Test drive Jaguar F-Pace
AvtoTachki's old friend Matt Donnelly respects the Jaguar because he drives the XJ himself. They could not meet with F-Pace for a long time, and when this happened, the Irishman compared the crossover with a security guard and offered to change his nameplate.
Jaguar F-Pace, judging by the advertisements, must be very cool. But I would say otherwise: this crossover is much more brutal and more attractive than can be expressed by the phrase "elegant and stylish". The English crossover has a very aggressive appearance. In a gentlemen's club, he would definitely work as a security guard, and not slide on a pole.
It's a crossover, so it's pretty tall - the body of the F-Pace looks like two bricks, the edges of which are aligned after years of water washing. The windows, apart from the windshield, are rather narrow. In our test car, they were also dark, making the Jaguar look like a bouncer in sunglasses.
The car is endowed with a tall and flat face with a short nose. It is perforated with four large black holes and two tiny headlights. Some cars have a welcoming face with an obvious smile, while others look aggressive. As for the F-Pace, everything is not clear. He looks like an ideal bodyguard: he does not express any emotions exactly until he needs to throw you out of the room.
And yes, this Jaguar is undoubtedly strong enough to toss. The top of the hood is sharply ribbed, but flat enough - just like an athlete's belly. The bulging rear wheel arches and large wheels only emphasize that the car is really fast.
The aesthetics will surely disappoint the rear and sides of the car, which would suit any premium car. The laws of aerodynamics, alas, have little respect for the skill of the artist, so science simply says that these are the best shapes for this type of body. This is why the back and sides are just flat pieces of metal underneath tiny windows.
Small windows mean an awful lot of metal. This, in turn, means that the choice of color must be approached wisely, since you will see it very often. In my opinion, the dark green (British Racing Green), which was painted in the test car, suits him perfectly. He is very traditional, calm and kind of says: "Show off is not my most impressive feature yet."
The vibrant colors seem to somehow squeeze the F-Pace and make it look less masculine. In my opinion, the two most awful colors for this car are black and blue metallic. Black because this Jaguar is becoming a dirt magnet. Blue metallic - because it makes the car look incredibly similar to the Porsche Macan. That would be nice for a Peugeot or Mitsubishi, but if you bought a Jaguar you want people to understand it. Especially when it comes to the F-Pace, which is much better than the Macan.
It's very important to mention here that the car we tested was powered by a 6L V3,0 diesel and an eight-speed ZF "automatic" - the same one found on Bentleys and fast Audi. The crossover has the same chassis as the new Discovery Sport - with adaptive suspension and electric power steering. Jaguar has spent billions of pounds to develop all of this.
The body of the F-Pace was created by the same man who revived Aston Martin and invented the F-Type. If you buy a crossover with a different engine, you will still get a body from the creator of Aston Martin and a cool chassis, but there will still be differences. Such a car will be brutally beautiful, but you may no longer feel as confident in racing in a straight line, competing with something more or less sporty.
The name of the SUV is rather strange. The "F" has a marketing implication: Jaguar tries to hypnotize potential buyers into believing it is a tall version of the F-Type sports car. Where the Pace comes from, I have no idea. Maybe this is something about feng shui?
Don't be fooled by a marketing gimmick: Even a cool 3,0-liter diesel crossover isn't a sports car. It is nimble, overtaking other SUVs and even most sedans and hatchbacks, but loses out to a fast German sedan or a real sports car.
The excellent adaptive suspension means that thousands of bytes in the car's computer are responsible for monitoring and adjusting the ride, resulting in an incredible ride and confidence that the road is great. At low speeds and on rough terrain, the suspension provides enough suspension to let you know you're in serious gear and not in a sofa on wheels. As soon as you start moving quickly, the car appears to be glued to the road. The driver does not feel at all that he is in the crossover: the car, like the devil on his shoulder, nudges him to get a little more driving pleasure.
If you usually travel on flat roads, know that the F-Pace has the same ground clearance as the Discovery Sport and a very smart computer that keeps the motor from sending torque to the rear wheels only. You are unlikely to get stuck, but deep puddles and hills with sticky slurry are best avoided - this is not at all the kind of car on which you can go hunting, fishing, and so on. But suddenly bad weather on the way to the dacha or climbing to the base of the ski resort is generally not a problem for the F-Pace.
The same computer that controls the suspension has a great effect on the electronic steering and brakes. This brain is like a parent for a baby: it does a brilliant job of making the driver believe that he (or she) is in charge here. The car gives the maximum sensation from pressing the gas pedal, but at the same time makes sure that everything is as safe as possible.
The Jaguar F-Pace isn't perfect for me. There are one or two design features that I don't like. For example, I don't understand why the Sports badge is red and green. It's like Jaguar says a sports car should be Italian. It seems to me that red and white with blue and the shape of the coat of arms of Great Britain would suit him.
Inside there is plenty of space in the front and in the trunk. Surprisingly, the F-Pace is wide: there is plenty of room not only for the legs, but also for the shoulders. In theory, even three adults can fit in the second row, but only for a short trip. However, it will be quite difficult for them to get back, because the doors here are quite small.
It immediately seems that the position of the driver's seat is a little strange, although the seat itself is very comfortable and offers many adjustments. But for an SUV, you sit too low. Given that the seats are bulky and the windows are small, rear visibility suffers. However, you quickly get used to this - thanks to the parking sensors, which work great.
Inside there are all the normal "toys" that you would expect to see in a car of this class. The steering wheel is slightly overloaded with a lot of buttons and levers, but the front panel, on the contrary, is not at all cluttered. Fully digital tidy and disappearing automatic transmission washer - there is little to see until the engine is running.
In the center of the front panel there is a large touchscreen, which shows information about everything: here both navigation and vehicle data. All music is played through 11 speakers, which do not distort the sound at any volume level. I was surprised to find that my seven-year-old son can easily connect a smartphone to a car, download a bunch of annoying cartoons to the built-in hard drive and start it up in seconds. And this is all in the system that defeated my old brain.
The Jaguar F-Pace is a very comfortable and functional car. I might have expected a little more from the brand, but the quality becomes apparent as soon as you start using the car. You immediately realize that the crossover has absolutely everything you need, and it works great.
There is one unique gadget in the F-Pace, worthy of a separate mention. This is a durable rubberized bracelet. It can replace the key in case you cannot take it with you and leave it in the car. A great invention for nudists.
I really want to buy a fast coupe, but I don't have enough money and I don't know how to negotiate with my wife at all. So if I did have to change the car right now, I would choose the powerful version of the F-Pace to keep everyone happy. It seems to be love.
| Body type | Universal |
| Dimensions (length / width / height), mm | 4731/1936/1652 |
| Wheelbase, mm | 2874 |
| Curb weight, kg | 1884 |
| engine's type | Turbodiesel |
| Working volume, cubic meters cm | 2993 |
| Max. power, l. from. | 300 at 4000 rpm |
| Max. cool. moment, Nm | 700 at 2000 rpm |
| Drive type, transmission | Full, 8-speed automatic transmission |
| Max. speed km / h | 241 |
| Acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h, s | 6,2 |
| Fuel consumption (mixed cycle), l / 100 km | 6 |
| Price from, $. | 60 590 |
The editors would like to express their gratitude to JQ Estate and the administration of the Parkville cottage community for their help in organizing the shooting.
