Jaguar F-PACE SVR 2019 Review — International

The moment you open the newest SVR’s door and your eyes lock onto the slim-line race seats upholstered in premium-quality leather, confusion reigns.

The seats' aggressive shape is very GT3 race car like; they're slim and aesthetically pleasing, yet finished in sumptuous 'lozenge' quilted leather and have 14-way power adjustment… What's going on here?!?

Is this a performance boneshaker or Kardashian-approved luxury contrivance? The answer is it's both.

The juxtaposition of incendiary performance and extravagant practicality is like Dwayne Johnson in the HBO TV series Ballers – always well dressed and super-suave but a man-mountain of muscle hidden beneath.

The first V8-powered SUV from Jaguar is an impressive apex predator, attacking corners with grace and gusto, generating scads of grip from its 22-inch alloy wheels wrapped in low-profile staggered tyres, a little wider at the rear.

The massive 395mm Brembo brakes are arresting, the thundering 5.0-litre supercharged, intercooled V8 a military-grade high-calibre weapon.

Those bonnet vents, the larger front air apertures below the headlights and the 'gills' behind the front wheels? They're not just for show, they're all functional, creating air channels that improve the engine's thermal dynamics by siphoning heat build-up from the engine bay.

The blown big-bore V8 smashes out 404kW of power at 6500rpm and 680Nm of torque from 2500rpm, providing a gloriously rich powerband that generates enough force to squeeze you firmly into the lavish bucket seats.

The 0-100kmh sprint takes just 4.3 seconds, it has a top speed of 283km/h and will dispatch the quarter-mile in just 12.3 seconds. For a big, 4737mm-long chunk of steel, aluminium and glass that weighs more than two tonnes, that's viciously quick.

But flick the drive mode from dynamic to comfort and the angry cat turns into a purring kitten, soaking up torn-up road surfaces with ease as the Bilstein active dampers soften up.

The steering becomes lighter, the throttle less touchy and the gearbox less slappy. I'm not kidding: the eight-speed cog-swapper slaps you around like a squash ball in angry mode – it's brutally satisfying.

Consider the alternatives for a moment.

There's the Mercedes-AMG GLC 63 S ($165,395), which doesn’t have as much gristle as this pom (375kW versus 404kW) but is half a second faster to 100km/h.

You could go for the Range Rover Sport SVR, which runs the same provocative 5.0-litre V8 engine (with a few more herbs), but that costs almost $100,000 more. It even costs less than the $149,900 twin-turbo V6-powered Alfa Romeo Stelvio Q.

Whichever ever you slice it, this agro eight-cylinder Jag formulates a rather handy cash-to-kiloWatts ratio.

After our first drive of the vehicle on damp roads in the hills of southern France, first impressions are rosy.

The only thing that blemishes the Jaguar F-PACE SVR is its dated infotainment system and cheapo steering wheel buttons, which lack the modern aesthetic and tactile glory of new Jaguar XE and I-PACE.

It does have an adaptive digital instrument panel and overall the interior has a classy, high-end luxo-sport appeal, with supple leather covering almost everything from the doors inserts to the dashboard. There's even a pair of semi-sports seats in the rear (but it's still a five-seater).

I just wish these common touch points were updated and the clearsight LCD mirror was added. That would have been the icing on the cake.

This big, heavy, high-riding wagon is a savagely powerful machine, delivering the sort of cheek-rippling thrust and stultifying adrenaline rush that will be seared into your memory like the first time you fell down a staircase as a three-year-old (just not as traumatic).

Fair dinkum, this SUV is outlandishly fast, squatting on its hind quarters on full throttle launches as the re-worked all-wheel drive system instantly sends 100 per cent torque to the rear axle and fires the car down the road like some sort of vehicular ordnance.

The noise from the V8 is almost as good as the physics-defying propulsive forces it generates, the upgraded stainless steel exhaust system that ends in four large trumpets blasting out a bassy, gravelly, battle cry, punctuated with excessively loud but spine-tingling crackles when you lift off the throttle.

It's an intoxicating experience blasting around in this supercharged V8 machine, but if you want to avoid angering the neighbours, you can hit the exhaust button which dials back the rowdy acoustics.

As Ross Restell, the F-PACE SVR dynamics engineering lead explains, everything from the 3.8kg lighter active exhaust system to the AWD system, active rear diff, suspension, steering, gearbox and aerodynamics were modified to ensure the angry Jag SUV is battle ready.

Look closely at the leading edge of the side skirts and behind the rear wheel-arches and you'll notice small strakes, which smooth out the turbulence airflow created by the wheel wells.

The suspension has had a LOT of work too, starting with springs that are 30 per cent stiffer and 10 per cent lower front and rear respectively, along with stiffer suspension link bushes.

Throw in reworked monotube adaptive dampers from Bilstein, a bigger rear anti-roll bar and big 22-inch forged alloy wheels shod with sticky 265 front and 295 rear rubber and you're off to a good start.

Slinging the F-PACE SVR into a variety of corners is an enjoyable experience. The fat cat generates high levels of grip and even in damp conditions it inspires confidence to push a little deeper, a little faster in each consecutive corner.

The high-rise Jag rotates remarkably eagerly into corners thanks in part to a reduction in unsprung weight. The wheels are lighter by 2.4kg at the front and 1.7kg at the rear, while the big four-piston, two-piece aluminium Brembo brakes callipers all round and rear shave another 4.1kg off the car's weight. They gnaw on big 395mm rotors front and rear, delivering ample stopping power.

Another weapon in the Jag's high-performance arsenal is the active rear differential.

"That allows us to make the best use of our power, so it will send torque across the rear axle when it needs to," explains Restell.

Lump in torque vectoring via braking and an all-wheel drive system that defaults to a torque split of 30/70 front/rear – and can send up to 100 per cent rearwards – and it's not surprising the car generates heroic grip and tracks through corners with nonchalant ease.

Perhaps the most satisfying part of attacking apexes in this feline firebrand is punching out of corners at full noise, causing an attack on the senses that is incontrovertibly addictive.

This is helped along by the upgraded eight-speed automatic ZF gearbox that kicks hard between shifts and allows no let-up in power delivery. It's a visceral experience, make no mistake.

The steering doesn't have the alacrity of the new Jaguar XE’s and I don't reckon it's quite as engaging as the Porsche Macan’s, but the recalibrated steering set-up does the job with a nominal degree of feedback.

Well, it's got a big 650-litre boot and 40/20/40-split folding rear seats that liberate an Ikea flat-pack-friendly 1731 litres of cargo space.

It can also tow a braked trailer up to 2400kg. You could probably fry an egg on the V8 cylinder-head if you wanted. It also has a three-year, 100,000km warranty, which is par for the course in the prestige segment.

But as previously mentioned, the car's ability to switch from feral to forgiving is one of its greatest assets. The difference the twin-mode dampers make between dynamic and comfort modes is astonishing, the latter delivering very good ride comfort even on broken and shoddy roads.

Given its everyday drivability, it'll double as a family car too. A very loud, gas-guzzling, ice-cap melting, leather-lined, vegan-antagonising family wagon. It's the kind of SUV that could single-handedly keep the share price of oil companies buoyant; it's claimed fuel economy of 11.9L/100km is laughable. Double it, at least.

But for all it's political incorrectness, this vehicle represents impressive value for money. With the V8 becoming a rare thing (and ever more expensive), this luxurious marauder created by Jaguar Land Rover's high-performance division, Special Vehicle Operations (SVO), is a pretty tidy proposition at $139,648.

Driving the Jaguar F-PACE SVR was a memorable experience and despite being delayed for a year due to parts supply issues, the wait will be worth it.

If you're looking at a high-end SUV luxo-rocket, there aren't too many V8-powered cheek-ripplers you'll find at this price.

How much does the 2019 Jaguar F-PACE SVR cost?
Price: $139,648 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged petrol V8
Output: 404kW/680Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 11.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 272g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP (2017)