1974 Jaguar E-type on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2022 Jaguar I-Pace Road Test Review | 762 miles in Jag's EV

A legion of new electric cars has been launched over the past couple years, so it’s easy to forget about one of the earliest entries in the electric revolution: the Jaguar I-Pace. In fact, the I-Pace is so old now that itÂ’s getting a mid-cycle refresh of sorts for the 2022 model year. Autoblog had its “First Drive” of this futuristic-looking crossover-hatchback nearly four years ago, so itÂ’s time to see where the electric Jag stands now that it has more competition.  To really get a sense of where the I-Pace fits today, I decided to take it on a road trip from Detroit, Michigan, to Buffalo, New York, and back. This would test the carÂ’s real-world highway range, its charging ability and luxury prowess as a premium crossover. It also ended up being a test of the Rust BeltÂ’s charging infrastructure and ability to facilitate EV road tripping. The trip starts with a 100% charge in Michigan, 50-degree weather and a 381-mile drive ahead of me. According to the sticker for this 2022 Jaguar I-Pace EV400 HSE, it has a 222-mile range on a full charge — thatÂ’s down from the 234 miles it was rated for in 2021. I set out, and itÂ’s all good vibes at the start. This I-Pace has the standard 20-inch wheels (not the optional, giant 22s), which pair perfectly with the air suspension to provide a truly comfy ride. The adaptive cruise control makes dealing with rush-hour traffic through Detroit easy, and the I-PaceÂ’s dual-motor powertrain, good for 394 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, is a delight to unleash when the road opens up. Even at 60 mph-plus, the I-Pace has plenty of go to pin you back like other quick EVs do today. As I make my way into Ohio and navigate through Toledo, some gripes pop up. The lane-centering system is finicky and downright scary at times. Poor lane markings cause it to abruptly yank the car left or right, and you need to be quick at the wheel to keep it from driving onto the shoulder or worse — other cars with similar lane-following tech perform significantly better on the same roads. ItÂ’s even more frustrating when I learn how good it is on a highway with clear and proper lane markings, tracking beautifully Â… until the road no longer cooperates. Its inability to cope when lane markings suddenly deteriorate makes this system hardly worth using. Watching out for its bad behavior is more mentally taxing than just turning the system off and driving without.

Jaguar F-Pace Luggage Test: How much fits in the cargo area?

The Jaguar F-Pace has been around for a while now, and perhaps it's just me, but it feels like it's been forgotten. That's a shame. This was the first time I've driven the F-Pace since the first drive event in Montenegro and therefore the first time I've really driven it in anything resembling normal conditions. And man, is it ever good, at least the R-Dynamic S you see here with the P400 engine. This is right up there with the Porsche Macan and Aston Martin DBX in terms of SUVs that are legitimately great to drive. The steering alone ... chef's kiss. But I'm here to talk about cargo capacity, so enough of that driving impressions stuff. The F-Pace is bigger than compact SUVs like the Mercedes GLC and BMW X3, but it's smaller than a GLE or X5. It's fairly similar to the Lexus RX in that way, which I just-so-happened to have luggage tested last week. Perfect timing, then! The specs say that it has 26.6 cubic-feet of space behind the back seat. I have a sneaking suspicion that volume represents a measurement from the floor to top of the seat back, or roughly the cargo cover. That's not just because what I found in the course of doing this test but because the F-Pace was reported to have 33.5 cubic-feet when it was launched back for 2017. That number seems more applicable to what you'll find in other SUVs. Either way, that's kinda why I do these tests to begin with! Here is the cargo area. It is quite deep and wide with an acceptable lift-over height. The F-Pace originally had a sliding rail system running the length of the cargo area along each side, but Jaguar has apparently replaced that with the fixed tie-down points you see here. There is a rigid cargo cover in place, which is probably good for NVH, but rubbish for cargo hauling. As a result, I will be testing with and without this cover in place. As with every Luggage Test, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife's fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D). All of the bags fit underneath the cargo cover, so that pretty much confirms that whole thing about the current cargo volume representing floor to seat back. Now, the fancy bag is a wee bit squished, but it still totally fit.

2018 Jaguar XJ stars in 'Game of Drones'

Looking for a fun way to put the its 2018 XJ in the spotlight, Jaguar turned to a fresh form of racing. The automaker placed three of the long-wheelbase XJL models in a studio, and surrounded them with illuminated, door-shaped gates. Then Jaguar brought in a pair of professional drone racers to compete in the glowing circuit, which includes pass-through of the rear of the XJL cabins. The drone pilots, donning VR headsets, sat in the rear of the 575-horsepower version of the XJL, the Jaguar XJR575, and launched the drones from the trunk of the car. They raced the drones through the gates and through the cars at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. "The course was a great test, but the fact we were able to go at such speeds proves how much space the doors of the Jaguar XJL gave us," said the winning drone pilot, Brett Collis. "Despite having to fly through the cabin, we were still pushing the drones to their top speeds." The "Game of Drones," as Jaguar dubbed the race, took place at Alexandra Palace in London, but the automaker is bringing similar experiences to more locations. Jaguar plans to go on an "Art of Performance Tour," where it will bring drone and Smart Cone driving challenges to the public, free of charge.