Sharpened-up Jaguar E-Pace leaps into South Africa

Unveiled in October last year, the local arm of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has made good on its promise by announcing specification and price of the updated E-Pace.

Continuing to serve as the leaping cat’s smallest SUV, the exterior updates include the new double J LED daytime running lights with the option of the pixel LED headlights, redesigned front and rear bumpers, a new mesh pattern grille, I-Pace inspired taillights, new side vents with the leaping Jaguar mascot and the option of a black exterior package.

Aside from the new Sport model, all other E-Pace variants come as standard with the R-Dynamic styling pack made up of a bespoke bodykit, a Shadow Atlas finished grille, body coloured lower front bumper and Noble Chrome detailing.

Along with the black exterior pack, a choice of twelve alloy wheel designs are offered ranging from a five-spoke 18-inch design with satin black inserts to the 21-inch ten-spoke wheels with gloss black inserts. Reserved for the Sport though are diamond-turned 20-inch five-spoke alloys with black detailing plus the black pack as standard.

Rear facia now sport I-Pace-inspired lights.

The lion’s share of the revisions are to be found inside with the E-Pace now sporting the upgraded 11.4-inch Pivi Pro touchscreen infotainment system with over-the-air updates, the new 12.3-inch TFT digital instrument cluster, a wireless smartphone charger, ClearSight rear-view mirror and the PM2.5 filtration system for the air-conditioning.

In addition to new dials for the climate control, an I-Pace inspired steering wheel and the upgraded Meridian sound system as standard on the Sport, the E-Pace, like recently refreshed or new JLR models becomes the latest to drop the rotary dial gear selector for a conventional lever with a so-called cricket ball-like stitching design, plus an embroidered Jaguar leaper on the headrests with an “est. 1935 Jaguar Coventry” seat tag.

A choice of six interior colours are available; Caraway, Cloud, Ebony, Light Oyster, Deep Garnet with the R-Dynamic receiving Ebony detailing on the steering wheel, a suede-cloth roofliner, alloy inlays, Ebony Black detailing and R-Dynamic embroidered sport seats as standard. Despite retaining the mentioned roofliner, illuminated treadplates and Taurus Sport seats are fitted to the Sport and on no other model.

Up front, the E-Pace offers a choice of four Ingenium engines with petrol taking preference over diesel. In fact, only one oil-burner can be specified, the new D200 rated at 147kW/430Nm that allows for a top speed of 211 km/h and 0-100 km/h in 8.4 seconds. Claimed fuel consumption is 6.4 L/100 km.

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On the petrol front, and displacing the same 2.0-litres as the diesel, a choice of two outputs are available; 183kW/365Nm in the P250 and 221kW/400Nm in the P300 Sport.

Like the D200, drive is routed to all four wheels via a nine-speed automatic gearbox with Jaguar claiming a top speed of 229 km/h for the former and 241 km/h for the latter and respective 0-100 km/h sprint times of 8.5 seconds and 6.9 seconds. Claimed fuel consumption figures are 8.9 L/100 km and nine-litres per 100 km.

The fourth option is also newest in the form of the P300e that combines the new 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine with a 15-kWh lithium-ion battery pack powering an 80 kW electric motor mounted on the rear axle.

A configuration already used on the Range Rover Evoque, the plug-in hybrid setup allows for an all-electric range of 55 km and produces a combined 227kW/540Nm. Hooked to an eight-speed automatic ‘box, the P300e will get from 0-100 km/h in a claimed 6.5 seconds before topping out at 216 km/h.

Interior gets the new 11.4-inch Pivi Pro infotainment system and a gear lever instead of a dial.

Plugged-in to a fast charger, the P300e has a waiting time of 30 minutes from 0-80% with the use of a conventional household socket needing a time of five hours from 0-80%. Unique to it though are three driving modes; the default Hybrid, EV and Save where the engine is used to charge the battery while on the move.

Available in three trim levels; S, SE and HSE, the E-Pace range is once again covered by a five year/100 000 km maintenance plan.

Pricing

E-Pace D200 S R-Dynamic – R868 000

E-Pace D200 SE R-Dynamic – R898 600

E-Pace D200 HSE R-Dynamic – R938 800

E-Pace P250 S R-Dynamic – R927 500

E-Pace P250 SE R-Dynamic – R958 100

E-Pace P250 HSE R-Dynamic – R998 300

E-Pace P300 Sport – R1 046 900

E-Pace P300e S R-Dynamic – R1 165 500

E-Pace P300e SE R-Dynamic – R1 196 300

E-Pace P300e HSE R-Dynamic – R1 236 300