Since its official unveiling at the Frankfurt International Auto Show in September last year and then again at the Los Angeles International Motor Show in November, the 2017 Jaguar F-Pace, the first ever SUV from British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, has been getting positive reviews from both motoring enthusiasts and critics.
The 2017 F-Pace is, in fact, regarded as the most important car in Jaguar’s recent history because once it rolls out in the second half of this year, it will be up against not only a very strong but quite an elite competition.
While previous reports say that its main competitor in the segment is the Porsche Macan, apparently, it was just the tip of the iceberg. It turns out that the 2017 F-Pace will also go head-to-head with other luxury SUVs including the Audi Q5, the Volvo XC60, and the BMW X3.
Reports have it that Jaguar Land Rover is determined to make its first ever SUV to truly stand out from the elite competition by offering something pretty special to consumers and would-be buyers, reports Carbuyer of UK.
Jaguar’s design philosophy
Although the 2017 F-Pace is the first ever foray of the British luxury carmaker in the SUV segment, its design pretty much stuck with the Jaguar’s current design philosophy.
Traces of the Jaguar XF and the Jaguar XE executive saloons are very obvious in the 2017 Jaguar F-Pace.
While it may have adopted some of the design cues from its predecessor sedans, there is no denying that the 2017 F-Pace is a handsome SUV, accentuated by its raised ride height and wide air intakes below the headlights, which clearly set it apart from other models in the Jaguar range.
Jaguar actually used tried-and-tested manufacturing techniques and materials with the 2017 F-Pace and it succeeded in coming up with a short, sporty-looking overhangs while maximizing interior space, which is premium among SUV buyers these days.
Engine and mechanical underpinnings
The 2017 Jaguar F-Pace also shares the same engine and mechanical underpinnings with the Jaguar XE, giving buyers the option for a 2.0-liter diesel engine with 178 bhp, a 3.0-liter diesel engine with 296 bhp, and a supercharged V6 gasoline engine with 375 bhp.
The SUV is a rear-wheel drive as standard, with a four-wheel drive as an option for buyers who prefer to have that extra grip on the road. It also comes with eight-speed automatic transmission, although there is also an option for a six-speed manual gearbox for its rear-wheel drive 2.0-liter diesel engine variant.
Meanwhile, Automobile has made a review of the 2017 Jaguar F-Pace following a test drive of the vehicle in Rjeplog, Sweden recently.
Jaguar hosted a media event at its Revi facility, a winter testing site that Jag shared with its sister company Land Rover. Every vehicle built by the English companies comes through the Revi facility at some point during its development to get shaken down over 35 miles of circuits and skidpads carved into an ice-covered lake.
The 2017 Jaguar F-Pace is splendidly good in terms of performance for a vehicle considered more for moving people.
As the first SUV vehicle of Jaguar, the 2017 F-Pace will be the British luxury carmaker’s ticket to growing its luxury vehicle catalog, with reports that at least two more SUVs are now in the works – the E-Pace and the J-Pace.
Motoring enthusiasts and experts believe that the 2017 Jaguar F-Pace will quickly become Jaguar Land Rover’s best-seller once it starts coming out of the motoring retail markets beginning in the second half of this year.
As of the end of last year, Jaguar has sold 16,000 units in the US while its sister company, the Land Rover, shipped 51,000 vehicles in the US.
It is expected that the arrival of the 2017 Jaguar F-Pace would help turn things around for Jaguar Land Rover, particularly in the luxury SUV market in the US.