SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Pace-setting crossover: Jaguar F-Pace R-Sport 2.0d

Sport or Utility?

Pics by Motorpress
Posted: 1 December 2016

The numbers
Base price: R871 266 incl. CO2 tax
Engine: 1999 cc DOHC, 16-valve, four-cylinder, common rail diesel with single VGT
Power: 132 kW at 4000 rpm
Torque: 430 Nm between 1750 and 2500 rpm
Gearbox: ZF 8HP45 eight-speed automatic
Zero to 100 km/h: 8.7 seconds
Maximum speed: 208 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 8.1 l / 100 km
Tank: 60 litres
Luggage: 463 – 1553 litres
All-road specs: See text
Warranty and maintenance: 5 years / 100 000 km

Jaguar’s new F-Pace crossover raises two important questions. The first is: “Why?”
It’s simple marketing; SUVs and Crossovers officially displaced sedans as the leading body style in 2014 and have grabbed yet more market share since. If you want to keep the sales graphs climbing, you’d better have SUVs in your product line-up. And when your sister company builds a line of rather tasty examples, you’d be nuts to turn your back on what it can offer in the way of expertise. The question then becomes: “Why the hell not?”

The second would probably be: “Why call it a crossover when it’s far more SUV than many others that call themselves that?” We can only guess: F-Pace is possibly considered more “sport” than “utility” because it’s built by Jaguar that makes beautiful, fast cars rather than ugly, slow pickup trucks. It could also be that Jaguar felt it might be presumptuous to call its product an SUV when co-conspirator Land Rover builds such competent vehicles of that genre.

Be that as it may, we in South Africa have only all-wheel drive models although there are apparently some 4x2 F-Paces elsewhere in the world. We have ten of them - in four trim levels (Pure, R-Sport, S and First Edition) - variously powered by two diesel engines (2.0-litre and 3.0-litre) and two versions of a 3.0 petrol motor. Their prices range from under R800 000 to a shade over R1.3-million. Our test car was an R-Sport with the two-litre Ingenium diesel and fitted with reasonably dirt-friendly 255/55 R19 rubber.

Reinforcing the all-road, if not off-road, image is ground clearance of 213 mm, pretty decent approach and departure angles of 25.5 and 26.0 degrees and wading depth of 525 mm. Dirt credibility is supplied by Jaguar’s torque-on-demand awd system that was introduced on F-Type and goes by the jaw-breaking name of Intelligent Driveline Dynamics (IDD). It preserves Jaguar’s famed rwd agility and character but transfers torque forward as needed. The changeover is very sensitive, so the car actually spends very little time in purely rear-wheel drive mode.
 
Unlike, for example, BMW X-Drive that operates on a default 60:40 (rear to front) split and distributes as needed, IDD is different. Its default is primarily 100:00, that can switch over to just the opposite at the spin of a couple of wheels. Unlike other awd systems, IDD claims to be able to predict traction loss rather than simply react to it. The moment it feels a need, it pre-emptively transfers torque to the wheels with best grip.

If this still doesn’t convince you then an Adaptive Dynamics Pack, priced at R16 600, adds Adaptive Surface Response or AdSR. Put simply, this adds the Automatic mode from Range Rover Sport’s Terrain Response System – no specialised rock crawling or sand driving, mind, just the part that lets the computer decide what would work best for what’s happening right now.

It was fitted to the test vehicle. With AdSR engaged we dealt with our tenderfoot trail - that has proved challenging to a couple of well-regarded 4x2 pickups we know – without incident. We would probably tick that option box first.

Back on asphalt we found the car’s all-steel suspension firm, set up for sporty blacktop handling rather than rough country roads, but it remained compliant and absorbed bumps well. It’s not unpleasant. Call it liveable, but not as comfy as some other crossovers, if you will.

In Jaguar road-burner guise with lots of manual gear shifting (S mode on the rotary drive selector, plus paddles) the F-Pace performed and handled brilliantly. A “Dynamic” setting on the mode selector tab (Dynamic, Normal, Eco and Snow, if AdSR hasn’t been fitted) tightens up suspension and adds urgency to throttle and steering.

F-Paces in Plain Jane guise, provided you haven’t gone crazy with the German-car-like options list, provide manually adjustable leather seats and steering wheel; push-button starting; manual hatch operation; plain analogue instruments; a plainer version of the entertainment and navigation system with an eight-inch touchscreen, and most of the usual modern conveniences including six airbags, front and rear parking aids and a reversing camera.

Upgrading to the R32 800 InControl Touch Pro pack, with 10.2” screen and virtual instruments, adds a faster and more powerful processor, more sophisticated navigation aids and on-board music storage on a hard disc drive. It also provides access to a wider range of assistance apps; like the one that calls for help if you need any and another that lets you keep tabs on your vehicle.

Accessed via cellphone, it monitors current location, security status, fuel level and recent trips – good for keeping an eye on the asset while away. Let other family members be aware, is all we are saying.

On a practical note, the spare wheel is a fully sized alloy, the boot is big, back seat head- and knee room is generous and there are enough recharge points to satisfy a whole thumblur of teenagers. Storage space is plentiful too. The car is big, solid and quiet (despite the diesel), runs like a racehorse and looks more modern inside than most of its high-end competitors.

Test unit from Jaguar-Land Rover SA press fleet


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What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.

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