Jaguar reveals its new electric luxury SUV the I-Pace

Ahead of the competition, including Audi, BMW and Mercedes, Jaguar is releasing the first purely electric luxury SUV. The 294 kW Jaguar I-Pace will have a starting price of 77,850 euros and a 90 kWh lithium-ion battery.

The Audi e-tron Quattro will be coming in August, and Mercedes and BMW have announced similar models for 2019. And while the I-Pace is more expensive than a Jaguar SUV with a combustion motor, it will be cheaper than the Tesla Model X, which was released in 2015.

Two motors, which were developed in-house by Jaguar, will power the front and rear axles with a system performance of 294 kW and a torque of 696 Nm. In only 4.8 seconds the EV will be able to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h and the 90 kWh lithium-ion battery will enable a range of up to 480 km according to WLTP. The Jaguar will consume between 21,2 and 24,2 kWh per 100 km. The battery will charge to 80% in 40 minutes at a 100-kW CCS fast charging station, and will use a type 2 charging port.

The driver can select different power recovery modes over a touch screen, where the highest level can apparently emulate the “One-Pedal-Feeling”. In dense traffic, it will also be possible to deactivate the creep function, and the driver can then break using only slight pressure on the gas pedal, even on a slope.

The preconditioning offers a far more luxurious service however, as the vehicle will regulate its internal temperature to a preset while charging, and the charging status and progress can be monitored via a phone app. For this reason, the I-Pace will also have a telematics unit. The 4G Wifi hotspot will allow up to 8 devices to simultaneously connect to the internet.

The wheelbase will be 2.99 m wide and have a length of 4.68 m, making it smaller than the F-Pace. However the available internal space is larger, allowing for five adults to be seated in the vehicle, while the trunk will have 656 litres of space.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwNC10mtkLI

The I-Pace will use some components from previous Jaguar vehicle models, but is a completely new design. This was already quite visible during the presentation of a prototype in Munich last year. “We resisted the temptation to simply electrify an existing vehicle,” said I-Pace project manager Wolfgang Ziebart. As a result, the lithium-ion battery comprised of 432 pouch cells could be placed in the floor of the vehicle to save space. The result is a balanced 50-50 weight distribution and a center of weight 130 millimetres lower than the F-Pace. Another highlight of the vehicle is the automatic height adjustment system, which ensures sufficient clearance and ideal suspension conditions.

The vehicle itself will be assembled at Magna Steyr in Austria, and the chassis is made of glued and riveted aluminum.