What's the news?
Jaguar has revealed its much-anticipated I-Pace, an all-electric SUV that will be a rival to the likes of the Tesla Model X and the upcoming Audi Q6 e-tron quattro. Impressively, it will be on sale in just 18 months' time, ahead of key rivals from Audi and Mercedes-Benz.
Slightly smaller than the Jaguar F-Pace, the I-Pace is still claimed to be very practical, thanks to the compact packaging of its batteries. Those are stored in a flat 'skateboard' chassis under the main structure, which allows the I-Pace to have a big 530-litre boot and more rear legroom than an XF saloon.
The interior is minimalist with a 12-inch TFT screen for instruments, two other touchscreens on the centre console and a paucity of physical buttons. Jaguar says that, although this car is officially still a concept, the cabin is very close to that of the final production car, as is the cab-forward exterior styling.
Jaguar's Advanced Design Director, Julian Thomson, said that "it's great to see the market opening up suddenly with alternative propulsion systems, but also totally different customers with totally different attitudes about how they use their vehicles. What surprised us was how readily this type of vehicle took to being a Jaguar and how natural it is for Jaguar to do this type of car. It shows how we can translate our values. Proportion, balance and stance are all there - all very important Jaguar characteristics that have to be absolutely perfect - but in a totally different form."
That battery stack has a 90kWh capacity, giving the I-Pace a claimed one-charge range of better than 500km. The batteries are laid out in a 'pouch' formation, which Jaguar says has better cooling properties and allows more performance over longer time. That performance is formidable. With twin electric motors, one for each axle, the I-Pace has 400hp and 700Nm of torque. Jaguar says that it will accelerate from 0-100km/h in "around four seconds."
Those batteries can be charged from an on-street charger to full capacity in around two hours, or 90 minutes for an 80 per cent charge. Faster charging times are available from three-phase fast chargers and Jaguar says that it has built the car's on-board connectors to be able to accept even faster juice-ups from forthcoming, faster charging points.
Anything else?
While the I-Pace is a concept for now, making its world debut at this year's LA Auto Show, Jaguar is working feverishly to bring it to the market ahead of its big German competition, giving the British brand a considerable market lead on its rivals. Prices are being spoken of in the region of 10-15 per cent above that of a highly-specified F-Pace, so an Irish price tag of around the €80,000 mark seems likely, though it will depend on VRT rebates and SEAI grants of course.