Jaguar F-Pace plug-in hybrid charged up and raring to go

If I had R100 for every time somebody commented on why electric cars won’t work, or can’t work, in South Africa, I would be able to buy myself an electric car.

They are not cheap and most of us are not rich. And then we have Eskom which can’t keep the lights on, never mind provide power to charge your daily transport, too. But the world is changing fast and electric cars will continue to filter into mainstream life as we know it.

I get it. We are not happy people. We don’t like change.

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Interim solution

But what if I was to tell you that perhaps the best interim solution is a thing called the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). It’s a vehicle which offers a good old-fashioned petrol burning engine combined with a battery-fed electric motor.

The petrol engine can run the vehicle without battery assistance and the electric motor can do the same without burning fuel. You can travel as far and as long as you want on the open road and burn, quick to fill up, fuel. You can also commute around the suburbs using electricity only when it suits you and that way reduce your fuel bill substantially.

Meet Jaguar F-Pace PHEV

This will take care of any range anxiety you might have, and also make you feel good by letting you think you are saving the planet.

Putting into practice what I preach came in the form of the updated Jaguar F-Pace P400e PHEV. This is a R2-million vehicle, but you didn’t expect a high-end premium SUV to be cheap. Regardless of what “fuel” it uses, did you?

Pricing out of the way, let’s get to the powertrain and how this will impact your life. The Jaguar F-Pace P400e has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol turbocharged engine fitted alongside a 19.2-kilowatt hour battery.

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At first glance, you would think, so what? Small engine, small battery, how much power can this really translate into? This combination delivers 297 kW of power and 640 Nm of torque. It allows for a 0-100km/h sprint time of 5.3 seconds and a top speed of 240km/h.

Seamless transition

The switch between petrol and electricity, or the combination of both for maximum performance, is seamlessly controlled by the vehicle if left in Hybrid mode. But with a quick push of a button, you can toggle down to full electric vehicle mode that allows you utilise battery power only.

And this leads me to one of the 2024 model year upgrades for the Jaguar F-Pace P400e: a bigger lithium-ion battery pack. This has raised the battery capacity, which in turn is claimed to increase the electric-only range from 53 km to 65 km. It offers fuel consumption of just 1.6-litres per 100km.

I say claimed because in my real world, on a full charge I was shown a range of 50 km. For what it is worth, all manufacturer claims when it comes to electric range are a little optimistic. They are based on computer calculations and ideal conditions that rarely exist.

This said, 50 km was enough to see The Citizen Motoring through most of my daily running around on electricity only. And once home, I just plugged in the Jaguar F-Pace and let it.

Perfect balance

Used this way, my fuel consumption was like 0 litres per 100 km. But I did have one trip to the other end of Johannesburg and then one to the other side of Pretoria during the week I had the vehicle. Consumption increased as we ran out of electric range and it eventually settled at 5 L/100 km after a week.

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I think that is pretty impressive for a full-size SUV which can also get up and go when provoked.

What would really make my day is if this Jaguar F-Pace PHEV could offer a bigger battery and range that is closer to 100 km. Then I would very seldom have to use petrol, except when I wanted to hit the open road or make use of all the power and torque on tap.

I have no doubt PHEV range will continue to increase to give the perfect motoring balance.

Jaguar F-Pace updates

Other updates for the 2024 Jaguar F-Pace include the 20 or 21-inch wheels with black and silver centre caps, Gloss Black finish on the door mirror caps as well as the grille, grille surround, window surrounds, fender vents, rear valance and rear badges, and the R-Dynamic grille badge is now black and grey instead of red and green.

Inside there is more technology than before. The Pivi Pro infotainment system offers seamless connectively through wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto 2, what3words navigation and wireless device charging.