2018 Jaguar E-Pace vs 2019

What's the difference?

Buying a Jaguar is complicated, but in a satisfying way. As you're finding out, or perhaps you know already, once you've picked the model you want, you then need to pick the grade and then the engine, and then the options.

This luxury of choice applies to Jaguar's newest small SUV, the E-Pace, too. You can even get an entry-level 'blank canvas' grade.

The E-Pace S P300 sits just above that base-spec car, which is what the 'S' means, but the P300 engine is the most powerful petrol powerplant you can ask them to put under the bonnet.

So, could this combination of an almost entry-level E-Pace with the top-of-the-range engine make it the smartest choice possible?

For years, if you wanted a sleek British SUV, you had the simple choice of one car; the Range Rover Evoque. It's a lovely car and all (and it just clicked over to its second-generation), but if you weren't keen on any of the growing number of Germans and didn't want that particular Rangie, you were stuck.

Jaguar was stuck, too. With a sister brand built on SUVs before they were even called that, it seemed a no-go area for Jag, and it wasn't until the F-Pace that the leaping cat could even start to make inroads into a market that had developed a deep love of cars on stilts.

Eighteen months ago, the E-Pace finally met the road. Built on the wildly successful Evoque platform, sleek and small(er) had finally arrived in the Jaguar range, giving buyers a second, very British choice.

But it's a choice that has yet to charm too many people and we wanted to find out why, or why not.

Our car had optional 20-inch wheels wrapped in Pirelli P-Zeros, as well as the Performance Pack, which adds bigger brakes with red brake calipers.