Jaguar E-Pace eager to leap rather than pussyfoot

As much as the arrival of the Jaguar E-Pace came as an unwanted shock to staunch traditionalists still fuming at the F-Pace, it was an occurrence bound to happen.

SUV want means SUV get

Though thoroughly overused, the status quo remains; SUVs are what buyers want regardless of a brand’s heritage or reputation.

It is a trend no manufacturer, regardless of their heritage, can look past. And while purists continue to view both models as the ultimate insults to a marque once known for shouting Rule Britannia in a typically understated way with lots of leather and wood, their arguments have seemingly fallen flatter than the reputation of British Leyland.

Past worries

Despite both accounting for the biggest share of Jaguar’s sales, an element of initial worry prevailed that the E-Pace could head the way of the much maligned X-Type that promised Jaguar attributes and qualities at a more accessible price. But ended up as nothing but a reskinned, more expensive flop of a Ford Mondeo.

While the debate between the naysayers and those who have welcomed the baby Jag SUV looks set to continue, it didn’t deter parent company Tata from giving the E-Pace a series of updates last year. It was passed on to South African consumers just over three months ago.

Expect the unexpected

Despite Jaguar’s recent announcement that it will be going all-electric by 2025, the eye-catching Caesium Blue E-Pace that showed up for the customary seven day stay, instead of sporting the plug-in hybrid P400e designation, brandished the D200 moniker, meaning the brand’s latest Ingenium turbodiesel model.

Viewed in profile, there is little to hide the E-Pace from resembling a squat, less intimidating F-Pace. Styled by the renowned Ian Callum, the E-Pace, even with the R-Dynamic styling pack, somehow errs on the side caution as opposed to the aggressive look of by its sibling.

Styling is admittedly subjective. While the baby Jag cradles before the paws of the F-Pace, the added inclusion of the red brake calipers, sporty 20-inch alloy wheels, those angular taillights and silver accents provides overall look that trounces the conservative Germans with ease.

Old school meets modernity

It is however on the inside where the E-Pace makes its intentions known. While devoid of the usual Jaguar wood, the facelift has brought a clean, minimalist look wrapped in soft stitched leather as well as top-shelf plastics with a good helping of piano key black inlays.

Aside from the retro I-Pace steering wheel, the easy-to-decipher new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless smartphone charger and the stubby toggle switch gear lever that replaces the old rotary dial. The main drawing card is the new 11.4-inch Pivi Pro infotainment system.

ALSO READ: Sharpened-up Jaguar E-Pace leaps into South Africa

Looking bigger than it actually is, the display, while easy to use and navigate through, froze on the main menu once shortly after arrival. Although rectified by turning the ignition on and off in typical ctrl-alt-del fashion, it did put a blight on a cabin that is an otherwise wonderfully comfortable and inviting place to be.

From the supportive heated leather seats to the new physical climate control buttons and dials plus the Head-Up Display, the E-Pace also boasts good levels of practically. The electric tailgate hides a boot that increases from an impressive 577 litres, to 1 234 litres with the rear seats down.

It is however not all plain sailing though as the E-Pace, while offering ample legroom for those seated in the rear, comes with restricted headroom largely as a result of the sloping roofline and the panoramic roof our top-spec HSE tester came with.

Ironically, the roof does add an airy feel with another party piece being the dual rear USB ports integrated into the seatbacks, as well as the separate air-conditioning vents.

Leap or creep?

On the road, the E-Pace largely hit but also missed. Replacing the previous D180 and D240 models, the 2.0-litre oil-burner, as per its name, produces 200 pferdestarke (PS) or 147kW/430Nm. This gets delivered to all four wheels via a nine-speed automatic gearbox.

Emitting a distinctive diesel clatter on start-up, the unit takes a while to get into its stride as a fair amount of low-down lag prevails. Spooled up though, the E-Pace wakes up from its slumber and offers a rapid surge of grunt that continues to gather momentum right up to the redline.

Although used on a number of occasions in Dynamic mode, which needs to be selected as flicking them in Drive doesn’t evoke a response, the gear shift paddles for the nine-speed box are largely redundant. The ZF unit has more than enough judgment to decide for itself regardless of being in Dynamic or Comfort modes.

Smooth, quick to respond and unobtrusive, it matched the engine perfectly, with its prowess filtering through to the ride. In spite of those wheels, the ride is stereotypically Jaguar soft and relaxing without going to pieces and becoming lumpy once the surface changes.

Less impressive though was the indicated fuel consumption, which showed a best of a rather thirsty 7.8L/100 km in mixed conditions, no doubt as a result of the dead spot low down and the rather portly almost 1.8-ton mass.

Conclusion

As much as Jaguar has accomplished with the E-Pace, its biggest grip remains its price tag and perception. Carrying a sticker of R945 010, the E-Pace D200 R-Dynamic HSE is one of the priciest in the segment, a factor that should play in its favour given its specification.

Instead, the opposite is likely to occur as the allure of a three-pointed star, four rings or roundel dial will see buyers gravitate towards the cheaper asking price, before forking out loads more on options bound to take the eventual sticker well beyond that of the E-Pace.

It is therefore somewhat of a depressing catch-22 as the E-Pace makes for a compelling package whose talents are frown upon for the inherent lack of brand cache and the stigma associated with the traditional Jaguar buyer.

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