Some car brands are iconic in the luxury and racing world. Ferarri, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, Mercedes-Benz. And Jaguar. I’ve always admired the lines of a classic Jag and it’s hard not to wax poetic about the XK line from the 1950s, absolutely iconic convertible sportscars that were all about the engine and drive experience, eschewing all comfort for the driver and much of any space for a passenger. Back seats? Puhlease. The company’s been producing cars since 1933 but it’s also seen more tough times than most manufacturers that are still with us, most recently being acquired by Ford in 1990 and then sold off to Indian manufacturing giant Tata Motors a few years ago.
The brand went through some rough years with vehicles that were undistinguished and bland, but in the last few years, has managed to bring a lot of the luxury from its sister brand Land Rover and create vehicles that are sporty but surprisingly luxurious. I had a chance to spend a week with a 2021 Jaguar F-Pace S in Eiger Grey with a gorgeous Caraway w/ Ebony interior:
There’s just a hint of the classic low-slung hood of the old Jaguar in its design, but otherwise, it’s a tough, solid SUV with attractive lines and a rugged front grill design that features air scoops to break up the monotony of the front. This model features upgraded 21″ wheels and a whopping 335 HP 3.0L i6 turbocharged and supercharged engine, coupled with 8-speed automatic transmission. Jaguar has a long history with racing – including the sleek F-Pace SRV Edition 1988, honoring a significant track win – and it was no surprise that the F-Pace S was really fun to drive with lots of power and no hesitation when aggressively accelerating. It’s not a performance EV, but it’s pretty dang sweet for an internal combustion engine. Of course, fuel efficiency is rather mediocre with an average EPA rating of 22mpg, but that’s the trade-off with power versus efficiency that affects all ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles.
The interior is lovely, a plush, luxurious finish with admirable attention to details:
Bright, functional controls in logical positions made it easy to just get started driving. This is where I encountered my first oddity with the infotainment system: It couldn’t initialize. I ended up stuck on the “Set up your vehicle”, which was problematic because it overrode the backup camera and every other safety feature. We figured it out, however: It requires access to a cellular network to check in with Jaguar HQ as part of the process and I had it parked in a dead zone for the carrier it used. When I drove it to a more central urban area, stopped and restarted the vehicle, it breezed on past the setup without a problem and never bothered me again. I would categorize this as a significant bug but at least we were able to get past it.
… this article continues at PlanetDave.com as “Car Review: 2021 Jaguar F-Pace S“