2024 (24) Jaguar I-Pace 294kW EV400 R-Dynamic SE Black 90kWh 5dr Auto

By Jonathan Crouch

Introduction

Back in 2018 with their I-PACE, Jaguar became the first of the premium brand manufacturers to make a long range, practical, battery-powered electric vehicle. If you can afford the asking price, you might well have everything you could want here if you want a mid-to-large-sized premium electric sporting SUV from the 2018-2025 period: a claimed near-300 mile WLTP driving range, 400PS, potentially zero emissions and a car that might be as comfortable with high performance driving as it is on a muddy track. But would you want one? You'll certainly need to buy carefully.

History

The idea of an all-electric Jaguar might still be strange, but even stranger is the fact that this British brand was quicker than all its wealthier established German rivals in bringing a car like this to market, the I-PACE launched in the Spring of 2018. Perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised. The Coventry car maker may have a traditionalist reputation but history records that it's never been afraid to innovate when really necessary. Just as it did in an unprecedented post-war period that saw it produce the XK120 sports car; then a string of standard-setting luxury saloons that led to the landmark XJ6 model of 1968. Here, Jaguar aimed to bring to this class of car all the things that the Tesla models of this era didn't have: brand heritage; a history of exemplary drive dynamics; and an understanding of the type of interior environment that older wealthier customers look for. Mind you, close rivals of the time like the Audi e-tron and the Mercedes EQC aimed to offer this too. The I-PACE was updated in 2022. And sold until Jaguar paused from selling cars in 2025.

What You Get

It wasn't only the powertrain of this I-PACE that changed everything we knew about Jaguar back in 2018. The styling too was a radical departure from the brand's established values. We should have expected that. After all, given that there's simply no need here to make space for a whole hunk of metal in the nose, there's also no need for the kind of 'long bonnet - short-boot' proportions that until the I-PACE arrived, characterised virtually every successful Jaguar model in history. It's also a shape that's dimensionally difficult to get your head round. You expect an SUV with this kind of luxury and this kind of price tag to be BMW X5 or Porsche Cayenne-sized. Well this one isn't - yet kind of is. Its roadway footprint is actually 50mm shorter than that of a Jaguar F-PACE in the next class down. Yet the I-PACE has a wheelbase 116mm longer than its showroom stablemate so as to free up the kind of interior space common from the next class up. When it's time to take a seat inside, you sit high up (150mm higher than in an E-PACE for instance) because of all those batteries beneath the floor - but of course that's what you want in a large SUV. It's an interestingly designed, classy, hi-tech cabin, though you might find fault with some of the trimming features if you've bought in at the upper end of the I-PACE line-up. Perhaps inevitably given the current luxury trend and the fact that this is an EV, there are lots of screens, a configurable 12.3-inch TFT display for the instrument cluster and, for the centre of the dash, the JLR 'Touch Pro Duo' set-up. This gives you a 10-inch upper screen for all the infotainment functions - navigation, music, telephone, smartphone-mirroring and so on. And a 5-inch lower screen that deals with all the climate controls and incorporates a couple of rotary dials that can be yanked or prodded to control fan speed or heat levels. The seats are smart and supportive and there's plenty of interior storage space. In the rear, there's far more leg room than the external dimensions lead you to expect - 890mm of it to be exact. Head space is generous too; there's 968mm of it even with the huge glass panoramic roof fitted. Incidentally, this absorbs UV light, so there's no need for a blind. As for cargo space, well there's a compartment under the bonnet but since that's only 27-litres in size, we'll focus on the boot area. Avoid entry-level trim and you get a powered tailgate, which rises to reveal a luggage bay with a modest 'dry' item capacity that Jaguar quotes at 505-litres. Fold down the rear bench (which unfortunately is only available in 60:40-split form) and 1,163-litres of 'dry' item capacity is freed up.

What to Look For

You really need to buy very carefully indeed here. There were issues with brakes corroding, but even bigger issues potentially lie with the issues covered below, especially outside of warranty. Certain models (particularly from 2019) were fitted with LG Energy Solution batteries that faced major recalls due to risks of thermal overload and overheating. It's also known that moisture can seep into the battery pack causing seal failures, corrosion on internal connectors, and false temperature sensor readings that shut down the car. Sticky actuator pins and out-of-date software can cause the charge flap to jam or prevent cables from locking and unlocking. Post-2021 models combined the charger and DC/DC converter into a single unit prone to failure, triggering charging interlock errors. The complex dual-12V battery system frequently fails or drops voltage, triggering random dashboard warning lights and locking drivers out of functions. The Touch Pro Duo infotainment system is known to freeze, lag, or completely lose connectivity until reset. The air suspension can fail or lose calibration, resulting in an overly stiff or bumpy ride. Air conditioning refrigerant pipes can crack at their welded joints due to engine vibration, causing the climate system to lose pressure. Defective factory seals around the front glass can let water drip into the cabin electronics. Check all these things on your test drive - and look out for scuffed alloy wheels that could be pricey to fix. Obviously, insist on a full service history.

Replacement Parts

(approx based on a 2019 Jaguar I-PACE EV400 - ex-VAT) Brake pad sets start from around £72 if you can do without a genuine Jaguar part. Door mirror assemblies start from around £545. Brake pad sets range from £15 for budget aftermarket rear sets up to nearly £300 for genuine factory front kits. Brake disc sets generally range from £60 for aftermarket rear pairs up to £240+ for genuine factory pieces or high-performance set-ups. For a pollen filter, you're looking in the £4-£35 bracket, depending on brand.

On the Road

Most electric vehicles from the 2018-2025 era storm away from rest like a scalded cat but corner with all the agility of a Channel ferry. Thanks to perfect 50:50 weight distribution, a low centre of gravity and an over-riding emphasis on driver feedback, this one's different, with tight body control and impressive reserves of traction, aided by the way that the powertrain can shift torque instantly to whichever wheel that needs it. Ah yes, the powertrain. It uses a 90 kWh lithium-ion battery containing 432 pouch cells situated between front and rear wheels, powering two synchronous permanent magnet electric motors, one at each axle so as to provide permanent 4WD. There's a single 400PS power output specification and the transmission is a single-speed epicyclic unit. Like direct competitors from its era from Mercedes and Audi, this Jaguar offers various driving modes - in this case 'Comfort', 'Dynamic' and efficiency-orienated 'ECO' - but unlike those competitors, the Coventry company didn't standardise air suspension on its electrically-powered luxury SUV. Original owners had to specify that as an option - and needed to if they'd specified large wheels and wanted to match the serene ride of competitor models over poor urban surfaces. Finding an I-PACE with air-sprung damping's worth having for other reasons too. It'll automatically lower the ride height at higher speeds - or you can position it at a higher setting for off road use. Rather surprisingly, this I-PACE is actually quite capable off road, aided by a standard 'All Surface Progress Control' system - a kind of low speed cruise control for when you're inching along over muddy tracks. Back on tarmac, sixty from rest can occupy as little as 4.5s, though if you drive like that, the quoted 292 mile WLTP-cycle driving range figure will be depleted pretty quickly. Which is significant because even if you've got a wallbox fitted in your garage, this Jaguar will still need 12.9 hours to replenish itself completely from an empty charge. If when out and about, you're fortunate enough to find a 50kW public charger, up to 168 miles of driving range can be gained in 60 minutes. With a full battery, it's best to think in terms of 230-240 miles as a more realistic figure - which is 10-15% more than you'd get from most obvious rivals. Mind you, you'll only get that if you master this car's brake regeneration system. Set to maximum, this slows the car so dramatically when you come off the throttle that you hardly ever have to use the brake pedal, except when you need to come to a complete stop.

Overall

Back in 2018, the I-PACE claimed to represent the standard that all current electric cars should aspire to. But perhaps Jaguar bit off a little more than it could chew here. You'll certainly need to buy very carefully on the used car market, based on the ownership feedback we've had. As with any EV, to own an I-PACE, you'll need to plan your life in a way you simply wouldn't need to with a combustion-engined car. But if you can do that - and find a trouble-free example of one of these - it can deliver the kind of ownership experience you might never have expected an all-electric model would be able to provide.