Our original 2016 road test of the then-new Jaguar F-Pace began by discussing how wary Jaguar was of introducing an SUV. Traditionally known for luxury saloons and sports cars, it feared a backlash from what might seem like a drastic change of character.
Today, that thought seems almost naive, because SUVs have taken off in popularity, making the F-Pace one of the few Jaguars in recent years that could be considered a success story. As the world has lost its appetite for saloons and estates, and made cars like the XE and XF critical successes but commercial slow-burners, the F-Pace has played a key role in keeping Jaguar afloat.
Two decades of trying to chase the German premium brands haven’t worked out well for Jaguar, then. But now Jaguar Land Rover CEO Thierry Bolloré is changing tack in a major way: Jaguar will become a pure-electric sub-Bentley luxury brand by 2025. Until then, its existing models need to continue to earn their keep.
All of them have had facelifts with drastic interior revamps and some major powertrain shake-ups. With that previous focus on the German brands came big investment in JLR’s own range of Ingenium diesel engines. With hindsight, that now looks like the wrong direction to have taken, of course, but in recent years the firm has gone full steam ahead in developing plug-in hybrids as well.
Technical specs
Model tested:
F-Pace P400e R-Dynamic HSE
Keyword: Jaguar F-Pace P400e Review (2021)