By Autoreviewman
The mid-sized Jaguar F- Pace SUV with its thrusting, honed good looks, low- stance, and large wheels looks suitably expensive and exotic. Comprised largely of aluminum, helping to keep it lighter and more performance responsive, the F-Pace is already a sports car –derived SUV. And now Jaguar have made it even better with a 2019 SVR model, a high performance version of the F-Pace with Jaguar’s Special Vehicle Operations massaging a big 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 with a stonking 550 horsepower and 502 lb-ft of torque. Jaguar refers to the F-Pace SVR as the “magnificent beast,” and it’s easy to see why. With its excellent blend of muscle, agility and style, not to mention its useful utility, the F-Pace SVR is mean, aggressive looking, and an incredible performance all-rounder.
Jaguar says the SVR will do the quarter mile in 12.3 seconds with a top speed of 176 mph (283 km/h). All-wheel drive is standard, and The ZF-sourced, eight-speed automatic transmission has revised shift mapping, and routes power to all four wheels. The SVR F- Pace is distinguished by, massive air intakes, and vents in the hood and front fenders. The rear fascia has a new bumper with big quad exhaust pipes, and a unique rear spoiler. In addition to its larger 21 inch wheels, the F-Pace SVR gets special front fenders, rocker panels and a new rear spoiler. The spoiler out back isn’t only for show, either, and helps reduce aerodynamic lift.
Inside, the cabin is gorgeous with beautiful soft leathers draping the dash, center console and door panels, and nicely bolstered front sport seats that feature very attractive lozenge quilted inserts and embossed SVR logos in the headrests. The rear seats are also new for the SVR, with seatbacks that continue the styling from those in front. A meaty SVR steering wheel with aluminum paddle shifters feels fantastic and there is a new SportShift gear selector that replaces the rotary dial of other F-Pace models. The smart metal and aluminum dotted dash and console looks great. Jaguars’ InControl Touch Pro system with a 10-inch touchscreen takes care of infotainment duties and the audiophile quality 17-speaker Meridian surround-sound setup, sounds wonderful. A 4G Wi-Fi hotspot for up to eight devices and Bluetooth connectivity.
Of course there is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Self-parking capability, heated front and rear seats, a huge panoramic glass roof and adjustable ambient lighting are just a few of the optional extras in the F-Pace that make it a luxury premium ride. It also possesses a roomy cabin front and rear, with decent enough room for all passengers. With the rear seats up, there’s 33.5 cubic feet. With the 40/20/40-split seats folded flat. The impressively large 650-litre trunk space offers more storage than similar SUV’s. Our gorgeous Fuji white tester came with a slew of options such as the Driver Assist Pack ($3,600) with features such as: Adaptive Cruise Control + Steering, Surround Camera System, Blind Spot Assist, Rear Traffic Monitor, Park Assist, Intelligent Emergency Braking, Meridian Surround Sound System, Head-Up Display, J Luxury Interior Package and much more. The options fitted to our tester came in at $13,100 alone.
On the road, the extra horsepower, and muscled up tweaks make the F-Pace into a screamer of a high performance SUV. Variable, rear-biased all-wheel drive and rear axle torque vectoring send power to the wheels that have the most grip, so making cornering precise and quicker. New Bilstein adaptive dampers, stiffer springs and a thicker rear antiroll bar also help in handling, maintaining a flat even keel in speed corners. The steering is quick and offers very tactile, satisfying feedback. The Dynamic mode setting is very entertaining with a more buttoned up feel as everything, handling, steering, engine and transmission performance is tightened up. All-wheel drive in the F-Pace is on-demand. The system sends 90 per cent of torque to the rear wheels under normal driving conditions, but changes torque to a balanced 50:50 front and rear on surface such as grass and mud. The tight sports-car-like handling helps the Jaguar feel firm and planted, even on tight twisty curves. Unlike some other larger SUV’s there is very little body roll on the F-pace SVR and handling is exceptional for an SUV, almost sports-car like.
Sporty, refined, fast and with an unmatched pedigree, this is one Jaguar everyone should aspire to.
2019 Jaguar SVR F-Pace Suggested Retail Price $89,900.
Options as supplied $13,150.Destination $1,700.
Total Price $104,750.00
Website: www.jaguar.ca
