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2018 Jaguar F-Pace: Ambient lighting is fun and frustrating

Like so many other automobiles from this decade, our long-term Jaguar F-Pace crossover has customizable interior lighting, a part of the $2,350 Luxury Interior Package. I've previously admitted to the fact that ambient lighting has me split in opinion. On the one hand I know that it's probably going to end up being dated and uncool in the future. On the other, I actually quite enjoy it, possibly because I grew up in the neon-fueled world of early '00s import tuner culture. I also like it from a color-coordination perspective. Our Jaguar's bold blue hue called Caesium can be brought inside with equally bright illumination. It's very satisfying. But that satisfaction of having everything just so is quickly sullied as the center stack and switches are only one color that can't be changed. Admittedly, that's completely normal, but unlike many of those other cars that use neutral white illumination, the Jag's light up in the same blue/teal color that made your Razr phone look cool so many years ago. And so whether you bathe your cabin in blue, red, purple or green light, the ambient lighting will clash with the main switch gear. You can pick a shade of blue for the ambient lighting that roughly matches the switches, but I don't want to compromise my color preference because Jaguar didn't put in LEDs in that would be neutral (or, even better, change to match the ambient settings). I have other complaints about color-matching in the car, too. The instrument panel, which is a flat screen, has a few different display modes, but most of the readouts use a similar (but not quite the same) blue/teal color as the switchgear. So that doesn't match, either. Then, in the sport mode, the instrument screen switches to red. That brings me to my next gripe: all the ambient lighting switches to red when choosing this mode. I get it, red means sporty and Jaguar wants everything about sport mode to feel sporty. But damn it, I paid for custom lighting, let me keep that lighting when I'm also in a sporty mood. I actually sometimes skip the sport mode because I want to be swathed in my favorite hue more than I want slightly more sporty driving dynamics. Oh, and of course the switchgear remains teal/blue even in sport mode. So yes, this is picky. But that's the beauty of evaluating a car like the F-Pace over a longer period of time.

Jaguar E-Type Series 3 gets tasteful upgrades thanks to E-Type UK

The Jaguar E-Type is one of the most important and recognizable cars of all time. The E-Type — also called the XK-E here in the U.S. — was in production from 1961 until 1975. That said, when most people think of E-Types, they think of the early Series I cars. The later ones (especially federalized models with those horrendous bumpers) don't get much love. E-Type UK, a restoration shop in England, is giving those Series 3 models a second life. The car in these photos is a 1974 Jaguar E-Type V12. This Series 3 underwent a 3,000-hour restoration, getting a number of upgrades along the way. The engine — originally displacing 5.3 liters — has been enlarged to 6.1 liters. It ditched the original Stromberg carbs for a custom downdraft fuel-injection system. Just take a look at those velocity stacks. The car has also been fitted with a custom stainless-steel exhaust system. Power is sent to the rear through a new close-ratio five-speed manual transmission. E-Type UK says it now makes 284 horsepower at the wheels. Other upgrades include a new steering rack, adjustable suspension with new torsion bars, AP Racing brakes with four-piston calipers and ventilated rotors and custom one-off 62 spoke 16-inch Turino wire wheels wrapped in whitewall tires. New louvres and air ducts were added to help cooling. All external lighting has been upgraded to LEDs, including the daytime-running lights. Inside, the E-Type has been fitted with air conditioning, modified heated leather seats from an XJS, iPod and Bluetooth connectivity, piano black trim and a red start button. The interior, including the factory hardtop, has also been fitted with Dynamat to reduce road noise. The car even has remote door locks. E-Type UK didn't post the price for this car, but a similar S3 E-Type is listed for GBP190,000, or about $250,000. If Series 3 or V12-powered cars aren't your thing, the website has a few listings for Series 1 cars with the classic inline-six. There's even an XK120 under the "sold" listings. Related Video:

Jaguar I-Pace makes transition to production with hardly any changes

It looks like Jaguar designer Ian Callum wasn't kidding when he said the I-Pace concept was "a preview of a five-seat production car that will be on the road in 2018." Based on these spy photos, the production I-Pace will look darn near identical to the concept. The prototype seen above, in a unique and rather groovy green camouflage wrap, retains the swoopy cab-forward design of its concept predecessor. The headlights have the same shape and still sweep back nearly to the front wheel wells, and the door handles are still flush mounted ovals placed low on the doors. At the back, the crisp crease marking the trailing edge of the hatch is intact, as well as the triangular points on the rear spoiler. There have been a few minor changes here and there. At the front, the grille doesn't have quite as much depth as the concept, and the base of the front bumper doesn't have as aggressive an air dam. The big heat extractor vent in the hood is also gone. The rear bumper has also been rounded off a bit more with a simpler rear diffuser. The side glass is in production form, so now there are seams that show where the glass rolls down. It appears the rear doors will have quite a small glass opening, as the seam is roughly at the half-way point of the window. If the mechanicals of the concept end up as unchanged as this prototype's exterior, expect the production I-Pace to have a pair of electric motors that will produce 400 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. Jaguar estimates these will propel the car to 60 mph in about 4 seconds. The motors will be supplied with power from a 90 kWh lithium-ion battery, which Jaguar says will provide a range of 220 miles. With a target date of 2018, we would expect to see the production model revealed at the end of 2017 or early in 2018. Related Video: