Red-on-black interior is a winner.
In the growing fiefdom of premium SUVs, this trio is tailored for very different tastes. Which, if any, proves the standout on a 700 km road trip into the Klein Karoo?
It’s not who shouts loudest but who performs smoothest. Here the Mazda’s turbodiesel is a real surprise.
Those low profile Pirellis didn’t know what hit them (thankfully no sharp rocks).
It’s the rubber that makes all the difference.
Everything where it ought to be … but lacking sparkle.
Similar architecture but interior quality a step behind the Jag’s.
Driving ImpressionsBy: CAR magazine
Celebrated travel author Paul Theroux once wrote: “Travelling makes one modest – you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” In one sense, I believe the same applies to vehicle testing. Evaluating a car on your daily commute and through standardised testing is brilliant or building up archival data but often there is more to be learnt by adjusting your context and seeing what impression a vehicle forms on you between those indefinable book ends of Here, There and Back Again.
When our (former) longterm Mazda CX-5 was required for a Getaway travel story out in Barrydale, we roped in the Jaguar F-Pace Chequered Flag and Land Rover Discovery Sport to form an unlikely trinity of road trippers. A bit like TV cooking shows where contestants must use the same ingredients but somehow infuse their individuality into a dish, we’ve long thought an indepth appraisal of the Discovery Sport and F-Pace – to see which makes the best use of its shared JLR componentry – would make for interesting reading.
Likewise, for as long as we can remember, the Mazda CX-5 has been one of the segment’s most accomplished offerings, taking our Top 12 Best Buys prize for midsize SUV/crossovers on numerous occasions. We always felt it could punch above its weight and take on premium competition costing more.
Well, now is its chance. As it stands, the top-of-the range CX-5 2,2DE AWD Akera will set you back R666 100, while the D180 R-Dynamic HSE Landy we have here is a dearer but not unreasonable R951 966 when you factor in the high level of specification. From there, the price curve traces a steep upward trajectory to our F-Pace 25d Chequered Flag edition at R1 182 804. So, with the price differences noted, let’s go…
Swing low, sweet chariot – Jaguar F-Pace 25d AWD Chequered Flag
Finished in Yulong White paint with optional 22-inch black wheels (R51 300), I started the journey in the Jaguar. The twin-turbodiesel, endowed with a healthy 177 kW and 500 N.m of torque is a far cry in the speed stakes from the last F-Pace CAR tested on this road: the V8 SVR we hustled to Port Elizabeth for our 2020 Performance Shootout.
On this occasion, though, I was all for drinking in the F-Pace’s nuances, comfort and technology at a more leisurely pace down Route 62. The cockpit is cosseting, stylish and absolutely packed with gadgetry on this limited-edition model. There’s radar-guided cruise control to pace you with the car ahead and lane-keeping assist that nestles you safely in your lane but, rather cleverly, these baubles don’t feel like it’s be-all and end-all. The assistance systems are more like an unseen butler merely lending a hand when your attention wanders or you opt for a timeout.
Those low profile Pirellis didn’t know what hit them (thankfully no sharp rocks).
First and foremost, this is a Jaguar… it loves to drive. Built on JLR’s D7 Premium Lightweight Architecture (PLA) aluminium platform at its Solihull facility in the West Midlands of England, it feels impressively rigid when the road turns twisty on Huisrivier Pass just outside Calitzdorp; as if it’s been hewn from a solid piece of metal.
Which, of course, it has been – aluminium – although, we wouldn’t exactly classify the F-Pace a lightweight as it tips the scales at more than 1 800 kg. Nevertheless, with low-profile Pirelli rubber, quick steering and 500 N.m of torque, it left the Land Rover and Mazda in its wake on-road before our Epic Drive; as it must, ventured off-road.
JLR Ingenium engines in 2021
Going forward, Jaguar has opted to drop the twin-turbodiesel offering in the F-Pace range, instead, sticking with the 221 kW/650 N.m six-cylinder oilburner, designated D300, and D200 four cylinder with 150 kW/430 N.m. Incidentally, the same Ingenium turbodiesel unit that is also available in the uprated Discovery Sport in 2021.
Adventure king – Land Rover Discovery Sport D180 R-Dynamic HSE
To the uninitiated, the two British SUVs appear to have a lot in common – yet another example of platform engineering you might argue – but scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find they’re pleasingly distinctive … even if to car bores like us, the similarities in their interior architecture are immediately apparent.
This second-generation Discovery Sport is built in Halewood, Liverpool, using JLR’s Premium Transverse Architecture (PTA) for one thing; itself a development of the D8 platform inherited from the days when Land Rover was a subsidiary of Ford. Making use of good old steel, it tips the scales at 1 950 kg which slightly dulls performance (it’s 2,5 seconds slower to 100 km/h than the Jaguar), economy and overall agility.
Lulled by the premium Jaguar cabin all day, climbing into the sombre Discovery Sport was somewhat jarring. Even factoring in the price differential, there is a notable gap in tactile quality and luxuriousness between the Jaguar and austere Land Rover.
It’s the rubber that makes all the difference.
Interestingly, in an impromptu decibel test, the Land Rover recorded a quieter cabin at a cruise. If some of that extra girth has gone towards its excellent sound deadening, it has produced the desired result. There is less tyre roar in the cabin thanks to smaller wheels with narrower Scorpion Verde rubber. The same rubber that made it a standout when we left the bitumen behind.
Opting for a change of pace and the secluded farm roads that run alongside the Doringrivier to the east of Barrydale, the Land Rover took off like a scalded cat on the gravel. Any misgivings about its lethargic performance were instantly dispatched in a cloud of dust and dirt … along with the Jaguar and Mazda.
The ride quality, grip and steering were simply unmatched off-road and it instinctively took its rightful place as convoy leader. Photographer Peet insisted on going further off the beaten track for the next photo op, risking rebuke for trespassing from disgruntled farmers on their scramblers.
Thankfully, the farmer – who did want to know what we were doing on his (in our defense) unmarked farm road – was thrilled to hear we were from CAR and promptly directed us to a scenic location at his dam. Result!
Jack of all trades – Mazda CX-5 2,2DE AWD Akera
The pattern for the rest of the afternoon was set; the Land Rover would forge ahead over rutted, knobbly tracks on the farm, effortlessly clearing any middle mannetjies thanks to its 213 mm ground clearance, while the Jaguar and Mazda – not as well-endowed in the approach and departure-angles (see graphics) – arrived minutes later.
As the big Jaguar laboured to protect expensive bodywork and rims, the nimble Mazda made a fist of the unrehearsed bundu bashing. Not once did its allwheel-drive system lack traction. Lightest here (1 750 kg) and wonderfully easy to drive – mechanically, at least – you do have to wonder why the Mazda costs R300 000 less than the Land Rover and R500 000 less than the Jaguar. Speaking subjectively, I would argue it has the sweetest turbodiesel motor of the lot.
It’s not who shouts loudest but who performs smoothest. Here the Mazda’s turbodiesel is a real surprise.
Unlike the nine-speed gearbox in the Discovery Sport which hunts for the right ratio, the CX-5’s drivetrain seems to have found harmony and has an uncanny habit of being in the correct gear at the correct time.
It was not as quick as the twin-turbo Jaguar, mind you, but at 83,3 dB, it was a smidge quieter in our decibel test than the others and consumed the least amount of fuel, too – 7,90 L/100 km – when the Brits were in the mid-8,00s. Inside, luxurious furnishings have clearly been deprioritised and that’s most likely where the price gap resides. The eight-inch infotainment screen is on the small side by today’s standards and the cabin is less isolating than the Land Rover or Jaguar.
It’s more everyday… less of an event to be in. But that’s not to say it’s any less comfortable or practical. In flagship Akera trim, there is a 360-degree camera system, head-up display, sunroof and an excellent Bose sound system as standard which is a match for the Land Rover’s optional Meridian system.
Keyword: EPIC DRIVE: Jaguar F-Pace v Land Rover Discovery Sport v Mazda CX-5