter these unpalatable facts . What the cure is I do not know, but it is salutary to reflect that in the Lyons’ days, the cars were luxurious inside to a degree only matched by RR/Bentley. Now, the insides are very ordinary and certainly do not give the cars the market advantage which they might have if the interiors were more tasteful . One can easily see how style can be wrecked by looking at the quite awful interior of Ian Callum’s specially rebuilt mark2

        • It’s going to take time to get to those levels. Until recently there was only the XJ, XF and XK. Now with F-Pace and the volume XE, they have the product. If they haven’t caught Audi and BMW UK volumes in 3-5 years time, then it’s time to worry.

        • Jaguar have the correct design direction as their growing global sales and support from those that can appreciate modern relevant design demonstrates.

        • Audi, BMW & Mercedes have moved into the Golf-size class. Jaguar aren’t playing there.

          Jaguar’s growth is very healthy. The F-Pace is the best seller.

    • You really cant gauge a cars global sales performance based on how many you see in you local supermarket car park. For my two penneth, the new generation Jags seem to be doing alright, quite a few F Paces around and the new XF is becoming an increasingly common sight. The XE still seems to be a bit of a rarity, however a quick look at Merc/BMW/Audi websites and on line broker sites shows the massive discounting these brands are engaged in with give away deals that eclipse anything JLR seem to be offering – yet they are still selling cars at what must be significantly higher margins that anything the German premium brands are achieving. As for the Electric Tonka toy jibe, well I guess miserable 60 year olds wont really be Jaguars target demographic for the I-Pace.

  2. ‘I do not know what the model by model registration figures are this year’
    Well that’s easy…

    Department for Transport statistics

    Vehicle Licensing Statistics (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vehicles-statistics)

    Table VEH0160
    Cars registered for the first time by make and model, Great Britain 2016

    BMW 3 Series (all variants) 18,817
    BMW 5 Series (all variants) 8,844
    AUDI A4 12,936
    JAGUAR XF 12,965
    JAGUAR XE 7,713
    Don’t forget the XE has only been on sale for a year and a bit so is still building momentum, if it can do to 3’er sales what the XF has done to the sales of 5’ers UK plc will be laughing all the way to the bank!

  3. Dear oh dear, why is there alway such negativity about JLR in the UK. Whether you like the idea of an electric SUV you cant argue it doesn’t put Jaguar onto a new trend rather than playing catch up and much better looking than rivals. For me it also hopefully showcases some new design cues for the next range of saloons, makes the current XE/XF look a little bland in the details while being decent looking cars. Lets hope they can deliver this look in the final product – look at Porsche, SUV’s are funding great sports cars. Well done JLR. Any by the way where I live in London I see plenty of XE’s on the road and a good few F-types too.

    • There was more positivity in the other iPace news story on the site.

      As I’ve said elsewhere, I don’t like crossover SUVs, but this seems to be the crossover for those who don’t like crossovers! Stunning looking car.

  4. I’ve been a vocal critic of the XE, new XF and F-Pace but to me, this i-Pace is a great direction for Jaguar.

  5. I’ve been a Jaguar XE owner for 14 months and it is without doubt the best car I’ve ever owned and that includes two Audis and three BMWs. The iPace still reflects Jaguar DNA but in a very different format.

    There is so much to be proud of in the way that Jaguar Land Rover are developing and expanding the UK automotive industry. They are starting to lead the industry rather than playing catch up. Well done!

  6. It is Doctor (of Engineering) Ralf Speth. The Germans, quite rightly accord their engineers with a high degree of status. Unlike the British who sadly consider them as little more than’nuts & bolts men’.

  7. I-pace looks good and LA is the right place to unveil it.
    Like the “four corner” layout to give a long floor so plenty of space for batteries.
    SUV is a good starting point for EV, simply because they have a high floor so forming a natural space for battery backs that could be quickly swapped to overcome the range,recharge time and potentially lifetime limitations of fixed batteries.

  8. Great news. I’d like to see JLR overtaking BMW sales in the UK.
    Depending on how things pan out with increased tariffs on imported cars, Jags are going to look even better pricewise compared with German metal.

    It’s always made me laugh at just how ugly some BMW models are yet people lap them up. The 1 Series for example appears to have had its styling based loosely on the Bedford HA van.

  9. Sorry guys, that thing is not a graceful design at all. There are far too many lines and body creases that go nowhere with no reason for being.

    Over-wrought!

    Messy!

    The appearance is too heavy and two dimensional. There is none of the subtlety that identifies a great Jaguar design. None. The stance is odd. It aint good looking enough to be a Jaguar! This thing is going to age fast. It is striking in an in your face way, but once a few years have passed it will look quite ordinary, banal even. This design is going in exactly the wrong direction. Too big. Too tall. Too expensive. To much of the cheap show-off. It is the wrong car for the rapidly approaching changes we are about to experience.

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