SMALL JAG - BIG IDEAS (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 43

In 2020, Jaguar launched a much improved version of their smallest SUV, the E-PACE. Like the earlier version, it aimed to give buyers another, very interesting option in the growing segment for premium-badged compact SUVs. But delivered its proposition in much smarter packaging.

Modelsword count: 9

5dr SUV (2.0 petrol, 2.0 Diesel, 1.5 PHEV petrol)

Historyword count: 361

The E-PACE was the small Jaguar SUV that was supposed to push the brand's sales to a whole new level. Launched in 2017, it certainly opened up a fresh conquest segment for the company, but three years into production hadn't been quite as successful as the marketeers had hoped. The 2021 model year though, bought this heavily revised version. The name suggests an electric connection - misleadingly as it turns out. Back in 2020 Jaguar had another SUV - the battery-powered I-PACE - to provide that. But the E-PACE did gain a pretty significant degree of electrification in this improved form, thanks to the completely fresh 'Premium Transverse Architecture' platform that allowed it to offer mild hybrid petrol and diesel units, plus a freshly added PHEV plug-in variant. There was also a thoroughly upgraded interior with vastly improved media tech. And subtle changes outside to round things off. Like the original E-PACE, this updated version shared just about all its engineering with its JLR cousin and arguably closest rival, the Range Rover Evoque. But where that car was launched to an established bank of loyal customers, the E-PACE had to carve out a complete fresh niche for itself - which didn't prove to be easy. Firstly because the brand had to import it from a production line in Austria, so pricing was inevitably of the premium sort. And secondly because the fluid handling reviewers and customers expected from a Jaguar was originally hobbled by steel underpinnings so weighty that they made early versions of this car heavier than the brand's bigger F-PACE SUV in the next class up. Which then of course blighted running costs and efficiency too. In 2020 at the launch of this revised model, the brand claimed that the 'PTA' platform and associated engineering of this revised model would make a huge difference to both these issues. To some extent it did, but sales were still slow. A base P160 petrol variant was added in 2020; and the top P300e PHEV was replaced by a P270e variant in 2024. All E-PACE sales ceased finally when Jaguar pulled out of the new car market at the end of 2024.

What You Getword count: 673

Where rival brands merely shrink larger models to create more compact SUVs, Jaguar opted to create something quite different with the E-PACE. This, according to the Coventry company, was always 'the sportscar of its class'. It certainly has much more of a purposeful look than most of its rivals from this era, especially in facelifted form. And that's all thanks to what the designers claimed was inspiration borrowed from their F-TYPE sportscar. Which is appropriate because though, by and large, buyers of compact SUVs aren't especially bothered if their cars don't drive in a particularly sporting manner, they do like them to look sporty - as this one certainly does at the front, where the changes made to this updated model were subtle but significant. The new LED headlamps gained a more distinctive 'Double J' Daytime Running Light signature above base trim; and they flank a smarter grille with diamond detailing. Further down, there's a revised lower aperture incorporating a more distinctive blade element. Most variants also featured animated directional indicators - and virtually all featured the brand's 'R-Dynamic' styling package, primarily identifiable at the front by a less cluttered finish for the huge corner cut-outs. At the side, if you happen to be familiar with Jaguar's mid-sized F-PACE SUV, the reduction in size of this E-PACE will be particularly obvious. Approach from the rear and you'll find the taut surfaces and the muscular haunches fusing with the sharp lines of smarter I-PACE-inspired LED light clusters that incorporate a 'race circuit chicane' illuminated graphic and also gain animated directional indicators. It's all very different from this model's F-PACE stablemate - as is what lies beneath. In place of the sophisticated aluminium structure of that larger SUV, the E-PACE used the steel-based underpinnings the same as those found in compact Land Rover models like the Range Rover Evoque and the Discovery Sport. Inside, as part of this update, the ambiance was smartened with nicer materials and enhanced screen connectivity. You sit a little higher than in most rivals and F-TYPE sportscar references include the way that the driver's zone arches round you, designated by double-stitching that flows across the instrument binnacle and down into the unusual grab handle that frames the left hand side of the centre stack. The three-spoke dished steering wheel's also recognisable from the F-TYPE too, which was one of many redesigned features in this much improved model's cabin. The others include the more tactile gear lever with its smart 'cricket ball' stitching and a classier shiny black finish for the round ventilation dials just above. Despite all of that though, what an earlier E-PACE owner would be most likely to notice first about this enhanced interior is its significant step forward in media evolution. A more sophisticated central 11.4-inch 'Pivi Pro' screen brought things more up to date and could complemented by a (usually optional) 12.3-inch 'Interactive Driver Display' instrument binnacle screen. There's plenty of storage space too - between the seats, at the bottom of the centre stack and in the large glovebox or the big door bins. When it's time to take a seat in the rear, the swept-back roof line suggests that headroom in the back might be at something of a premium, but in the event, rear seat head room is actually quite good - and will be even if your E-PACE features an optional panoramic glass roof. The cabin will feel pretty cramped if you have to fit in a third occupant, but that's par for the course in this segment and you do at least get a noticeably low centre transmission tunnel, plus neat little rear C-pillar mini-windows let in a bit of extra light. As for the boot, well the hatch rises to reveal one of the largest luggage compartments in the compact SUV segment, offering a 577-litre capacity that can easily swallow a folded buggy, a full set of golf clubs sideways or six flight suitcases. When everything's folded, your floor area will be almost flat, freeing up 1,234-litres of total capacity.

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