Test drive Jaguar I-Pace
What will happen to the electric car in 40-degree frost, where to charge it, how much it will cost and a few more questions that worried you very much
A small training ground close to the Geneva International Airport, gloomy skies and piercing winds - this is how our first acquaintance with the I-Pace, the most important new product for Jaguar, begins. It seemed that the journalists were as worried as the engineers, for whom the I-Pace was a truly revolutionary product.
During the presentation, the director of the Jaguar range, Yan Hoban, stressed several times that the new product should completely change the rules of the game for Jaguar and the entire segment as a whole. Another thing is that I-Pace has not so many competitors yet. In fact, right now, only the American electric crossover Tesla Model X is made in a similar form factor.Later they will be joined by Audi E-tron and Mercedes EQ C - sales of these cars in Europe will begin around the first quarter of 2019.
In order to get behind the wheel of the I-Pace, you need to stand in a small queue - in addition to us there are many colleagues from the UK, as well as several well-known customers of the brand. For example, among them one could recognize the drummer and author of many Iron Maiden compositions, Nico McBrain.
The races took place on the track, equipped with a special Smart Cones technology - flashing beacons are installed on special cones, indicating the driver's trajectory. The test itself took less time than the queue. Although the range of an electric car of 480 km would be quite enough, for example, to get to neighboring France and return back. The full-fledged tests of the I-Pace will still have to wait, but we are ready to answer the most common questions about the new product right now.
The I-Pace was developed from scratch and on a new chassis. Visually, the dimensions of the electric car are comparable, for example, with the F-Pace, but at the same time, due to the electric power plant, the I-Pace turned out to be heavier. At the same time, due to the absence of an internal combustion engine (its place was taken by a second trunk), the interior of the crossover was moved forward. Along with the missing propeller shaft tunnel, this significantly increased the legroom of the rear passengers. And the I-Pace also has a very spacious rear trunk - 656 liters (1453 liters with the rear seats folded), and this is a record for a car of this size.
By the way, inside there is too much plastic, aluminum, matte chrome and a minimum of gloss that is currently fashionable. The touchscreen display is split into two sections for convenience, similar to the Range Rover Velar. There is no time to evaluate the functionality of the new crossover multimedia system, we are already in a hurry - it's time to go.
Thanks to the ideal weight distribution and stabilization system, the car behaves very confidently in sharp turns of the track, despite the weight, and perfectly obeys the steering wheel. Also, the crossover boasts one of the best-in-class aerodynamic drag coefficients - 0,29. In addition, the I-Pace has a multi-link rear suspension with optional air bellows, which is already used on many Jaguar sports models. “A real off-road sports car,” my instructor and navigator, who introduces himself as Dave, smiles.
The new Jaguar has many smart assistants that have appeared on the I-Pace. For example, this is a training system that in two weeks is able to remember and learn to adapt to the driving habits, personal preferences and typical routes of the owner. The electric car learns about the driver's approach using a key fob with a built-in Bluetooth module, after which it independently activates the necessary settings.
The crossover is also able to automatically calculate the battery charge based on topographic data, the driver's driving style and weather conditions. You can set the temperature in the cabin from home using a special application or using a voice assistant.
The I-Pace is equipped with two 78 kg silent electric motors, which are mounted on each axle. The total power of the electric car is 400 hp. Acceleration to the first "hundred" takes only 4,5 seconds, and by this indicator it really surpasses many sports cars. As for the Model X, the top-end versions of the "American" are even faster - 3,1 seconds.
The maximum speed is electronically limited to 200 km / h. Obviously, we were not allowed to fully feel the dynamics of the I-Pace on the training ground, but the smoothness of the ride and the power reserve under the pedal surprised even in five minutes of the trip.
Jaguar's electric crossover has a passport power reserve of 480 km. Even by modern standards, this is a lot, although symbolically less than that of the top modifications of the Model X. I-Pace will allow you to move comfortably within the boundaries of large cities or go with your family to the country, but long trips across Russia can turn into difficulties. Now in our country there are only about 200 charging stations for electric cars. For comparison, in Europe there are 95, in the USA - 000, and in China - 33.
You can use charging from a household network. But this is not always convenient: it takes 100 hours to recharge the batteries to 13%. Express charging is also available - at special stationary stations you can charge 80% in 40 minutes. If the driver is very limited in time, then a 15-minute replenishment of the batteries will add about 100 km of travel to the car. By the way, you can check the battery charge remotely - using a special application installed on your smartphone.
To increase the range, the I-Pace has received several auxiliary systems. For example, the battery preconditioning function: when connected to the mains, the car will automatically raise or lower the temperature of the battery pack. The British brought the novelty to Russia - here the crossover drove several thousand kilometers, including in severe frosts. The developers promise that up to -40 degrees Celsius, the Jaguar I-Pace feels great.
Yes, the electric I-Pace will be sold in Russia. The production of cars is already carried out at a plant in Graz (Austria), where they assemble another crossover - E-Pace. Prices for the electric car are promised to be announced this summer, but now we can say that they will be noticeably higher than the flagship F-Pace, the top version of which costs about $ 64.
For example, in the home market for Jaguar, the I-Pace is available for purchase in three versions starting at £ 63 (over $ 495). And while other countries subsidize the purchase of electric cars and provide all kinds of benefits for the automakers themselves, in Russia they increase the scrappage fee and keep the monstrous by modern standards import duties - 66% of the cost. So yes, the I-Pace is likely to be very expensive. In Russia, the first I-Pace will arrive at dealers this fall.
