The Jaguar I-Pace is powered by two electric motors, one in the front and one in the back, which feature driveshafts passing through the motors themselves for compactness and are placed at each axle, producing an exceptional combined performance of 294kW and 696Nm, and all-wheel-drive, all-surface traction.
By putting your foot to pedal, the response is immediate and make no mistake - there's no build-up. The vehicle can accelerate from standing point to 100km/h in just 4.8 seconds - yes, just 4.8 seconds!
So the way I would describe it is that when you turn on a light switch, the light immediately shines brightly - there's no build up. And this is exactly what you experience in the I-Pace. So, drivers need to be very aware when putting that foot to the pedal. As you accelerate at a great speed, the vehicle slight lifts up, adding to that dramatic effect.
The instantaneous performance is matched with exceptional riding comfort. Not once did I feel uncomfortable, however, always be alert to how hard you put that foot down. Remember, easy does it!
What was very new to me, was the fact that you cannot hear the motor at all. I honestly prefer a bit of sound on a car, so this might take some time to get used to once you own your very own I-Pace.
The engineers have replaced a conventional brake vacuum servo with an electric brake booster on the I-Pace. This gives the brake system more flexibility when blending regenerative and traditional mechanical braking, providing consistent and precise pedal feel in all circumstances.
The driver is allowed to select either high or low levels of regenerative braking to maximise efficiency and optimise vehicle range. When the high regenerative mode is selected, it allows the driver to experience intuitive single-pedal driving as the car decelerates when lifting off the accelerator, reducing reliance on the brake pedal when slowing down. A maximum regenerative braking force of 0.4G is achievable. I must admit, I had trouble with this, as this was my very first experience of this. So I would advise to place your foot down delicately at first until you get the feel of it and to see which mode works best for you.
One of the features that stood out for me was the All Surface Progress Control (ASPC) which provides assistance in low traction situations. It is a low-speed cruise control, that once activated helps to a set speed while exerting optimum traction control. This feature is incredibly useful when you are in off-road situations, which I had the opportunity to experience.
Overall, getting to experience driving the Jaguar i-Pace was nothing short of an incredible experience. The vehicle handles smoothly on the long road, but be warned, it's easy to exceed the speed limit without feeling like you're going too fast. It's certainly easy on the eye and will definitely make heads turn - if that's what you're looking for in a car.
South Africa now has the Jaguar I-Pace in EV400 90 kWh AWD specification, with 4 levels of trim.
