Review: 2017 Jaguar F-Pace

The 2017 Jaguar F-Pace is highly anticipated release – bringing Jaguar to the SUV market. At first glance, the design is quite sleek with the front end distinctly Jaguar. Performance-wise, it had no problem accelerating to our desired speed. Nothing’s more irritating than an underpowered vehicle for me. Let’s take a closer look at the 2017 Jaguar F-Pace.

Exterior Design

The 2017 Jaguar F-Pace is sleek with the windows of the rear vehicle slightly tapering off. The front grille is distinctly Jaguar with its J-blade LED daytime running lights and logo on the grille.

The rear LED taillights are inspired by the Jaguar F-Type and add a sporty design nod for the Jaguar F-Pace.

We did notice that the rear doors give the illusion of space – they’re angled and appear large. However, when you open the rear door, you’ll see that most of it is covering interior panels and the space to get in for the rear seats is quite smaller than what the door eludes to.

Our road test came with 20” alloy rims which added to the performance look for the SUV. Rims are available as large as 22” for those of you who want more bling on this SUV!

Interior Design

Distinctly Jaguar (and Land Rover) is the gearshift. It’s a knob that comes up when the vehicle is on, and retracts when the vehicle is shut off. This adds to an interior design that looks more streamlined.

The instrument cluster is easy to read with most the important information available at a glance.

The centre stack has a clean look and buttons are incorporated into the design without them protruding out. Overall, I liked the look of the interior. Jaguar opted to make a button for every climate control option (as opposed to using one knob or dial to select different modes). While there’s lots of buttons to press, the layout was sensible and didn’t take away from the sleek design.

The window and mirror controls are located on top of the door panel, which is an interesting location but common to the Jaguar/Land Rover brand. Be careful when you open your window during snow or rain – you might want to cover up the switches in case any water gets into the electrical component. I know… California residents don’t have to contend with snow!

The 2017 Jaguar F-Pace has lots of room for sunlight to come in, which makes it feel larger. Our road test came with a panoramic sunroof – love! I was initially concerned with my blind spots as the windows narrow a bit towards the back of the vehicle but this wasn’t a problem during my road test.

Lastly, heated seats and multiple charging ports are available to the rear passengers.

Technology

Our 2017 Jaguar F-Pace road test came with a $400 Activity Key add-on. You can leave your keyfob and lock the vehicle with this wrist band. You have to place the wrist band at a certain spot on the vehicle, and the lights will flash to confirm that the vehicle is secured. Same goes to unlock the vehicle.

You don’t have to carry your key around if you want to go to the gym, to the beach, etc. We used this feature when we went to Canada’s Wonderland – it was great! I love the idea for the Activity Key, but it was quite large and better suited for my husband’s wrist as mine is smaller in comparison. Nevertheless, a very good idea!

Under The Hood / Basic Maintenance

One peek under the hood of the Jaguar F-Pace and you’ll notice that there’s not much room at all. The engine bay is compact and dual air filters take up most of the front plumbing footprint. I’m thankful that the coolant reservoir is up top, with its MIN/MAX levels relatively easy to see.

The battery jump post is also accessible, with a nearby engine ground to hook onto in case you need to jump-start the vehicle.

Overall, basic do-it-yourself items are located within reach but if you’re a car enthusiast hoping to do some tinkering every now and again, you’re going to need specialised tools to do that.

Child Seat Safety

Depending on the size of your child car seat, you may need to move the Jaguar F-Pace’s front passenger seat to accommodate a rear-facing child car seat’s recline angle. The rear seat bench is relatively flat. The individual seats have a slight bucket shape but it shouldn’t pose a problem when installing the child car seat.

The UAS (Isofix) latches are clearly marked and have a cover that you’ll remove for access. Because they’re located a higher than the seat bottom, you may require pool noodles during a rear-facing child car seat installation in order to get the correct recline angle.

The headrest of the rear seats protrudes forward slightly so when you install a forward-facing child car seat, you’ll likely want to remove the head rest so that the back of the child car seat will sit flush with the car’s seatback.

The tethor anchors are located directly behind the seatback, and won’t interfere with cargo in the trunk.

Lastly, the seatbelt for the rear seat start just above the shoulder and this is good because it keeps the seatbelt flat and closer to the shoulder. It does start off to the side though so make sure it sits close to the collarbone for your passengers, especially younger ones in boosters.

One handy feature is that you can see who’s buckled in. The seatbelt monitor system shows you when passengers have fastened their seatbelt, which is good when you have younger kids in boosters and you’re waiting for them to buckle up before you take off.

Storage / Trunk

The 2017 Jaguar F-Pace had sufficient storage for our family’s usual gear. The space does get narrower to account for the rear wheel wells, but the change wasn’t too significant for us to worry about.

Overall, the Jaguar F-Pace is a good option in the performance SUV category! At the time of writing, the 2018 Jaguar F-Pace starts at $50,250.

Model tested:

2017 Jaguar F-Pace

3.0L V6 engine

Automatic transmission

All-wheel drive

Seating Capacity: 5

Road Test Terrain: 60% city, 40% highway

Tested MSRP: $69,325 CAD