For seven years, Tesla has been king of the electric jungle. Now comes a challenger on silent paws.<\/p>\n
The athletic Jaguar I-Pace crossover debuts in U.S.\u00a0showrooms in September, the first of a wave of premium battery-powered challengers coming to knock the Silicon Valley lion off Simba\u2019s Rock. The I-Pace is cat-quick, head-turning and comfortable.<\/p>\n
But the I-Pace will also be fighting for pre-eminence within its own brand against a legacy of roaring, long-nose cats. In short, if you have $85,000\u00a0to spend on a Jag, do you want a stealthy EV, or a growling V-8 that sounds like, well …\u00a0a Jaguar?<\/p>\n
I grew up at race tracks lusting after long-nose\u00a01970s-era, inline-6 and V-12 powered E-type sports cars howling around vintage Trans-Am club events with Camaros and Mustangs. The English cat stood out among the American ponies, its long-nose arriving three corners before its fastback hindquarters.<\/p>\n
After years in the Ford zoo, Jaguar was re-energized when Tata bought it in 2008. The new owner gave Jag room to roam, and designers re-introduced the big cat to the world with the gorgeous, V-8 powered F-Type sports car in 2013. Grown men\u2019s knees buckled.<\/p>\n
Gone was the long hood (a victim of safety nannies), but the rest of the DNA was there: big haunches, fastback cockpit and eight-purring cylinders. It was a classic Jag for the second Golden Era of muscle cars.<\/p>\n
The I-Pace is a new Jaguar halo car for a new century.<\/p>\n
Throw out the rulebook, re-write the script:\u00a0The electric cat not only doesn\u2019t have a gas guzzler under its short front hood, it isn\u2019t even a sports car. This is a \u201cPace\u201d-edition Jaguar, as in E-Pace and F-Pace, the other SUVs that make up the Brit badge\u2019s stable.<\/p>\n
Jaguar SUVs? Crikey, what?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a Jaguar aimed at a new generation of car buyers, not 20th-century dinosaurs like me. Not only is Jag hip to the new century trend of (cash-cow) premium SUVs, it sees a new generation of buyer raised to ogle at electric iPhones and Teslas.<\/p>\n
Cruising the Palisades State Highway along the banks of the Hudson River \u2013 New York\u2019s skyline quickly disappearing in my rear-view mirror \u2013 the electric cat pounced\u00a0like a Tesla, its 90-kWh battery offering instant torque in any gear. Check that. There are no gears here, just a single-speed transmission driving an electric motor with lakes of torque.<\/p>\n
The Jag EV provokes immediate comparisons to King Tesla\u2019s lineup of Model X ute, Model S sedan and Model 3 sedan. Shrewdly, the I-Pace plays tweener.<\/p>\n
It declares itself a crossover in this SUV-crazed age, but it looks and feels more like the Tesla sedans. Its $70,495 entry price splits the base\u00a0$75,000 Model S 75D (that\u2019s 75 kWh of battery) and the $64,000\u00a0top-of-the-line, all-wheel drive Model 3 Performance model.<\/p>\n
\u00a0With its cab-forward design, its stance is more Model 3 than long-nosed Model S, but its rear hatch mimics that of the latter. The Jag is prettier than its Model X ute-mate with a streamlined roof, angular lines and scalloped rocker panels.<\/div>\n
Curiously, however, it\u2019s the Tesla (remember when Tesla was aping Jaguar XF styling?) that pulls off the sexier rear haunches.<\/p>\n
Jaguar spent a great deal of time trimming the I-Pace\u00a0for maximum aerodynamic efficiency, including nifty touches like using aerofoil fluid dynamics to wipe the back window clean (dude, that is soooo cool).<\/p>\n
But to keep its drag-coefficient below 0.3 \u2013 2.9 to be exact \u2013 the Jaguar gets skinny hips. The hippy Model S manages an impressive 0.24. Hmmm.<\/p>\n
No doubt this is because the Model S is a sedan \u2013 but then how to explain the Model X\u2019s 0.24 drag-coefficient?<\/p>\n
I first tested the I-Pace in March at Jaguar’s North American headquarters in Jersey where it deftly sliced up a low-speed autocross course courtesy of that big brick of a battery stored in the floorboards for low center of gravity. At speed through New York\u2019s rural twisties, the I-Pace isn\u2019t as nimble as the lower Model S \u2013 and out of the league of the similarly sized (96 vs. 97 cubic feet of passenger volume) Model 3 which may be the best athlete in the compact sedan class.<\/p>\n
With the Model 3 Performance model\u2019s extra oomph, it will also beat the Jag to 60 mph with a healthy 3.5 seconds vs. 4.5.<\/p>\n
Too much stoplight fun and the Jag eats battery. My Hudson trip took 140 miles on the odometer, but erased 195 miles of range from the battery. After zigging when I shoulda zagged, I found myself further from New York City than planned. Dreaded range anxiety crept in. The Jaguar became a docile kitten as I preserved electrons home.<\/p>\n
Range anxiety? An hour out of America\u2019s biggest metropolis? A reminder that infrastructure \u2013 the EV\u2019s Kryptonite\u00a0\u2013 is weak.<\/p>\n
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