Jaguar F-Pace introduced for the Malaysian market: Know all about it

Kuala Lumpur : It is the first SUV from Jaguar, packing a healthy 335hp and 450Nm of torque from a supercharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine. Specifically categorized as a sports SUV, it directly rivals the Porsche Macan S, Audi Q5, Range Rover Sport, BMW X5 M and Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class.

You know the trend of offering SUV in a vehicle line-up is really hitting hard when a sports car maker decides to do so. Of course Porsche, a traditional sports car maker broke that icon when it made first the Cayenne a decade ago. Encouraged by that success, it has made another SUV winner, the Macan.

Following the global trend to produce a higher-riding family carrier that is not too hardcore, but capable enough to tackle some trails to the beach, Jaguar – a British sports car and sports sedan maker – has introduced the F-Pace. Making its world debut over a year ago during Frankfurt Motor Show, the Jaguar F-Pace is based on the C-X17 Concept.

Officially introduced into Malaysian market recently by Jaguar Land Rover (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, the F-Pace is offered in two trims, Prestige and R-Sport. For the former, price starts at RM598,800 inclusive of GST while the R-Sport is retailed at RM658,800.

F-Type Inspired

Built using Jaguar’s Lightweight Aluminium Architecture, the appearance of the F-Pace is largely identical to the C-X17 Concept it is based on, such as its slender full-LED headlights and short front overhang. Between the headlights, there’s a bold front grille topped with the brand’s logo, a leaping, lithe jaguar.

The lines and surfaces continue to the side and end with F-Type styled rear features such as the haunches, fender vents and distinctive slim tail lights. The combination of SUV’s ruggedness and traits from its sports car sibling gives the F-Pace a sleek, clean profile.

Both variants’ presence is provided by a pair of J-shaped DRLs. However, illumination for the Prestige variant is tasked by Bi-Function Xenon unit while adaptive LED headlights provide the illumination for the R-Sport. The Prestige F-Pace rides on 18-inch lightweight 15 Spoke wheels and the R-Sport rides on 20-inch Templar 5 Twin-Spoke wheels. As for the paint job, the sports SUV comes in nine choices of shades - Polaris White, Ultimate Black, Dark Sapphire Blue, Ammonite Grey, British Racing Green, Quartzite, Italian Racing Red, Odyssey Red and Rhodium Silver.

The Heart of F-Type

Under the muscularly-shaped bonnet is a 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine with Twin Vortex supercharger, churning out 335 hp at 6,500 rpm and 450 Nm at 4,500 rpm. It is the same block that can be found on the F-Type. The engine is mated to a ZF 8HP70 8-speed automatic transmission with Jaguar Sequential Shift. The powertrain allows the SUV to complete the century run in 5.8 seconds and reach an electronically-limited top speed of 250 km/h.

Jaguar Land Rover Malaysia said that they will also bring in the 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel version, but probably on the second or third quarter of 2017. I bet the supercharged 3.0-litre V6 mill is cool enough for now, as it delivers a symphonious grunt and whine of the F-Type sports car.

Rear-Biased Handling

The Jaguar F-Pace gained two main benefits by employing Lightweight Aluminium Architecture; the ability to position the wheels exactly to deliver the desired proportion and dynamics, and having a near perfect 50:50 weight distribution. Sporting double-wishbone suspension up front and Integral Link at the rear and in conjunction with its body’s high torsional rigidity, the new Jaguar F-Pace sets a new benchmark in SUV handling. Despite having an AWD setup, the F-Pace delivers sports car-like handling dynamics thanks to the rear-biased torque distribution, unlike other SUVs that transfer their torque to the front axle when the situation does not require all-wheel traction.

The Torque Vectoring, Electric Power Assisted Steering and Adaptive Dynamics System (standard on R-Sport) also work hand-in-hand to aid in the SUV’s sporty driving characteristics. Meanwhile, the Configurable Dynamics knob – first used in the F-Type – lets the driver configure individual settings for the steering, throttle, gearbox, and Adaptive Dynamics System (if fitted).

Bespoke Cabin

Moving into the cabin, the sports SUV is equipped with Luxtec door trim, 2-zone climate control, electrically adjustable steering column, gloss black trim finisher, lockable glovebox and 5 power sockets as standard. There’s also Bluetooth connectivity, Bluetooth streaming and Meridian sound system 380W with 11 speakers on both variants.

However, the Prestige and R-Sport can be differentiated by the equipment as listed below:

Prestige

• Standard body kit
• Taurus leather seats
• 10-way electric front seats with memory
• Metal tread plates with Jaguar script
• Soft grain leather multi-function steering wheel
• 8-inch Capacitive Touchscreen
• Analogue instrument dials with 5-inch full-colour TFT display
• In Control Touch navigation

R-Sport

• R-Sport body kit
• Perforated Taurus leather seats
• 14-way electric sport front seats with memory
• Metal tread plates with R-Sport lettering
• Soft grain leather multi-function steering wheel with R-Sport lettering
• 10.2-inch touchscreen with Multi-Touch Gestures
• 12.3-inch instrument panel display with virtual dials and full-screen 3D map
• In Control Touch Pro SSD navigation

Cutting-Edge Safety and Driving Assist

The Jaguar F-Pace has six airbags, ABS, Emergency Brake Assist, Dynamic Stability Control, All Surface Progress Control, Low Friction Launch, Blind Spot Monitor and Reverse Traffic Detection, and ISOFIX mounts at the rear seats.

Black Pack R-Sport

Jaguar offers the Black Pack R-Sport to further make your F-Pace stands from the crowd. With the exclusive gloss black radiator with gloss black surround, body-coloured door claddings with gloss black finishers, gloss black side power vents and 20-inch gloss black Venom 5 Twin-Spoke wheels, it certainly gives the F-Pace fierce visual impression.

For the customers’ peace of mind, the new Jaguar F-Pace comes with a 5-year Jaguar Care that includes the 5-year warranty, 5-years servicing and 3-years Jaguar Roadside Assistance.