Jaguar is yet another manufacturer that couldn’t avoid the overwhelming popularity of the compact SUV, and in response introduced this – the E-Pace. The baby of its range of off-roaders, it’s been designed to encompass everything people have loved about the larger F-Pace, but in a smaller package.
It comes at a premium price though, and because it hasn’t got the segment to itself, makes this a tougher battle than for other Jag models. Let’s see how it gets on.
EXTERIOR VO
The E-Pace exterior design has been created to mimic that you’ll find on its F-Type sport car. It’s why you’ll find a big, gaping grille up front and roundel-style lights at the back. We’d say that it’s a well-executed look, and it fits with the premium image the E-Pace is angled towards, too.
Jaguars are always initially designed to sit on large wheels which is why, if you want the car to look right, they need to be sat on pretty large alloys. If you’ve ever seen a base-spec Jaguar on tiny wheels, you’ll know what we mean – they just don’t look the part.
ENGINES VO
The car we’ve got today is powered by Jag’s 2.0-litre Ingenium petrol engine, linked to the wheels via the tried-and-tested eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox. It pushes out just shy of 200bhp, and Jaguar claims that it’ll return 35.3mpg combined – which we’ll admit isn’t the best in this segment. In truth, we’ve been seeing well under that in daily driving, and around town the figure plummets pretty hard.
We’d argue that one of the diesel powertrains available are better suited to this vehicle, particularly if you’re planning on undertaking longer journeys.
DRIVING PTC
0-60mph 7.7, top speed 134mph, quite firm ride,
INTERIOR PTC
The E-Pace’s interior has been angled around the driver, which is why you’ll find this big sweeping piece of trim angled towards you when you’re behind the wheel – just like in the F-Type sports car. But let’s make no mistake, this isn’t some hardened drivers car – so you’ll still find a relatively wide-open cabin with plenty of space. The infotainment system is Jag’s latest too, and though it may not be as good to look at as rival offerings, it’s still pretty simple to navigate.
BOOT SPACE
Boot space in the E-Pace is pretty much what you’d expect for a car of this tye; there’s 425 litres to play with when the seats are raised, rising to 1,234 litres with those seats folded flat.
