2020 Jaguar F-Pace vs 2021

What's the difference?

Great looks, useful practicality, and composed dynamics help the Jaguar F-Pace R Sport 25T stand up proudly in a hotly contested segment. It combines classic Jaguar refinement and driving enjoyment with a modern design twist. But we’d like to see some active safety tech options included, the ownership package is well off the pace, and the standard features column is missing a few expected items.   

The F-Pace has been gifted new styling, new engines and more practicality making it an even better SUV than it already was. You could seriously pick any of the grades and be happy with your purchase. Then there’s the question of the engine…

Jaguar says there’s a few more years left in the combustion engine yet, but we know exactly how many years – four, because the company has gone on the record announcing it will go fully electric by 2025. The question for you is – how will you ring out the end of an era – with a four-cylinder petrol, a six-cylinder turbo diesel, an inline turbo six petrol or a cracking V8? 

The sweetspot in the range is the R-Dynamic SE 400, with just enough luxury and more than enough grunt.

Few automotive brands can match Jaguar’s emotional appeal, and few automotive designers seem to understand that as well as Ian Callum. As Jaguar design director for 20 years (1999 to 2019), he was able to capture the essence of the brand and deftly express it in a modern way.

With the F-Type sports car (and the various concept models preceding it) Callum created a design language consisting of tightly wrapped curves, beautifully balanced proportions, and instantly recognisable details.

And that approach transferred seamlessly to the larger F-Pace SUV canvas. The big honeycomb grille, sleek headlights, and gaping side vents create a new-look Jaguar face, while tipping its hat to various classic models.

And I for one, think the current Jaguar tail-light design is genius. Taking the slim form of the early E-Type’s cluster, and morphing its circular reflector into a small curve that cuts into the body below the main stop light is a wonderfully creative blending of old and new.

The interior follows the exterior’s curvy form, with a small hood over the two main (circular analogue) instruments, and a 5.0-inch TFT screen between them. The signature rotary gear selector points to the F-Pace’s relative age, with the more recent compact E-Pace SUV moving to a more conventional shifter.

A hint of F-Type is included in the shape of a raised hood in the dash top over the air vents at the top of the centre stack, and contrast stitching on the neatly tailored leather seats is a high-end touch. The overall look and feel is relatively low-key, but quality all the way. 

The very first F-Pace arrived in Australia in 2016 and even after all these years and the arrival of more rivals I still think it’s the most beautiful SUV in its class. The new one seems to look a lot like the old one, but the styling updates have kept it cool.

If you want to see instantly how the design of the F-Pace has evolved from the original to the new one, be sure to watch my video above.

Short story is, this new F-Pace has been given a pretty major styling overhaul inside and out.

Gone is the old F-Pace’s plastic beak. That sounds weird but the previous F-Pace’s bonnet stopped short of the grille and a nose cone had been fitted to cover the rest of the distance. Now the new bonnet meets a larger, wider grille and its flow from the windscreen down isn’t disturbed by a large join line.

Also more pleasing to the eyes is the badge on the grille. The snarling jaguar head is now larger and no longer mounted on a terrible looking large plastic plate. The plate was for the adaptive cruise control radar sensor, but by making the Jaguar badge bigger, the plate was able to be house in the badge itself.

The headlights are slimmer, and the tail-lights have a new design which looks futuristic, but I miss the styling of the previous ones and the way they dipped into the tailgate.

Inside, the cabin has been made over with a giant landscape screen, new chunky climate control dials, a new steering wheel and the rotary shifter has been replaced by a regular upright one which is still small and compact, with cricket ball stitching. Again, take a look at the video I’ve made to see the transformation for yourself.

While all F-Paces have a similar look, the SVR is the high-performance member of the family and stands out with its giant 22-inch wheels, a tough body kit, quad tailpipes, a fixed SVR rear wing, and bonnet and fender vents.

For this update the SVR has been given a new front bumper and larger cooling vents flanking the grille. But it’s more than just tough looks, the aerodynamics have been revised to decrease lift by 35 per cent, too.

What hasn’t changed are the dimensions. The F-Pace is a mid-sized SUV measuring 4747mm end to end, standing 1664mm tall and with the mirrors out is 2175mm wide. That’s not huge, but make sure it’ll fit in your garage.

At just over 4.7m long, a little under 2.1m wide, and close to 1.7m tall, the F-Pace is sizeable without crossing the borderline into huge. But a close to 2.9m wheelbase is ample to accommodate just the two rows of seats.

There’s plenty of headroom in the front, even with our car’s optional sunroof in place, and there’s enough storage to get by, with a good size lidded box between the seats (doubling as an armrest and housing twin USB-A ports, a micro-SIM slot and 12V outlet), two big cupholders in the centre console, small cubbies neatly scalloped into either side of the console (perfect for a phone and/or keys), an overhead sunglasses holder, and a modest glove box (with pen holder!). Door bins are small, but offer capacity for standard drink bottles.

Move to the back and that lengthy wheelbase and lofty overall height deliver heaps of space. Sitting behind the driver’s seat, set for my 183cm (6.0ft) position, I enjoyed generous leg and headroom, with enough width for three adults abreast on short to medium journeys.

Backseaters are also provided with adjustable air vents, another two USB-A (charge only) inputs and a 12V socket, so no problems keeping devices charged and occupants happy. There are also netted pockets on the front seat backs, a small storage shelf in the back of the centre console, two cupholders in the fold-down centre armrest, and small door pockets with just enough room for some bits and pieces and a drink bottle.

Boot space weighs in at 508 litres (VDA), which is in the ballpark in this size segment, opening up to no less than 1740 litres with the 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats lowered. There are handy bag hooks, tie-down anchors (x4), an elasticised storage area (behind the passenger side wheel tub) and yet another 12V outlet back there, too. 

Towing capacity is 2400kg for a braked trailer (750kg unbraked) with a 175kg coupling weight, and ‘Trailer Stability Assist’ is standard. But a tow hitch receiver will set you back $1000. 

A space saver spare sits under the cargo floor, and if you’d prefer a full-size, 19-inch alloy spare, you’ll have to tip in another $950, or twist the salesperson’s arm.

The F-Pace was always practical with a big 509-litre boot and great rear leg and head room for even me at 191cm tall, but the cabin re-design has added better storage and usability.

The door pockets are larger, there’s a covered area under the floating centre console and in a victory for common sense and practicality the window switches have been relocated from the window sills to the armrests.

This is along with a deep centre console storage area, and two cupholders in the front and another two in the rear fold-down armrest.

Parents will be happy to know that all F-Paces come with directional air vents in the second row as well. And there are ISOFIX outboard child-seat anchors and three top-tether restraints, too.

There’s a Jaguar F-Pace for every budget as long as your budget is somewhere in between $80K and $150K. That’s quite a large range in price.

Now, I’m about to take you through the grade names and I need to warn you that it’s going to be messy and confusing a little bit like white water rafting, but not as wet. Life jacket on?

There are four grades: the S, SE, HSE and top-of-the-range SVR.

They all come standard with the R-Dynamic pack.

There are four engines: the P250, D300, P400 and P550. I’ll explain what this means in the engine section down below, but all you need to know is 'D' stands for diesel and 'P' for petrol and the higher the number the more grunt it has.

The S grade only comes with the P250. The SE comes with a choice of P250, D300 or P400. The HSE only comes with the P400 and the SVR has exclusive rights to the P550.

Following all this? Great.

So, the entry grade is officially called the R-Dynamic S P250 and it lists for $76,244 (all prices listed are MSRP - before on-road costs). Above this is the R-Dynamic SE P250 and it lists for $80,854, then there’s the R-Dynamic SE D300 for $96,194 and the R-Dynamic SE P400 for $98,654.

Almost there, you’re doing super.

The R-Dynamic HSE P400 lists for $110,404 and at the top is King F-Pace – the SVR with the P550 listing for $142,294.

There you are, wasn’t so bad was it?

Coming standard from the base grade up is the new 11.4-inch touchscreen, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, there’s keyless entry, push-button start, dual-zone climate, power adjustable front seats, leather upholstery, LED headlights and tail-lights, and an auto tailgate.

The entry-level S and the SE above it come with a six-speaker stereo, but as you step into the HSE and SVR more standard features appear such as a 13-speaker Meridian sound system, plus heated and ventilated front seats. A fully digital instrument cluster is standard on all grades apart from the entry S.

The options list is extensive and includes a head-up display ($1960), wireless charging ($455), and an Activity Key ($403) which looks like an iWatch that locks and unlocks the F-Pace.  

Paint prices? Narvik Black and Fuji White are standard at no extra cost for the S, SE and HSE. The SVR has its own standard palette and includes Santorini Black, Yulonhg White, Firenze Red, Bluefire Blue and Hakuba Silver. If you don’t have the SVR but want these colours it’ll be $1890, thank you.

The F-Pace R Sport 25T is powered by a 2.0-litre, turbo-petrol version of Jaguar Land Rover’s modular ‘Ingenium’ engine, based on multiples of the same 500cc cylinder design.

This ‘AJ200’ unit features an aluminium block and head with cast iron cylinder liners, direct injection, electro hydraulically-controlled variable intake and exhaust valve lift,  and a single, twin-scroll turbo. It produces 184kW at 5500rpm, and 365Nm from 1300-4500rpm. 

Drive goes to all four wheels via a (ZF-sourced) eight-speed automatic transmission, and the ‘Intelligent Driveline Dynamics’ all-wheel drive system consisting of an electro hydraulic multi-plate wet clutch, controlled by a centrifugal electro-hydraulic actuator. 

Lots of tricky words, but the aim is seamless shifting of torque between the front and rear axles, which Jag claims takes as little as 100 milliseconds. Even a full shift of power from 100 per cent rear to 100 per cent front takes just 165 milliseconds.

Jaguar’s engine names sound like forms you have to fill in when you apply for a home loan.

The P250 is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine making 184kW and 365Nm; the D300 is a 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo diesel producing 221kW and 650Nm; while the P400 is a 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo petrol with outputs of 294kW and 550Nm.

The P550 is a supercharged 5.0-litre V8 producing a colossal 405kW and 700Nm.

The SE grade gives you the choice of the P250, D300 and P400, while the S only comes with the P250 and the SVR of course is powered only by the P550.

The D300 and D400 are new engines, both are straight sixes and replace the V6 engines in the old F-Pace. Superb engines, they are also found in the Defender and Range Rover.

Jaguar calls the D300 and P400 mild hybrids, but don’t be misled by the terminology. These engines are not hybrids in the sense that an electric motor is working to drive the wheels along with a combustion engine. Instead, a mild hybrid uses a 48-volt electrical system to help take the load off the engine by helping it start and running the electronics such as climate control. And yes, it does help save fuel, but not stacks.

There’s plenty of grunt from all these engines no matter which you choose, they all have eight-speed automatics and all-wheel drive.

You are also very likely looking at the last combustion engines to go into an F-Pace. See Jaguar has announced that it will only sell electric vehicles beyond 2025.

Four years and that’s it. Choose wisely.

Claimed fuel economy for the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle is 7.4 litres/100kmL/100km, the R Sport 25T emitting 170g/km of CO2 in the process.

In our week with the car, over a combination of city, suburban and freeway conditions (including some enthusiastic B-road running) we recorded an average of 9.8L/100km, which is pretty good for a 1.8-tonne SUV

Minimum fuel requirement is 95 RON premium unleaded, and you’ll need 82 litres of it to fill the tank.

It doesn’t make sense that Jaguar has announced that it will be going all electric by 2025 yet doesn’t offer a plug-in hybrid in its Australian line-up, especially when there is one available overseas.

Jaguar says it doesn’t make sense either, but by that they mean business sense, in bringing one to Australia.  

So, for fuel economy I’m marking the F-Pace down. Yes, the D300 and P400 use clever mild-hybrid tech, but it doesn’t go far enough to reducing fuel use.

So the fuel consumptions, then. The official fuel consumption for the petrol P250 is 7.8L/100km, the diesel D300 will use 7.0L/100km, the P400 is stated to sip 8.7L/100km and the P550 V8 petrol will drink 11.7L/100km. Those figures are "combined cycle" numbers, after a combination of open and urban driving.

The F-Pace shares its ‘iQ-Al’ (Intelligent Aluminium Architecture) chassis platform with the Jaguar XE and XF, as well as Range Rover’s Velar SUV. But despite the lightweight underpinnings it still tips the scales at 1831kg, which isn’t excessively hefty for a car of this size and type, but isn’t exactly lightweight either.

Nonetheless, Jaguar claims the R Sport 25T will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 7.0sec flat, which is satisfyingly rapid, the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four delivering its not inconsiderable 365Nm of maximum torque from just 1300rpm, all the way to 4500rpm.

So, there’s always plenty of oomph available, with the smooth eight-speed auto doing its bit to keep revs in that optimum band when required. And for relaxed highway cruising the top two ratios are overdriven keeping revs down, reducing noise and lowering fuel consumption. 

But relaxed cruising isn’t the primary name of this F-Pace’s game. Sure, Jag will sell you a loopy SVR version with a 400+kW supercharged V8 under the bonnet. But as its R Sport name implies, this is a warm rather than scalding hot take on the sporty F-Pace formula. 

Suspension is double wishbone front, ‘Integral Link’ multi-link rear, with ‘Continuously Variable Dampers’ all around. The tricky shocks are a triple-tube design with externally mounted hydraulic valves able to fine-tune response on the fly. 

Ride comfort, even in the firmest ‘Sport’ setting is great, despite medium-profile 255/55 Goodyear Eagle F1 rubber wrapped around the big standard 19-inch rims.

Steering is electrically-assisted, variable ratio rack and pinion and it points nicely, transferring good road feel without any major bumps or shocks.

The combination of well-weighted steering, well buttoned-down body control, and raspy exhaust note makes for an enjoyable backroad driving partner, most likely when family driving duties take a back seat (or not?).

Default drive balance is 90 percent of torque to the rear axle, for a traditional rear-wheel drive feel, with as much as 100 percent going to the back wheels under full acceleration on a dry surface. But the AWD system constantly monitors traction levels and will feed drive to the front axle as required.

In fact, Jaguar claims the system can transition from 100 per cent rear-bias to a 50/50 torque split in 165 milliseconds. 

The sweet spot set-up for around-town is engine and transmission in Sport (sharper throttle response with more urgent shift patterns), with the suspension in ‘Comfort.’ 

Brakes are 325mm ventilated discs all around and they deliver strong, progressive stopping power. 

Although we didn’t venture off-road, those keen on doing so should know the car’s approach angle is 18.7 degrees, departure is 19.1 degrees, ramp angle is 17.3 degrees. maximum wading depth is 500mm, and ground clearance is 161mm.

Under the heading of general notes, the ‘Touch Pro’ media system is easy to use, although it’s a bit flaky when you have a smartphone already connected and re-start the car, sometimes making it necessary to reconnect the device for (in this case) Apple CarPlay to fire up.

Ergonomics are good, despite a relatively high button count (or maybe because of it), and the sports front seats feel as good as they look, even on longer trips. 

My two test cars at the Australian launch of the new F-Pace were the R-Dynamic SE P400 and the R-Dynamic S P250. Both were fitted with the road noise cancellation system which comes with the optional $1560 Meridian stereo and reduces the level of road noise coming into the cabin.

Which would I rather? Look, I’d be fibbing if I didn’t say the SE P400 with its smooth inline six that has seemingly endless shove, but it’s $20K more than the S P250 and neither engine is low on grunt and both handle and ride almost identically.

That ride has been improved in this new F-Pace with the rear suspension being retuned so that it’s not so firm.

Steering is still on the sharp side, but body control feels better and more composed in this updated F-Pace.

On the twisty and quick country roads I tested the S P250 and SE 400, both performed superbly, with responsive engines, great handling, and serene cabins (thanks to the help of the noise cancelling tech).

The second part of the test was driving both in city traffic for the best part of an hour each which isn’t pleasant in any car. The now wider F-Pace seats were comfortable and supportive, however, the transmission seamlessly swapped gears and even rolling on 22-inch wheels in the SE and 20-inch alloys in the S the ride was excellent.  

The F-Pace scored the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it was tested in 2017. Coming standard is advanced safety tech such as forward auto emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot assist, lane keeping assistance and rear cross-traffic alert.

This tech is great, but in the five years since the F-Pace first arrived safety equipment has moved on even further. So, while the AEB can detect pedestrians, it’s not designed to work for cyclists, there’s no reverse AEB, nor evasive manoeuvre systems, nor a centre airbag. All are items which weren’t common in 2017 but are now on most 2021 five-star rated cars.

Jaguar’s three-year/100,000km warranty, is well off the mainstream pace, which is five-years/unlimited km, with some brands at seven years. And even in the luxury segment, Mercedes-Benz has recently dialled up the pressure with a move to five years/unlimited km. 

Extended Warranty Insurance is available for 12 or 24 months, up to 200,000km.

Service is scheduled every 12 months/26,000km, and a ‘Jaguar Service Plan’ is available for a maximum five years/102,000km, for $1950, which also includes five years roadside assistance.
 

At the launch of the new F-Pace Jaguar announced that all of its vehicles would be covered by a five-year unlimited/kilometre warranty, a step up from the three-year coverage it used to offer.  

Service intervals? What are they? The F-Pace will tell you when it needs maintenance. But you should sign up for a five-year service plan which costs $1950 for the P250 engine, $2650 for the D300, $2250 for the P400 and $3750 for the P550.