The much-teased F-Pace is the British marque’s first-ever SUV, but is it any good?
To say the F-Pace has been a long time coming would be an understatement. On the eve of the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Iain Callum – Jaguar’s design director – disclosed the name of the brand’s first ever production crossover SUV: the F-Pace.
And that was that. No details were mentioned, save for a single teaser image (that looked more like an updated shot of Jaguar’s C-X17 concept, than production model).
In the days that followed, Callum spoke specifically of designing a premium crossover vehicle.
“To do a crossover is a double challenge because you’re going up in height. That goes against my very nature,” he said during Jaguar’s opening presentation.
“Everything for me has to be as low as possible. It still has to be voluptuous; it still has to have curves in the car and form.
And it has to sit in a very dramatic way.” No more details were offered save for a definition of the name. The F-Pace moniker was inspired by Jaguar’s F-Type sports cars and the 1960s slogan, “Grace, pace, and space”.
Fast forward one year and everything has changed. After a spectacular reveal – projecting images of the car on the Burj Khalifa no less – Jaguar pulled off the covers of the hotly anticipated F-Pace crossover, the marque’s first-ever SUV.
The F-Pace is based its concept model, the C-X17, that was revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2013. However, it’s benefited from an infusion of power, poise and precision over its counterpart. The result is a family-focused SUV with performance enough to pack a punch on the road.
Regardless of the fact that Jaguar is targeting an entirely new audience, the F-Pace stays true to Jaguar’s sports heritage.
It’s built to be both agile and precise in the corners and was rigorously tested over a variety of terrain to ensure performance.
While you wouldn’t put your foot down in an F-Type on gravel roads, the F-Pace has oomph regardless of road surface.
The body is built out of lightweight aluminium, with a double-wishbone front, integral link rear suspension, and a spacious interior.
The five-seat SUV promises to be a comfortable ride, utilizing the same torque vectoring braking technology originally developed for the Jaguar F-Type sports car.
There’s also an on-demand, all-wheel-drive system, as well as innovative steering that gives a driver more control than traditional hydraulic systems.
The F-Pace is not without its rivals in the luxury crossover market. It will go up against the Audi Q5, BMW X6, and Porsche Macan, to name but a few.
However, if it can deliver a crossover that combines performance – as well as the ability to handle a trip to the local IKEA – then it’s on to a winner.