Jaguar F-Pace review, test drive

We get behind the wheel of Jaguar's first SUV – the F-Pace.

Published on Apr 11, 2016 03:20:00 PM

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This Jaguar newborn represents the carmaker's first foray into the crossover/SUV segment. Jaguar is a late entrant in this space but that’s probably because this has always been sister concern Land Rover's territory. When conceptualised, the brief was to have a Jaguar that would compete against the BMW X3 and Audi Q5. But then, along came the Porsche Macan and it got Jaguar thinking, hey, why aren’t we doing that? And thus, we have on hand, the first SUV from the carmaker. So, does the F-Pace make it all work? To find out, we made our way to a tiny Balkan country on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.

The rain gods in Montenegro are playing games but that isn't going to stop me from getting a full taste of the new Jag. The winding roads around Podoriga provide the perfect playground and I get my hands on the 3.0-litre diesel V6.

As I set off, the car feels big and I notice the high bonnet line. But this feeling doesn't last long. After quite a bit of sprinting down hilly roads, I realise, the F-Pace feels more sports car than an SUV.

From the word go, the V6 that churns out 300hp and a whopping 700Nm of torque puts a smile on my face. The engine is butter-smooth and wherever in the rev range I extend my foot, it belches out a massive wave of torque that I can ride endlessly on. Thing is, it delivers all this power in such a refined manner that I often don’t realise how quick I’m going till the corner comes up. Hard on the brakes, the eight-speed automatic gearbox shifts down seamlessly, the nose dives into the corner, the steering offers just the right measure of feedback, the perfectly balanced body follows through and bang, I'm on the power again. It climbs up the hillside like a mountain goat, changing directions with utmost ease. The roads are a little wet and grimy from the rain but that doesn’t deter the F-Pace; it holds on to the road tight, the four-wheel-drive system ensuring power is transferred to the front wheels whenever necessary.