I first drove the Jaguar I-Pace when it was launched back in 2018.
Jaguar’s first fully electric model was the final car designed by the legendary Ian Callum before he retired from the company.
It was a strikingly good-looking car and that, along with its brilliant driving dynamics, led to it lifting the Scottish Car of the Year Award.
I was one of the journalists who voted for it. Having spent a week with the car and taken it on a trip to Mull, I was extremely impressed by it.
Range was excellent, it was super-practical, it looked terrific… and there’s something about being behind the wheel of a Jaguar that makes you feel special.
Back then it was one of a handful of fully electric cars I’d driven. Six years down the road I’ve sat behind the wheel of dozens of electric cars.
EV revolution
Between a fifth and a quarter of all the cars I drive these days are fully electric. And they’re getting better and better.
Cars like the Skoda Enyaq (another Scottish Car of the Year winner), the Kia EV6 and EV9, the Genesis GV70 and the BMW iX have shown some superb cars can be battery powered.
So when I got the opportunity to spend a week with the I-Pace I jumped at the chance.
Would the car still impress me as much after all this time, and after so many other excellent EVs have joined the pack?
I got the train to the Borders to collect the car from a friend and fellow motoring journalist.
The rascal hadn’t left me with enough charge to get home, so I stopped near Edinburgh to top up.
The first set of chargers the sat nav directed me to weren’t operational. Carrying on, I stopped at a charge station on the edge of Heriot Watt University.
It was a lovely sunny early evening, so I went for a 20-minute stroll through the woods that surround the campus. By then I was 60% charged and had plenty of juice to get home.
With an official range of 250 miles and a real-world range of around 200-220 miles, the I-Pace can cover plenty of distance but Scotland needs to make its charging network more reliable.
What’s the Jaguar I-Pace like to drive?
The I-Pace is still terrific to drive. Zero to 62mph takes just 4.8 seconds and even when you hit 70mph the power shows no sign of slowing.
It handles well, too, for a 2.2-tonne beastie, with plenty of grip and a level of agility very few electric cars can match.
Inside, you’re aware that you’re in a luxury car. It feels much more premium than anything Tesla has yet produced.
The latest version of Jaguar’s Pivi Pro operating system is responsive, while the heating controls are user-friendly dials.
There’s enough head and legroom in the back for all but the tallest of passengers, although the rakish silhouette and sloping roofline mean they don’t get as good a view as the people in front.
At 505 litres, the boot is about the same size as a BMW iX3’s. There’s a storage compartment under the boot floor as well. And there’s a compartment under the bonnet that’s ideal for storing the charge cables.
I-Pace road trip
I bundled my two golden retrievers, Bracken and Bonnie, into the boot and took them up to Glen Doll.
We hiked up Corrie Fee and Mayer than treated ourselves to an overnight stay at the Glen Clova hotel, followed by a morning yomp up to Loch Brandie.
From there we took an extremely scenic route across Perthshire and through Kirkmichael to join the A9.
Stopping to charge at Pitlochry we stretched our legs before heading on to Aviemore for a couple of nights and some more hiking.
The boot was big enough for the two hounds to snooze comfortably on the long drive and my overnight bag and hiking gear sat neatly on the floor in the back.
Prices for the Jaguar I-Pace start at around £64,000 and my high-spec R-Dynamic HSE model with its panoramic roof and other bells and whistles came in at upwards of £77,000.
Should I buy a Jaguar I-Pace?
You can pick up second-hand models for a steal – I’ve seen 2018 I-Paces for as low as £14,000.
Given Jaguar’s indifferent reliability record you might find an out-of-warranty model costing a lot more if something goes wrong.
That said, electric cars have very few moving parts so it may be that you can pick one up for cheap and run it without anything breaking.
There are some areas where the Jaguar I-Pace is starting to show its age.
While still decent, its range is eclipsed by newer EVs – the Kia EV6, Tesla Model Y, BMW iX and Ford Mustang Mach E can all go at least 50 miles farther before having to plug in.
And the I-Pace can only charge at up to 100kW.
On a trip to the French Alps in a Tesla Model Y I frequently got upwards of 200kW from the Supercharger network, allowing you to get from 20-80% in the time it takes to visit the bathroom and order a takeaway coffee.
Given its age, though, the Jaguar I-Pace remains amazingly capable. With an amazing turn of speed, it’s still one of the most thrilling EVs to drive.
It’s practical and comfortable. And it looks fantastic.
Jaguar I-Pace review – facts:
Price: £77,440
0-62mph: 4.8 seconds
Top speed: 124mph
Range: 255 miles
CO2 emissions: 0g/km
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