Jaguar's F-PACE is an astonishingly beautiful luxury SUV
So how does the F-PACE drive — and what's the verdict?
Split view!
Keeping an eye on various parts of the vehicle.
You can adjust your own camera views at will.
A suite of cameras and the F-PACE's infotainment software can create a useful bird's-eye exterior view, to assist with parking.
...Which can serve up different views when you ask for directions. The search function in the navigation system proved to be well sorted and surprisingly helpful.
There's also a navigation system...
As a whole, the 11-speaker, 825-watt Meridian system sounds glorious.
Seriously, it does represent a leap forward for Jag. The organization is simple and tiled. However, it does have a few kinks. We found the system to be a bit sluggish at times and it even froze during a test drive. The "trees" you move through don't always take you back to where you want, and we had a few issues with the audio system, including one instance when the satellite radio function failed.
We asked Jaguar about these issues, which are to be expected on a 1.0 version of a new infotainment rig.
In a statement to Business Insider, a Jaguar Land Rover spokesperson wrote:
"We are constantly monitoring the InControl Touch system software for bugs/issues and sending out updates as necessary. Our latest update, currently available at retailers, addresses many of the issues you seem to have experienced in the vehicle. Customers facing any similar concerns with their InControl Touch Pro System should reach out to their local retailer for assistance."
That's a 10.2-inch touchscreen in the center console — 10.2-inches of roaring feline infotainment fury.
Shall we talk about the infotainment system, called InControl Touch Pro?
The cargo space in the F-PACE is ample. A family of four would have no trouble using the car for a getaway, and it handled all our everyday suburban needs without exertion.
It took us a few minutes to work out the process, but the feature appeared to function as advertised.
Here's a cool feature. The F-PACE can be had with an "Activity Key," which is a waterproof wristband that allows you to leave your keys in the vehicle. For example, let's say you're going swimming or surfing at the beach. You can use the device to lock and unlock the SUV by placing it near a proximity sensor at the rear liftgate (it's near the "J" in Jaguar).
The all-important cupholders. Above, you have the driving-mode selector, which takes some getting used to. Basically, you've got a normal mode, a fuel-saving eco-mode, an off road/bad-weather mode, and a dynamic mode for fun.
Meow!
Up close.
From the driver's perspective, the steering wheel is ... well, perhaps a tab busy, with all the buttons flanking the leaping cat badge. The instruments are digital-analog and refreshingly straightforward, but some additional info-displays are crammed into the main cluster. The steering wheel is heated.
You might call the interior appointments "tailored," and you'd be justified, given that the pattern is houndstooth. I believe this is the only vehicle available on the planet that gives you such an option.
As with many luxury SUV these days, rear-seat passengers can manage their own heating-and-cooling needs, and on this vehicle that includes heated seats.
Two adults will be fine back here, but three is a stretch.
The panoramic moonroof fills the equally comfortable rear seat realm with sunlight during the daytime and starlight in the evening.
Your front-seat passenger is also ensconced in comfort. I know because mine joined me for a lengthy jaunt from suburban New Jersey to rural Connecticut to see Elvis Costello and the Imposters in concert and to a bit of late-season garden-supplies shopping. There were no complaints.
You're not going to find a more stately-sporty cockpit than this. The gearshift is that knob in the center console, which raises when the vehicle is on and retracts when it's off. There's also an eight-speed automatic with a manual mode that the driver can enjoy using the paddles behind the steering wheel.
The interior is marvelous, comfy, and plenty quiet. The seats could be a bit more pliant, but they're nothing short of premium, upholstered in Windsor leather. Driver and passenger seats are heated and cooled.
Enter F-PACE! The tread-plate lights up, with a sort of mellow blue-green glow.
It really is the most beautiful SUV on the road, a true-head-turner that turns heads without blaring or shouting. This could rightly be called Callum's masterpiece, even if he might not want to have that honorific attached to an SUV.
The First Edition trim is an upscaling of the F-PACE S, which goes for about $58,000.
Yep, we hate the name. Sounds like a minivan from the 1990s. But what are you gonna do?
Beautiful craftsmanship.
The fender ventiport detail is also presented quietly, in black. Even the wheels, large as they are at 22-inches, deliver the impressive of considerable power without bragging about it.
The exterior is actually deceptively dynamic. The restrained use of satin chrome, offset by the black highlights, creates a very dignified orchestration of design cues. This ever-so-slightly elongated back window is a case in point.
These are some of the most LED beautiful headlights on the road. They don't have that classic Jag F-Type (or E-Type) swept-back quality, but they do suggest a ferocious feline ready to pounce, so mission accomplished.
You can't do much about the rear end. But the subtle curve of the liftgate coupled with the narrow tail lights and the svelte backlight maintaining the F-PACE's satisfying proportions. Note the dual exhaust pipes.
The wheels are large, the lines are flowing, and the overall shape is bold and purposeful. What we have here is really a sports car that's been elevated and scaled up, rather than a truck that's been giving the sporty treatment.
The legendary Jaguar badge is fairly tasteful emblazoned on the finely boned, blacked out front grille. No leaping cat hood ornament, unfortunately.
It isn't easy to design a stylish, sporty SUV. In fact, it's nearly impossible. The basic form for the segment is a large rectangular box with a wheel at each of the four corners and a big liftgate dominating the rear. But Callum has performed magic with the F-PACE.
Our $72,000 test vehicle was extremely well kitted out, as they might say across the pond. It was the "First Edition" trim level, and the color was an alluring Caesium Blue. Only 275 will be built.
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