Driving the all-electric I-Pace, Jaguar’s game-changing SUV

About 20 minutes’ drive from Palexpo, the exhibition hall playing host to the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, Jaguar had taken control of a small car park where it was offering journalists a chance to experience the brand’s most important new model – the I-Pace. We leapt at the chance to get behind the wheel of the all-electric SUV.

Our first taste was limited to about five minutes throwing the car around a randomly generated course – with light-up cones placed in the car park to indicate which way to go. But despite the hastily-built test track, the cars were full production specification, and first impressions were very good indeed.

Sinking down into a comfortable driver’s seat, the I-Pace feels every bit the Jaguar for the 21st century. Fixtures and fittings are reassuringly solid and familiar, but the dual-touchscreen control setup and digital dials are slick, premium, and handsome.

The I-Pace is a total departure for Jaguar – the brand’s first electric car, ditching the internal combustion engine in favour of a large battery pack and two electric motors, producing a total of 395bhp. It should also be capable of 298 miles on a full charge, with the ability to reach 80 per cent capacity from empty within 40 minutes at an ultra-fast 100kW charging station.

As we put our foot down and set off, the immediate impression was one of serene silence – as in most electric cars. The I-Pace doesn’t have the insane performance of the Tesla Model X P100D, but a 4.5-second 0-60mph sprint and instantaneous torque ensures it feels more than fast enough.

Approaching the first set of cones, we did our best to unstick the Jaguar. It felt admirably stable – courtesy of that low-mounted battery pack – and the direct steering is a Jaguar trademark that’s thankfully been retained. A slick patch of wet tarmac gave us the opportunity to feel the torque vectoring system in action, too – capable of sending almost all of the car’s torque rearward should the front begin to slip.

It may not have the futuristic touches or out-and-out performance of its Tesla rivals, but it’s a remarkably handsome, practical and comfortable vehicle that should be great fun to drive. We’re looking forward to its launch later in the year.