The E-Pace might be the smallest car Jaguar makes, but that doesn’t mean it feels like a poor relation. Most of what you see and touch gives you that important feel-good sensation. One or two of the interior surfaces feel a little harder or flimsier than you might expect in a premium car, but that’s the case in pretty much all of Jaguar’s products, and the E-Pace easily matches any of them for quality, even if it can’t quite match its rivals from
Audi and
BMW on that score.
The various switches and dials are typical Jaguar fare, too, meaning most are simple to find and use, and you also get the same touch-screen infotainment system found in other Jaguars. That means it offers lots of functionality, but it’s not as intuitive or as polished to use as the best systems on the market. The seats are very supportive and the driving position has plenty of adjustment, but while that swoopy bodywork looks great, it doesn’t do much for your visibility. The small back window and chunky pillars either side hamper your rearward view, and the combination of thick windscreen pillars and bulky door mirrors also cause some blind spots at the front quarters of the car.
In the back there’s room for a couple of taller adults, but limited shoulder space, a bulky centre tunnel and narrow middle seat mean squeezing a third person in will be just that.
The boot is a decent size by the standards of the class, too, and it comes with a useful array of hooks and straps to help you keep things secure. However, there’s a lip to negotiate when loading heavy items (it’s not that high, but it’s irritatingly wide) and the backrests of the rear seats lay at an angle when you fold them down to carry larger loads.
Jaguar is quite insistent the E-Pace is intended to sit at the sportier end of the otherwise-not-massively-sporty small SUV market. That – combined with Jag’s impeccable form in producing cars that are wonderful to drive – might well lead you to expect the E-Pace to really dazzle in this area. Unfortunately, it doesn’t.
The problem is weight. It’s exceptionally heavy compared with pretty much all its rivals, and you can really feel all that weight shifting around as you change direction. The tyres always do a sterling job of maintaining their grip on the road, but it always feels like they’re having to work really, really hard to do so. The car’s heft can also be felt when you’re trying to slow down or stop in a hurry, because the brakes need a good old shove to deliver the amount of stopping power you need.
The car does have quite an alert, pointy character because the steering is really quick and responsive, and the firm suspension does a good job of keeping body lean in check. But, given the promises of sportiness Jaguar makes with the E-Pace, it needs to combine all that with agility, and unfortunately, it’s physically impossible for a car carrying so much weight to as feel nimble as buyers will want.
That firm suspension also means it’s not the most comfortable car you’ll ever drive, with plenty of knocks and jitters to be felt in the cabin. It stops short of being uncomfortable, but you’ll certainly feel more pampered in rivals from Audi and BMW.