Taster Test ? Jaguar F-Pace
What is it" Jaguar?s ?performance crossover? taking on the premium SUV market.
What?s new"Â All of it. Jaguar has realised that it really needs to be amongst the burgeoning numbers of premium SUVs. The brand?s three German rivals now have extensive SUV line-ups, and even the luxury market is going SUV, spawning the likes of Maserati?s Levante, the Bentley Bentayga, Aston Martin?s forthcoming DBX, even a Rolls-Royce. And all are chasing the success enjoyed by Porsche with its Cayenne and more recently the Macan.
The trouble is, Jaguar already has a premium SUV range ? it?s just that they are badged Range Rover. Any Jaguar SUV would spark a real prospect of taking sales from a sister brand.
Perhaps that?s why the F-Pace is not like any rival ? Jaguar insists it is a ?performance crossover?, not an SUV, and it looks very much like a muscled-up car rather than something one would hit the trail in ? more Audi Allroad than Audi Q7. The F-Pace range is available in rear and all-wheel-drive format and with a choice of three powerplants. The 3-litre V6 diesel of 295bhp and the supercharged petrol unit, also of 3-litre V6 format and with 374bhp on tap, will satisfy those who expect Jaguars to boast plenty of power. By far the most sales, however, will come the way of the Ingenium 2-litre diesel version with 177bhp.
What do we think of it" So far, CarandVanNews has had a mere 30 minutes in the F-Pace, in the less than perfect environment of the busy roads around JLR?s n...
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