Jaguar F-Pace - at a glance

With a range of engines including sensible diesel and madcap V6 petrol options, the F-Pace wears several hats. Most of all, it’s a well equipped SUV whose roomy, practical cabin comes as a nice surprise. Its excellent handling, on the other hand, is exactly what you expect.

The payoff is a ride that’s definitely on the firm side. The quality of the cabin isn’t as strong as its design, either – and if you go the whole hog and order the V6, you’ll pay handsomely for it.

Interior

Inside, you get good sports seats with lots of electric adjustment and no shortage of headroom in the driver’s seat, but there’s no adjustable lumbar support.

An 8.0” media system with DAB, Bluetooth and wi-fi is standard but the touch screen can be slow to react to inputs and the air-con buttons aren’t very friendly to use. Various ICE, security and infotainment options are available, some of them quite expensive.

It doesn’t feel as premium as many obvious rivals, with a cheap feel to some controls and trim panels. The leather-wrapped dashboard and glossy centre console are smart, however.

Visibility out of the front is good, but not so good at the back. At least all-round parking sensors are standard across the range, and you can option automatic parking and surround-view camera systems.

All models have cruise, climate, leather, all-round park assist, power tailgate and 18” alloys, plus autonomous braking and lane departure warning. The top versions have xenon headlights, a panoramic roof, electric seats and adaptive suspension. Options include a heated windscreen, ventilated seats, head-up display, blind-spot alert, reverse traffic detection, lane keep assist and a driver tiredness monitor.

There’s decent stowage in the door pockets and centre console, and plentiful space in the back for two tall adults, but adding a third will cramp their style. Rear seats fold away using optional handles on boot wall. Powered reclining rear seats appear on the options list, with a 20:40:20 split-fold system as standard. The back windows are small and create a slightly claustrophobic feeling.

For cargo-carrying, there’s 650 litres of space in the boot with the rear seats in place and a near-flat load bay with the rear seats down. A power-operated tailgate is standard on all models.

Handling

On the road, the 2.0-litre diesel is adequate but the faster, torquier V6 diesel is the pick of the range and the eight-speed auto option is worth the money. The supercharged V6 petrol engine needs revving but is very fast – and thirsty.

Refinement-wise the 2.0-litre diesel is noisy but stops short of becoming intrusive. The V6 diesel is more refined, and V6 petrol more dramatic. There’s plenty of road rumble, plus the odd bit of suspension noise.