Jaguar F-PACE 2016 Review - International

Jaguar F-PACE S
International Launch Review
Podgorica, Montenegro

My old man once joked that Montenegro was home to the world's best contract killers. True or not, it's the launch location of Jaguar's first ever SUV – or crossover in Jag-speak – and after a couple of days in the saddle it's clear the vehicle has killer instincts. Priced from $74,340, the mould-breaking new leaping cat arrives in Australia from July 2016, is naturally fleet and can tame corners, but also claims to be "the most practical Jaguar ever". Too good to be true?

Forget for a moment that the Jaguar F-PACE is a swift, sporty, sexy vehicle, and consider what it offers from a pragmatic standpoint.

Seating for five and a seriously big boot in a wagon body, plus a number of very cool techno doodads, including a wearable, waterproof key 'band' that allows you to unlock the car without keys.

Wave riders rejoice! No more burying keys in the sand or hurling them into the bushes.

Think of this new Jaguar SUV as the Brad Pitt of the vehicle world – it'll take care of the entire family while eliciting the kind of lust usually the reserve of randy teens.

And, like said heartthrob, it's going to appeal to women in a big way says Jag, with one in every three customers expected to be a lady.

There's loads of head and leg room for back seat passengers and boot space is said to be class-leading with 650 litres of cargo space, expanding to 1740 with the 40:20:40 splitting rear seats.

The boot aperture is wide and a power-operated tailgate makes opening and closing completely effortless. Sleek and versatile.

Luxury levels are impressive and best of all this SUV boasts a prestige badge affixed to an athletic, distinctive exterior design, riding on massive 22-inch wheels if you want them -- a first for Jag.

Surely the makings of a best-seller? There's no 'surely' about it – it is already best-seller. Setting a new pre-launch sales record for the British car-maker, the F-PACE has accrued more than 8000 orders globally – including several hundred pre-sales in Australia – before it's even launched anywhere on the planet,.

So should you be excited by Jaguar's first-ever SUV? Yes and no.
Hopping into the high-riding Jag for the first time reveals a commanding view of the road and a premium interior with gorgeous suede headlining, supple leather across the dashboard, door inserts and big, wide power-operated seats.

But it all looks a bit too similar to the XE for my liking. I just wish it had more to set it apart.

Granted the digitised instruments (which will be optional for Aussie buyers, at $2000-ish) look great, adapting their visuals to different modes – sport, economy and regular – and the large 10.2-inch touch operated infotainment widescreen is a big improvement on the XE's smaller display.

The pop-up rotary gear-shifter is still a neat trick and easy to use, plus there are paddle shifters for the racers. Connecting phones and fiddling with maps and connectivity is child's play. In fact, the only blemish on the Jaguar SUV's interior is that the temperature controls look a little out of place.

The F-PACE does well to impart a real sense of luxury but other little things let it down, like the insipidly slow charge rate of the USB ports (two up front, two in the back) and oddly positioned electric window controls.

Despite claims that the F-PACE would assassinate the Porsche Macan in terms of dynamic ability – pace and cornering – it does not.

The F-PACE is a very accomplished apex predator and will provide more grip and go than most drivers will ever need, but when push comes to shove it fades.

On the challenging Montenegrin mountain passes we tested the Jaguar across, it generally showed a clean pair of heels, with only mild body roll evident when turning into sharper corners with the adaptive dampers set to the firmer 'Sports' mode.

It's a weapon through open, sweeping corners, where it chews up long journeys with ease. But the steering lacks the tangibility and feel of other Jaguars, and is at odds with its XE sedan sibling, which is luscious in this respect.

Front-end suspension felt well-sorted, capable and offered good traction in most situations, but there's a disconnect between the driver's hands on the steering wheel and what the front-end is doing, particularly at the limit – something the Macan seldom suffers.

For example, on a tight, twisting section of switchbacks and hairpins, the front of the car felt vague punching hard out of corners and exhibited unexpected understeer. Essentially the steering wheel was turned but the car wasn't co-operating, going straight instead of cornering.

Torque vectoring should eliminate idiosyncrasies such as this, but like Lindsay Lohan's career in entertainment it had seemingly gone missing. In turn, this saps one's confidence to push on and left this driver wondering what all the Macan-besting talk was about…

Throttle response in the top-shelf 280kW Jaguar F-PACE S ($103,420), powered by a lusty 3.0-litre supercharged V6, was rather abrupt too. This made driving it rapidly and smoothly on tight and twisty roads challenging, although the vehicle sounds amazing (especially in tunnels!) and rips to 100km/h in 5.5 seconds. Not slow.

The 221kW turbo-diesel V6 Jaguar F-PACE S ($99,490) was easier to extract maximum performance from and was my pick of the two heavy-hitters, although its claim of 700Nm seems excessive.

Both engines see the Jaguar SUV reach silly speeds very rapidly but thankfully the brakes do a solid job of calming the car's considerable weight, the lightest of which is 1775kg.

Where the F-PACE's suspension shines is in its ride quality, and in this respect it'll win a lot of friends and rightly deliver positive test drives. Even on the massive 22-inch alloy wheels the big cat's bump absorption is remarkable, eating up crumbling country roads and sharp cracks like a fat kid at a dessert buffet.

"We're aware of the competition, but we haven't tried to copy them," says Richard Agnew, Jaguar's global PR chief. And he's right.

The Jag SUV may not be quite as sharp as the Macan when pushed to its ragged edge but most drivers probably won't thrash it the way we did, to thoroughly test not only its limits but the claims of its maker.

The F-PACE's ability to soak up bumps and lumps and keep all occupants in the lap of luxury is almost without peer and in this respect it will win over more customers than would Porsche-rivalling handling.

But it just means that Jaguar can't claim bragging rights to class-leading dynamics.

The F-PACE is a crucial model for the brand and overall it's a very accomplished vehicle and one of the most practical in its class.
It's brimming with neat technology, has more than 12 driver assistance functions, including autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection as standard.

You can check the status of the car remotely and even start the engine via your smartphone, and if you have one you can unlock the doors via an Apple Watch. Very cool.

The F-PACE also gets some simple but thoughtful features like quad-zone climate-control and electrically reclining rear seats -- a first for the class says Jaguar and something tired passengers will appreciate.

Jaguar Australia is planning a four-pronged attack on the local market from July, starting with the 132kW 2.0-litre turbo-diesel model from under $75,000 and the beefy 221kW V6 turbo-diesel from around $85,000.

The only petrol models available are 3.0-litre supercharged V6s, offered in 250kW and 280kW guises, priced from around $84K and $103K respectively. Check out our Jaguar F-PACE pricing story for the full price list.

Jaguar's first high-riding crossover may not set a new dynamic benchmark in the prestige SUV segment, but it's still a very accomplished vehicle that will undoubtedly bring many new customers into the Jag fold.

It slots neatly between vehicles like the BMW X5 and Porsche Macan both in stature, performance and price. An SUV sweet-spot if you will.

While it's true that Montenegro is very much a tourist destination these days, I reckon my old man was definitely onto something – this car is going to make a killing.

2016 Jaguar F-PACE S pricing and specifications:
Price: $103,420 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbo-petrol
Output: 280kW/450Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 209g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP

Also consider:
>> Audi SQ5 (from $91,700)
>> Porsche Macan (from $91,900)
>> BMW X5 (from $86,200)