LIKES
- All-electric powertrain
- 234-mile range
- Excellent ride quality
- Spacious interior
DISLIKES
- Unconventional shape
- Single battery size
- Expensive in almost any trim
BUYING TIP
- The HSE is the pricest I-Pace trim, but it is also just $3,750 more than the mid-grade SE, so why not step up to it? With its Windsor leather, premium audio system, and full driver assist pack, we think it’s well worth the upcharge.
The 2020 Jaguar I-Pace offers prestige, performance, and a practical body—it hits the current EV target, head-on.
The 2020 Jaguar I-Pace is one of the most formidable competitors so far to Tesla's electric cars. Thanks to its efficient powertrain and its sleek style, we’ve given the 2020 I-Pace a TCC Rating of 9.0 out of 10 overall, one of the highest scores we’ve awarded so far for 2020.
Let’s consider the basics for a moment. The I-Pace is a 4,784-pound, fully electric crossover that can accelerate to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds and will seat five comfortably.
The I-Pace doesn’t fool around with weird doors. Instead, this is a polished representation of what the future looks like: fast, silent, and zero-emissions. It will go 234 miles on a charge and look good doing it. We’re taken by the stylish look that skews more toward conventional luxury crossover than the homebrew science-experiment look that’s typical of full-electric crossovers.
The I-Pace’s electric drivetrain is comprised of a pair of electric motors that are fed by a 90-kwh battery. The total power from this setup is 394 horsepower and 512 lb-ft of torque, which is routed to all four wheels. It’s versatile enough to both stick through hairpins and ford muddy water.
As for charging, it takes 13 hours to fully power up if you’re using a typical Level 2 home charger. A 100-kw quick-charge station will charge up to 80% in roughly 40 minutes. The 234 miles of range that’s available on a full charge isn’t nearly enough to beat the Tesla Model X’s 305 miles of range, though it trounces the Audi E-Tron’s 204 miles.
Sold in I-Pace S, SE, and HSE versions, the electric Jaguar offers the full buffet of safety equipment, as well as a fully equipped interior that leaves no luxury buyer wanting. Standard features include a panoramic roof, twin-stitched leather, and a pair of digital screens that control infotainment and climate controls.
If you’ve been wondering as to what the future of motoring might look like, there’s no longer a need to wonder—just take a glance at the I-Pace.
Styling
The 2020 Jaguar I-Pace wedges its electric-car drivetrain into a forward-looking body.
Designing an electric car entails a constant effort against succumbing to sci-fi fantasies. We think Jaguar has done a deft job of recognizing the appeal of futuristic design without going full “Blade Runner.” In our eyes the I-Pace is good for an 8 out of 10 for style.
The I-Pace has a sinewy look to it. It is long and drawn out, yet taut, like bowstring pulled tight. The way the body tapers in the middle before widening around the wheels exaggerates this look. There’s a sense of grace and motion here, typical of Jaguar, yet more pronounced here than on the rest of their lineup. For a cab-forward people mover, this thing almost looks more ready for a romp than an F-Type.
The interior goes in its own direction. It doesn’t totally forsake the outside styling’s lithe, sporty ethos, but it captures it in a far more conservative way than you might anticipate. The dashboard, gauges, center stack—all of it looks rather ordinary.
None of that is to say the I-Pace is totally bereft of novel touches inside. There are two touchscreens in the center stack, one for infotainment and one for radio. The brand’s usual rotary shifter has been replaced here by three silver buttons for reverse, neutral, and drive and a black button for park.
Performance
The I-Pace has a bulky physique and less range than the Tesla Model X, but it’s feisty.
A heavy battery-powered crossover, the I-Pace nonetheless performs like the best of gas-powered Jaguars. We give it an 8 out of 10.
The secret of its performance lies in that all-electric powertrain. Twin electric motors manage to make 394 hp and 512 lb-ft of torque. They’re juiced by a 90-kwh battery that is mounted under the floor. At 1,329 pounds, it’s forced us to accept the Jag’s 4,784-pound curb weight, a good third of which is due to its heavy electricals.
Yet it’s as if no one told the I-Pace how much it actually weighs, because nothing that tall and heavy should accelerate to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds. Top speed, on the other hand, is a paltry 124 mph. Blame this on battery preservation as well as sheer physics.
All-wheel drive is standard and power is equally distributed to all four corners. For now, there are no additional driving modes to pick from. But even without them the I-Pace is quick to leap forward at the driver’s behest. It will run up a twist mountain road with near-silent intention.
If you want the full electric experience, the I-Pace offers both high- and low-regeneration modes for recapturing energy otherwise lost during braking. High regen enables one-pedal driving; just lift off the throttle and it feels like someone threw out an anchor from the rear hatch as up to 0.4G of regenerative braking force kicks in. Low-regen mode is more conventional and feels more like an ordinary car. An option to engage artificial transmission creep further replicates the gas-powered experience.
During a 200-mile-plus road test, we stayed almost entirely in high regeneration mode. Besides extending battery life, the high-regen one-pedal driving means much less use of the conventional friction brakes. These stoppers have a long pedal stroke and sit much higher off the floor than the accelerator. We’d recommend sticking with the high-regen option just to avoid playing footsie with the weirdly placed, slightly soft brake pedal.
Surprisingly, the I-Pace has some mild off-road ability. It can ford through 19.7 inches of water, the same as a Range Rover Evoque, and can scrabble up gravel roads and dusty inclines. That said, don’t expect to go rock-crawling with it, as ground clearance can be as low as 5.6 inches. The approach and departure angles are also nothing to write home about. We’d limit our off-pavement driving to trails and forest roads.
Big and heavy as the I-Pace is, placing the batteries under the floor lowers the center of gravity and gives the crossover perfect weight distribution—two critical reasons that explain why the I-Pace can behave like a sports car when given the right roads to play on.
Furthering the sporty nature of the Jaguar is its dual-wishbone front suspension and an integral-link rear suspension, along with air springs all around. The underpinnings keep the I-Pace planted through corners and let it soak up road imperfections while doing so, even when equipped with the available 22-inch wheels. Driven more sedately the I-Pace is a pleasing luxury crossover with a laudable ride.
We also had a chance to run the I-Pace on a high-speed track in Portugal. There we had the chance to really let the Jag off the leash and push it in ways most customers wouldn’t dream of. We found that it does an able job of hauling down from triple-digit speeds and handling technical alternating corners. Even in these manic conditions it always felt composed and controllable, though understeer was omnipresent.
Comfort & Quality
The 2020 I-Pace has clever packaging and all-day comfort.
Heavy as a Range Rover, small as the brand’s XE sedan, yet roomy as their XJ—this is the contradictory marvel that is the I-Pace. The excellent packaging is complemented by the finely-appointed cabin that is comfortable and usable as it is attractive. For all this we give the Jaguar a 10 here.
The numbers disclose how efficient Jaguar was at making the most of a small footprint. With its 117.7-inch wheelbase, the I-Pace is longer between the wheels than a Tesla Model X, but its 184.3-inch long length is shorter than the Tesla by more than a foot. The Jag doesn’t offer an additional row of seating like the Tesla does, though.
Inside, there are generously-sized footwells and lots of headroom in both rows, making it an easy place to stretch even with its compact dimensions. There’s an airiness to the cabin you don’t find in other compact crossovers of this size. The seats further encourage you to unwind, as they are supportive and well-bolstered, though the base synthetic leather isn’t as nice as the genuine hides found on the two higher trims. We’re especially smitten with the Windsor leather on the top-spec HSE, preferably wrapped around the optional performance seats. These are bundled into an expensive option package but they offer excellent upper back and shoulder support.
The interior is also speckled with plenty of usable little nooks and crannies, though we weren’t fans of the bin that sits under some of the driving controls on the front console. But we were impressed with the laptop storage slots located underneath the rear seats.
The I-Pace boxes in 25.3 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear fold-down seats, or 51.0 cubic feet behind the front seats. A shallow tray under the cargo floor contains the battery charge cable.
Overall, the perception of quality is high in the I-Pace SUVs we’ve driven. Stitched leather warms the dash, and small panels of wood trim recall the Jaguars of yore. We just wonder whether buyers will like the overall conservative look that goes in a different direction from not only other EV interiors but also the bold and curvaceous lines of the I-Pace’s exterior.
Safety
The 2020 I-Pace hasn’t been crash-tested yet.
With no crash tests yet performed by the NHTSA or the IIHS, the 2020 Jaguar I-Pace has no third-party safety data to review. Until it does, we abstain from rating it here.
The I-Pace does come standard with active-safety features, but it isn’t the most comprehensive suite out there. There’s standard low-speed automatic emergency braking and LED headlights, as well as active lane control. You’ll have to spend more to get high-speed automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitors, and a head-up display.
Features
The only thing we wish could get more of is power.
With a wealth of standard features and options, a capable infotainment system, and an excellent warranty, the 2020 I-Pace merits a 9 for features.
On the infotainment front, two screens come standard: a 10.2-inch upper and 5.5-inch lower screen. The lower screen is largely relegated to the climate control, while the top screen handles the standard-equipment navigation and wi-fi hotspot. It also takes care of all radio and audio duties, including the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, Bluetooth, HD radio, and Amazon Alexa. You can plug in to the I-Pace by using one of the three 12-volt outlets or six USB ports. To keep everything current, Jaguar is planning over-the-air updates.
Besides its infotainment, the I-Pace comes fairly well equipped. The $70,875 I-Pace S is the cheapest model in the lineup and includes eight-way power front seats, ambient interior lighting, air suspension, LED headlights, keyless start, and a large single-piece panoramic roof.
Compared to the base models, the $77,275 I-Pace SE adds leather upholstery, 20-inch wheels, a power tailgate, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitors, and 10-way power front seats.
At the top of the pecking order is the $81,925 I-Pace HSE, which adopts richer Windsor leather, 18-way heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, a gesture-controlled power tailgate, an 825-watt sound system, a surround-view camera system, and adaptive cruise control with steering assist.
Notable options include four-zone automatic climate control, a head-up display, adaptive dynamics and adaptive surface response (a sort of low-speed cruise control for low-traction situations), ash wood trim, and a heated steering wheel.
Each I-Pace also comes with an extensive warranty that covers 5 years/60,000 miles bumper to bumper. For those concerned about the battery, it is covered for 8 years or 100,000 miles, with Jaguar guaranteeing that during that time it will maintain at least 70 percent of its initial charge capacity.
Fuel Economy
The I-Pace has a 234-mile battery range.
The 2020 Jaguar I-Pace can travel about 234 miles on a full charge. That's impressive, but not as good as its Tesla Model X rival, which is rated at 305 miles in its base configuration.
On our scale any battery-electric vehicle with a range of more than 200 miles is a perfect 10 for fuel economy.
The I-Pace comes with a charging cable that links its 7-kilowatt onboard charger to household 110- or 230-volt outlets. Jaguar expects most owners will install a charging station at home, however.
On a Level 2 home charger, the I-Pace will need 10 hours to reach 80-percent battery charge, and nearly 13 hours to reach 100 percent. This should be sufficient for typical day-to-day use, though the company doesn’t expect owners will regularly fully deplete their batteries.
If you find a high-speed 50-kw charger, you can replenish 80 percent of the battery’s charge in under 90 minutes. With a 100-kw charger the charging time is cut down to 40 minutes, though these units are tough to find for now (look for more to pop up as electric cars gain popularity). Jaguar may upgrade the I-Pace’s charging capacity to handle 150-kilowatt input in the future.
To make life with an electric easier, the navigation system in the I-Pace can plot efficient routes and can predict battery charge states at waypoints. It also has an arrival mode that can locate charging stations near destinations.
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