Watch: F-Pace is the Jaguar SUV challenge

Jaguar is borrowing some of the Land Rover heritage for the new F-Pace SUV that the company has launched as it prepares to widen its choice of the luxury brand range. This is the first SUV ever produced in the Jaguar name – and it could be the first of many more.

For a farming audience, does the Jaguar F-Pace have an appeal? Jaguar thinks so and ranks it to compete with the likes of the Audi Q5 and BMW X3, but with eminently more style and some impressive features that herald new ideas that will soon be offered in other ranges.

I think the new Jaguar F-Pace will be a big hit with the horsey set, who always like a bit of style.

The most important feature of the new Jaguar F-Pace is its weight. Jaguar is using a new lightweight aluminium chassis to shave kilogrammes off the weight of the Land Rover Discovery Sport, while still guaranteeing strength and safety.

The new Jaguar F-Pace was recently launched in the hills of Montenegro, one of the countries that evolved from Yugoslavia and has a close association with neighbouring Albania. Both small countries are hilly domains, with large areas of rock outcrops that would dwarf our own Burren landscape.

Farming is limited, with occasional rich veins of land between the hills, and its impoverished nature is confirmed by the host of 30+ year old IMT tractors that work these fertile areas.

The Montenegrin roads are being upgraded with no motorway in the entire country, so speed is restricted to 80km/hr and it’s tightly enforced. There are many corkscrew hills that include more than 25 sharp bends with no mercy for those who miss the turns. This was the place to test the agility and road-holding of the Jaguar F-Pace.

We took the new SUV across mountains and narrow roads that would test the suspension. Then it was time for some off-road driving, not much mud and water, just steep hills that tested the new Jaguar Adaptive Surface Response and All-Surface Progress Control systems across steep inclines, where the car’s engine management and control systems were re-assuring if nothing else.

So in terms of off-road ability, coupled with on-road manners, this new SUV can set new standards, even if never or rarely used by real Jaguar drivers. The new Jaguar F-Pace is targeting a new market, with more female drivers and those of a younger generation very much in mind.

And with entry prices at the mid €40,000, it competes on price terms very well against the likes of the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and its own Land Discovery Sport or smaller Range Rover Evoque. The challenge for Jaguar is not to cannibalise too many of its Land Rover and Range Rover customers.

This new Jaguar F-Pace provides lots of technology goodies as well as road performance stuff. Jaguar claims that its InControl Touch Pro system is the world’s most advanced infotainment system. It has been designed in-house by Jaguar Land Rover to make every journey easier and more connected and uses a 10.2-inch tablet-style touchscreen.

The system is intuitive to use and features impressive quality graphics. It can be used to connect up to eight devices on the wi-fi hotspot, so you can transform the SUV into a mobile office or entertainment centre.

Among the other new features is the Jaguar Activity Key. This looks like a water-resistant watch strap and it acts as a type of locking device, even allowing you to leave your keys in the car.

Just place it near the rear Jaguar logo after pressing the boot-opening button and the F-Pace opens or closes depending on your previous action. This means that in future your key will be a watchstrap, or it could end up as one of the new-generation smart watches, such as the Apple Watch.

During the launch testing programme, we drove three different engine types; the 2.0 litre turbo-diesel version will be the most popular for a variety of reasons, mainly running costs. Its 180bhp performance was more than adequate for the SUV across some very hilly driving conditions.

This is a low-CO2 engine at 129g/km. Jaguar uses AdBlue diesel fuel additive to achieve this, just like an increasing number of other manufacturers. It was difficult to assess fuel economy, as the driving conditions were so varied, but the quoted rated figure of 20.4km/litre (4.9l/100km or 58mpg) will impress if it can be achieved.

This new Jaguar F-Pace is going to be popular. The car has recently been seen at dealerships in Ireland as part of a pre-launch event. I can imagine that its styling will have instant appeal and I liked it too. What will swing it will be the performance and the price band. This new Jaguar F-Pace is setting new standards in technical features and off-road ability, with an impressive look that won’t be mistaken. It will appeal to those who want to be seen – and they will. CL

Jaguar F-Pace 2.0 TDi

Engine 2.0 litre

Engine power 180hp

0-100km/hr 8.9 seconds

Economy 20.4km/litre

Fuel tank capacity 60 litres

CO2 emissions 129g/km

Road tax band B1 (€270)

Main service 20,000km

Euro NCAP rating Five stars

Towing rating 2,000kg

Warranty 3 years

Entry price €45,500 (est)

NI price £23,695