[Rob]

In the hugely competitive small SUV class, every new model needs to give buyers a compelling reason to hand over their money. And while there's no denying that the cub of Jaguar's range handles nicely, is striking to behold and offers decent practicality, as a whole it feels off the pace.

It doesn't ride with the control you'd expect of a car developed on British roads and, due to its hefty weight, it's not particularly fast or economical. Smaller wheels and adaptive dampers could make the difference, but for now the jury is still out.

Read the full review here: https://www.whatcar.com/news/jaguar-e-pace-review/

 

[pjm007]

All the reviews are pretty mediocre Rob. Not what we expected.

 

[catwoman]

I agree, it's a bit disappointing. What is really very surprising to me is that Jag have designed a smaller SUV which is actually heavier than the F-Pace! So power-to-weight and road handling is going to be slightly compromised right from the start. Not really acceptable, as a design principle, when everything these days is all about improving effiencies. Another couple of years down the line, especially with EV tech coming on in leaps and bounds, and this 'new' car is quite possibly going to look like something of an oddity.

The Top Gear review seems a little more generally favourable . . https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/jaguar/e-pace

I'll reserve final judgement until I see/drive one myself. I currently drive an F-Pace (which I am very happy with), since July '16, but if I do down-size in the future, I'm afraid it is unlikely to be this 'cub' that takes my money.

 

[salmonfisher]

I have to agree that I am really disappointed in the reviews too. I nearly bought an F Pace but it was just too big for the sort of small roads I drive on and I thought the diesel 2ltr a bit under powered. After a lot of research and a long test drive in both I went for a Tiguan 190 TDI which was much quicker and more powerful but didn't handle as well. I really thought in a smaller and lighter version of the E Pace would be ideal for me but if its heavier and slower then its not really a starter. I now hope the new Audi Q3 will handle better than the old one as I know it will be quicker and better finished. .

 

[pjm007]

Oh dear. Every review is poor for different reasons. 3* or maybe 3.5*, or 4 at best. No 5 * results. Last week's press event looks like a total PR disaster for JLR. May need to reconsider my order now. Actual test drive will be crucial.

 

[jdjag]

Agree not very encouraging. Their conclusion that the new Volvo CX40 is worth looking at led me to check it out and the price with standard equipment makes it a good alternative to the Epace with similar spec.

 

[DMac1]

I am really disappointed with the reviews - might have to reconsider my order as well. Still if you look at the Velar and F Pace not brilliant reviews either, 3 or 4* at best. Well will have a test drive before making any decisions, has slightly tainted the whole thing now. As am now not super excited about the drive.

 

[pjm007]

Biggest issues seem to be - the flawed ZF box; poor ride at lower speeds; too heavy; inferior/slow Infotainment system; indifferent braking. Lots of good points of course but that list is worrying.

 

[Guest]

Like others I am disappointed with the reviews.From memory the Evoque did not get full star reviews but look at the sales.
After two Évoqués and four years behind the wheel I am looking forward to my E Pace.I know some of the instrument panel and switches may look like the Evoque but the dash looks great and the outside the E Pace looks great too.The Evoque is more off road to on road use as the E Pace will be more on road to off road.I live in the countryside and do some off road on farm tracks etc and I am sure the E Pace will cope ok.
I wonder how many Evoque owners will be moving over for a change?

 

[Russell13]

Not totally surprised by the reports as the extended hype before reality tends to taint the journalists perceptions against that of the mainstream user. It's not a hot hatch on stilts!!!!!!! In the main many of the observations appear rather trivial or at odds. Heavy? but delivers potential 60.1 mpg. Poor ride at low speeds...well on low profile tyres on 21 inch rims....etc
Agree that LRJ boys may have messed up by not providing a wider range of model variants for testing to enable a more rounded feel for the new baby. Still looks gorgeous and not put off and in reality probably won't even recognise their negative findings. XC40, T-Rox, Peugeot3008, Tiguan....really!!!!! They look so boring 🤔

 

[salmonfisher]

Russell13 I do understand what you are saying and it does look gorgeous but if it doesn't deliver decent performance then it is out for me. I was disappointed in the F Pace's performance with 2ltr diesel (and I couldn't afford a 3ltr) and to hear the E Pace's is worse because of weight was a real concern. I bought a Tiguan and I agree it looks really boring but in 190 TDI form its performance leaves even an F Pace standing, its instruments with digital display are far better and it does everything else including off road (with off road pack) well. So unfortunately it was what it delivered over looks. I had hoped the E pace would give me both but I don't think it will but will wait until I can drive one before writing it off.

 

[catwoman]

In the main many of the observations appear rather trivial or at odds. Heavy? but delivers potential 60.1 mpg. Poor ride at low speeds...well on low profile tyres on 21 inch rims....etc

Fair to say, press reviews have never yet influenced my 'actual' final buying decisions. I always make up my own mind anyway, rather than rely on reviewer's opinions. But, professional opinions aside, the basic facts do not look to be helping much with this car. Incidentally, I would take the quoted 60.1mpg figure with a pinch of salt, it will never be achieved, real world, in fact unlikely to even get close to that. And the ride will be more governed by the suspension set-up than the rim/tyre sizes. In practice I did not find that much difference in the quality of the ride on the F-Pace between the different wheel sizes, so it's unlikely there will be much of a difference for the cub either.

It will be interesting when the dealers get their demo cars for us to try out for ourselves. I'm still keeping as open a mind as possible, but I definitely have some reservations based on the physical aspects of the design . . and, subjectively, I find I'm struggling to fall head-over-heels in love with the look of the front of the car, the headlights just don't look quite right to my eye and the lower 'air intakes' look somehow disproportionately large, maybe too high. Maybe that's just because I'm very used to the proportions of the F-Pace though, which just seems more visually 'balanced' to me.

Anyway, whatever happens, at least it seems to have got a conversation thread started on here . . keep your thoughts coming everyone

 

[pjm007]

I'm with you catwoman. Hopeful but concerned. Not about the look in my case but about the driving experience. I hope to negotiate a long test drive with my dealer so I can check out all those points raised in the reviews.

 

[DMac1]

Still one of them had a good point, it looks very like a Hyundai Tuscon. £45,000+ is a lot of money for a Hyundai lookalike...

 

[pjm007]

Thankfully nothing like a Tucson. Be careful configuring. No need to spend more than £40k - unless u r a boy racer.