Jaguar I-PACE Review & Prices

The Jaguar I-Pace is a sleek, fast electric SUV that combines dramatic styling with some proper driving fun. It was one of the first EV SUVs on sale — especially when it came to premium brands — but Jaguar never really made the most of its early success. In that sense, it’s a bit like the Apollo moon missions — the I-Pace got there first, but didn’t have the staying power.

That said, power was always an I-Pace high point, as it only ever came in two-motor form with four-wheel drive and more than 400hp when most others make do with basic versions that have two-wheel drive and nowhere near as much speed.

The Jaguar I-Pace is also just as good around corners as it is on the straights between them, which is still a genuine rarity in the electric car world. Certainly, it’s more fun to drive than a BMW iX3, Mercedes EQE SUV, or Audi Q6 e-tron, but all of those are rather more practical than the Jag, and generally speaking have more range too.

The I-Pace has arguably Jaguar’s best modern interior, in that it’s lower slung than you’d think but looks high tech thanks to a skeletal centre console. This houses the big main touchscreen as well as a smaller air conditioning screen (backed up by two physical rotary controllers which are very handy), and digital instruments too.

Jaguar I-Pace: Electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 298 miles
Efficiency: 2.9 miles per kWh
Battery size: 90kWh
Max charge speed: 100kW
Charge time AC: 12hrs 6mins, 0-100% at 7.4kW / 8hrs 6mins, 0-100% at 11kW
Charge time DC: 44 mins, 10-80% at 100kW
Charge port location: Left front
Power output: 400hp

The screens are all pretty decent, and were improved in a 2021 update that gave the I-Pace Jaguar’s really rather good — if still not quite so good as the Germans’ — ‘Pivi Pro’ software. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were both included, and overall quality in the I-Pace’s cabin was really good, certainly better than anything Tesla does, and up there with the Germans.

The front seats — leather-wrapped — are very adjustable and the driving position is comfortable, with lots of headroom. Space in the back is also surprisingly really good, given the low roof line, and four-up, the I-Pace feels properly roomy. Getting five in is a squeeze, though — that centre rear seat is very narrow.

The boot is good too, stretching to more than 600 litres depending on what you do with the back seats, and there’s a handy, but small, front-boot in the nose which is a good place to stash the car’s charging cable.

Even with four on board and a full boot, the I-Pace genuinely has a whiff of classic Jaguar sports cars about the way it drives. With 400hp from its two electric motors, it’ll get from standstill to 62mph in just 4.5 seconds, which is impressive — quicker than a Porsche 718 Cayman.

The I-Pace is also good in the corners, with meaty, but sharp, steering and a talent for disguising its weight (all electric cars are heavier than you’d think). Four-wheel drive means that it’s good at dealing with slippery roads, and even with the SUV-like space inside, it doesn’t roll much in fast cornering. Basically, the I-Pace is really good to drive.

However, to keep all that weight under control, Jaguar’s engineers had to give the I-Pace quite stiff suspension, so it’s not as comfy over bumps as you’d like it to be, especially at low urban speeds. It’s smooth at a motorway cruise, though.

One problem with the I-Pace is its range. A claimed 298 miles was fine when the I-Pace was first launched in 2018, but now that’s out-done by more mainstream models from the likes of Hyundai and Kia, never mind Audi and Mercedes. The I-Pace was eventually upgraded to 100kW fast charging, but even a Vauxhall Corsa Electric can manage that.

If you can live with the range, the I-Pace is really good at long motorway journeys, thanks to its comfort and refinement and the advanced safety kit that it comes with, including adaptive cruise control. Tyre roar does pick up a bit at motorway speeds, though.

If you want an electric family car with a bit more style and certainly more driver appeal than most others, then this sleek SUV is definitely worth a look. You can find some great used Jaguar I-Pace deals on Carwow, as well as plenty of other used Jaguars from our network of trusted dealers. You can sell your current car through Carwow, too.

There are a number of different trim options in the I-Pace range: S; SE; Black; HSE and HSE Black. Even with the entry level model, the car is well-equipped with 18-inch alloys, LED headlights and a three-screen infotainment setup.

Move through the range and more gadgets are added, including 20-inch wheels and heated and ventilated seats on the HSE – and a panoramic sunroof and upgraded sound system on the HSE Black.

The Jaguar was usually more affordable than alternatives from Mercedes and Audi, but its case was latterly undone by talented electric models from Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai, Kia, and Ford, which could out-perform it for much less money.

There’s no mistaking that the I-Pace is a Jaguar with its performance, but unpredictable brakes and poor visibility mean it’s not perfect

In town

There’s a sporty feel to the Jaguar – as you would expect from a brand with this heritage. That means that when driving around towns or cities at lower speeds the suspension doesn’t cope as well as you might light when going over bumps in the road. Things improve when you increase the speed, but that’s obviously not advisable along the high street!

However, air suspension is available as an option, which makes things more comfortable.

Visibility out of the front window is very good because you are faced with a huge pane of glass that gives a great view of the road ahead. It’s slightly hampered by large thick pillars between the windscreen and the door, which almost create their own blindspot.

Meanwhile, rear visibility isn’t that great, either. The window is quite small and the exterior design of the car means that the rear pillar creates large blindspots either side of the glass.

The brakes can behave quite strangely, switching from not doing much when you press down, to suddenly biting and then bringing you – and the car – to a complete stop. It’s almost like there are two stages, which can be explained by the way the regenerative braking system is set up in order to conserve energy.

On the motorway

While the comfort level improves as the speed increases, drivers will experience more tyre noise when heading up and down motorways. That can become annoying, even if there is no engine noise (due to the fact there is no actual engine), but that’s why it is so noticeable.

However, on the move, the car feels smooth and inspires confidence through its decent ride and impressive acceleration. That is especially welcoming when looking to overtake, with other cars being passed and dispatched with ease. Be aware, though, that the faster you drive, the quicker your range will fall as the battery/electric motor combo is working harder to deliver the performance that is being required to press on down the main roads.

On a twisty road

Jaguar stands for sportiness, but that can be a challenge when faced with a car that weighs more than two tonnes. However, when cornering, things stay pretty stable – there is minimal roll and at no point do you feel that the I-Pace is out of shape.

The Jaguar is great fun to drive through the bends, with precise, nicely weighted steering giving drivers confidence to attack corners with gusto, safe in the knowledge that there is a good level of grip and poise available.

There's loads of storage in the I-Pace. You can't get through-loading, but fold the seats down and there’s acres of room available

The interior offers a clear and clutter-free design, but manages to integrate a lot of storage spaces all around the car. For example, there is a large area behind the heating controls and some smaller elements for items such as a mobile phone close to the central storage area under the armrest. Here you will also find two cupholders and a deep storage bin with charger point for electronic devices.

The door bins are spacious and will easily accommodate large bottles or other similarly sized items.

Space in the back seats

Access to the rear seats is hampered slightly by the exterior wheel arch, which impedes on the door entry and means you feel like you have to climb over it to get in.

However, once inside, the rear of the I-Pace is a nice place to be. There is loads of headroom and legroom – this Jaguar is a spacious car – meaning that you are able to stretch out easily.

The door bins aren’t the largest, but there is a central pull-down armrest, which contains two more cupholders and a small storage place for either a small book or mobile device.

There is no option of carrying long objects with the rear seats in situ – Jaguar decided to go against offering any kind of ‘ski hatch’ enabling access to the boot from the rear seats. Another mark off the interior for the flimsy covers over the ISOFIX child seat points.

The floor is relatively flat, but the central rear seat is compromised with limited headroom. In the rear, you’ll also find USB charging points and a 12V socket.

Boot space

The boot is huge – slightly larger, in fact, than Jaguar’s F-Pace SUV – despite the batteries being housed in the floor, which brings the boot level up a bit. The parcel shelf is very light but there is nowhere to stow it when it’s removed, which isn’t ideal.

Fold the rear seats down and, while the floor won’t be completely flat, there’s still a very decent open space and no boot lip, meaning loading and unloading items can be done easily as they will slide right to the back of the loadspace.

There are plenty of hooks for bags and other items, as well as a 12V charging socket for extra power at the rear of the I-Pace. On the whole, the boot carries on the practicality theme that is seen elsewhere throughout the cabin.

There’s loads of data across the screens in the front of the car, but the buttons to navigate through the menus is a bit small

Despite the I-Pace having a modern electric powertrain, it feels like a classic Jaguar interior. It’s got a sporty seating position and the steering wheel can be adjusted in all directions to ensure that you find your optimal comfort level.

The quality of the interior is generally on a par with modern Jaguars with a mixture of quality soft plastics and fabric trim on the doors. The leather steering wheel feels substantial and sturdy and offers numerous controls within it to make it easier to operate the infotainment system.

The digital display takes the form of two central screens and a driver’s display, offering plenty of information that drivers can access about the car and its performance. Compared with the systems offered from the likes of Audi and Mercedes, the Jaguar I-Pace’s technology is more subtle and understated, with fewer colours used, so it blends into the background a bit more than the German equivalents.

The 12.0-inch driver’s screen can be customised with whatever information you desire, for example, navigation, trip information or audio details. A head-up display was available as an option, making it easier to spot your speed or follow directions on the navigation system.

The top main central screen is large enough, but can be a bit confusing to operate at times. Some of the menu buttons spread across the bottom of the screen might be a bit small for some users and difficult to use, but it’s certainly not the worst system in its class.

There’s also an additional lower screen in the centre of the car up front, which operates the climate control and infotainment system. There is a downside with this one, because it seems to pick up a lot of light from the cabin, which can make it difficult to read what you’re looking at, depending on the angle.

There’s only one power option on the I-Pace, but it’s a good one. The 400hp setup will hit 60mph from a standstill in under five seconds and records an official energy consumption figure of 2.9 miles per kW/h.

Jaguar says the I-Pace can travel up to 298 miles on a single charge which was good when it was first launched six years ago, but which now is beaten by much humbler cars such as a Skoda Enyaq. In our own tests, taking mostly motorway miles into account, we got 223 miles out of the I-Pace's battery, which is a good-but-not-great 75% of its claimed figure.

Originally only able to charge at 50kW on DC power, and at 7.4kW on AC power, the I-Pace was eventually upgraded to 100kW DC and 11kW AC.

When tested back in 2018, the Jaguar I-Pace was awarded a maximum five stars by Euro NCAP. It especially impressed in adult occupant safety (91%), while child occupant safety was a bit lower at 81%. Safety assistance was also rated at 81%, while protection of vulnerable road users was marked at 73% – though the test has become much stricter, so these scores are rather out of date now.

There’s an array of safety features within the Jaguar, which helped it meet that maximum score. For example, the car has an active bonnet, autonomous emergency tracking for pedestrians and cyclists, and there are also speed assistance and lane departure warning systems.

Other onboard tech includes traffic sign recognition and a rear traffic monitor, while keyless entry is also a popular feature.

Jaguar is one of those brands that has a chequered past when it comes to reliability. It might fall short of having a really bad reputation, but a number of surveys have returned poor scores in terms of customer satisfaction in recent years.

The I-Pace did seem to duck some of those reliability problems, possibly because electric cars tend to be inherently more reliable than petrol or diesel models (fewer moving parts, you see) and also possibly because the I-Pace was actually built for Jaguar by Magna-Steyr in Austria, who also build the mighty Mercedes G-Class.

There have been a couple of recalls recorded for the I-Pace related to brake system failure and a minor one involving part of the front seat assembly. These recalls date back to early in the car’s life and nothing has cropped up since then.

The I-Pace didn’t appear in the 2024 Driver Power Top 50 Cars To Own list, but Jaguar as a brand finished in a creditable 9th position, out of 32, in the broader Driver Power customer satisfaction survey. That said, a massive 43% of owners reported problems with their cars.