Jaguar E-PACE Review & Prices

The Jaguar E-Pace is a sporty-looking small SUV with seats for five. Its sleek looks aim to turn your attention away from the Volvo XC40, BMW X2 and Mercedes GLA. It's a bit posh, British and a bit sporty, like Prince William playing cricket.

The sporting theme continues in the Jaguar E-Pace’s interior. It all looks very nice with a sweeping dashboard design and plenty of metal-effect inserts and leather trims, and the latest update improved quality. The posh climate control dials, nicked from the I-Pace, are a welcome touch.

The infotainment used to be another weak spot, being both glitchy and sluggish. It’s greatly improved as of 2021 and a match for the Germans, so Jag has seen the error of its ways.

You won’t have any trouble adjusting the front seats to find your ideal seating position – regardless of whether you’re Harlem Globetrotter-tall or professional jockey-small. Things in the back are less comfortable for tall passengers, though, and carrying three adults abreast is a definite no – on long journeys at least.

The Jaguar E-Pace’s boot is also smaller than some alternatives, although its wide opening and lack of a load lip make sliding heavy objects in a breeze. And, it’s still plenty big enough to carry a family’s luggage for a week's holiday.

Performing more mundane tasks such as commuting in the city, the Jaguar E-Pace’s high driving position makes you feel safe and gives you a great view out. Visibility out the back isn’t so good but all models come with a rear camera and all-round sensors, so even if you hate reversing you’ll find the Jaguar E-Pace is easy to park.

Out in the country, the Jaguar E-Pace’s suspension does a better job of soaking up bumps than it does at slow speeds and it has plenty of grip in corners. But, it still feels like a fairly big, heavy car and consequently can’t match a BMW X2’s ability to put a smile on your face.

That said, the Jaguar doesn’t suffer from the BMW’s tyre noise when you’re driving at speed – there is a little wind noise at a cruise – and it feels planted and composed. Range-topping models have plenty of driver assistance tech too, that’ll accelerate and brake for you in traffic jams – just the thing if your commute takes in busy traffic.

Sadly, the Jaguar E-Pace isn’t particularly cheap to run, and can’t match the Audi Q2 or BMW X2’s engines for efficiency, although all models bar the entry diesel come with grippy four-wheel drive as standard. In fact, if you’re looking for an SUV that can handle more than a slippery road, then the Jaguar E-Pace does a pretty good job.

However, if you spend most of your motoring life in town, the powerful E-Pace PHEV with its 34-mile electric-only range is worth a look.

And that pretty much encapsulates the Jaguar E-Pace, it’s a big, solid and reasonably practical SUV that will appeal to you if you’re more interested in your new SUV looking sporty than feeling particularly athletic to drive.

Head over to our Jaguar E-Pace deals page to see how much you can save when buying through Carwow. You can also check out the latest used E-Pace models as well as other used Jaguars. You can also sell your car online through Carwow.

The Jaguar E-Pace looks expensive on paper versus models like the BMW X2 and Volvo XC40 and things don’t look any better when you take a closer look at the specs.

Sure, Jaguar tries to even the balance by packing the E-Pace with equipment – even basic models get electrically adjustable and heated seats, a reversing camera and a powerful stereo – but generous kit levels can’t stop the E-Pace feeling dated when compared to alternatives.

The Jaguar E-Pace is a refined cruiser, but it lacks the cornering poise and suspension comfort that you expect of a Jaguar

In town

In town, the Jaguar E-Pace’’s suspension picks up every bump and surface change on the road, so it is worth avoiding models with huge 20-inch wheels that amplify the problem.

Visibility out of the Jaguar is hampered by its small back window and large rear pillars, although parking is less of an issue because all models come with a reversing camera and front parking sensors.

Hate parking? A 360-degree camera is optional and gives you a bird’s-eye view of the car’s surroundings, which is handy when you’re navigating width restrictors or just want to double-check you’ve parked straight in your bay.

On the motorway

The Jaguar E-Pace’s engines have to work hard when you call for a quick burst of acceleration and performance is also held back by an automatic gearbox that is slow to change down. On the upside, the Jaguar is a quiet cruiser with only a little wind whistle to upset you at higher speeds. 

On a twisty road

The Jaguar E-Pace is based on a Range Rover Evoque and, as a result, it is quite heavy – in fact, it is heavier than the larger Jaguar F-Pace. When it’s carrying all this weight, the E-Pace needs firm suspension to stop leaning in corners and there is minimal lean in the corners, but the downside is it picks up all the lumps and bumps in the road.

The steering and brakes are two more bones of contention. The former doesn’t give you the confidence-inspiring feel you would expect of a Jaguar, while the latter struggle with the E-Pace’s weight

The Jaguar E-Pace has comfortable seats with lots of adjustment and an interior that is crammed full of smaller storage space, however the boot is small compared to alternatives

Getting a comfortable driving position in the Jaguar E-Pace is easy because all models come with a 12-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat and an adjustable steering wheel.

The wide range of height adjustment means tall or small, you’ll get a decent view out and a memory function means it’s easy to return the seat to your position after someone else has used the car.

The front passenger seat misses out on this memory function but does have 10-way electrical adjustment and both front seats are also heated. Want more seat adjustment? HSE models’ front seats are 16-way adjustable.

Jaguar loves to brag about the number of cubby spaces inside the E-Pace and it is hard not to think that they might be onto something. You get a big glove box, a large space under the centre armrest, two deep cup holders, a tray for your phone and huge door bins in all four doors.

Space in the back seats

Even with the panoramic glass roof fitted, six-footers get enough headroom in the back of the Jaguar E-Pace and knee room is good too. What’s not so good are the E-Pace’s tight footwells which might begin to grate on longer journeys. The high window line means smaller kids also won’t be able to see out, which could make them feel car sick.

The Jaguar's raised ride and wide-opening rear doors mean it is easy to fit a child seat in the back of the E-Pace – although the seat’s removable ISOFIX covers will be easy to lose – and with three USB plugs, you have plenty of capacity for charging iPads and the like.

Boot space

The Jaguar E-Pace has a 577-litre boot capacity, although Jaguar has a history of inflating numbers by quoting to the roof and not releasing the volume to the parcel shelf as all other manufacturers do. The space isn’t as usable as you’ll find in alternatives like the BMW X2, which isn't far off capacity-wise, at 560 litres. The Mercedes GLA (485 litres) and Volvo XC40 (452 litres) are miles off, though.

The Jaguar’s large boot opening and flat boot floor make it easy to load the car. Even with the back seats folded away – they split 60:40 by yanking a leaver on the tops of the back seats – the boot floor remains pretty flat.

There are plenty of handy boot features, too. Like a 12V power socket, tether hooks so solid the E-Pace could have a double life as an HGV and a netted cubby on the side of the boot. The only thing missing? A place to store the parcel shelf.

The Jaguar E-Pace’s interior has a sporty style, but alternatives feel better built and have better infotainment systems

The Jaguar E-Pace feels sporty on the inside. You get a swooping dashboard design that angles towards your driver’s seat and a meaty grab handle that splits the cabin between you and your front-seat passenger. It does feel a bit bland though and you don’t get the pretty features – like turbine-style air vents – that you get in a Mercedes.

Build quality is good in most parts but not as consistently good as the BMW X2’s interior, thin plastics are used for the Jaguar's centre console and also surround the infotainment screen. On the flip side, you get a pretty second screen that’s dedicated to the car’s ventilation system.

While we’re on the subject, the E-Pace comes with Jaguar’s Pivi infotainment system which has a large display, colourful graphics and quick response. According to Jaguar, 80% of the system's functions are available with just two button presses. Having said that, it’s not as easy to navigate as BMW’s iDrive system and you also miss out on physical control like a BMW-style scroll wheel.

Upgrade to the Pivi Pro system and you get faster startup times and connected functions, with an app that allows you to talk to the car remotely to check things like fuel level. A head-up display and a digital instrument binnacle are also on the options list.

The standard stereo – with its six speakers and 180W output – is pretty good for a basic setup but the 400W Meridian system (fitted to SE models and above), with 11 speakers and a subwoofer, is well worth considering if you like to immerse yourself in your music.

The Jaguar E-Pace is available with one diesel engines and a plug-in hybrid.

The D200 diesel makes pretty good power and returns fuel economy of 43.3mpg, though it will be better suited to those who do a lot of motorway miles, and year-one Vehicle Excise Duty is quite pricey.

If you do more shorter, urban journeys, and particularly if you can regularly charge it, the P300e petrol-electric hybrid is your best bet. It has a large battery and an electric motor which means it can drive up to 37 miles on battery power alone, so you could make big savings on fuel costs – though it is more expensive to buy in the first place. 

Officially, the P300e returns fuel economy of 188mpg, but that’ll tumble once the battery goes flat. On the bright side, first-year road tax is very cheap, and this will be the best option for company car buyers, too.

The Jaguar E-Pace scored five stars for safety when it was crash tested by Euro NCAP in 2017, although you’d expect newer five-star alternatives – which have been subjected to tougher testing – would be even safer. The Jaguar’s safety features include multiple airbags, automatic emergency brakes and a camera mounted on the roof which beams a picture onto to the rearview mirror so you can see out the back when the boot’s fully loaded.

The Jaguar E-Pace comes with a three-year/unlimited-mileage warranty, however, Jaguar often underperforms in owner satisfaction surveys. The E-Pace has been recalled for numerous reasons relating to areas like its brakes, fuel system, lights and engine emissions.