LIKES
- Enticing performance
- Balanced ride and handling
- Quiet cabin
- Top-notch materials and trims
DISLIKES
- Disappointing real-world range
- Back seat entry/exit
- Price
BUYING TIP
The 2021 Jaguar I-Pace merges the powertrain technology of the future with everything expected in a prestige luxury model.
What kind of vehicle is the 2021 Jaguar I-Pace? What does it compare to?
The Jaguar I-Pace was the first long-range, fully electric vehicle to arrive from a traditional luxury brand. It compares closest to the Tesla Model Y. With performance potentially rivaling Tesla, mated with premium cabin and luxury-car feature set, the I-Pace pairs heritage with the future.
Primarily because of its all-electric layout and its sleek, finely detailed style, the 2021 Jaguar I-Pace earns a TCC Rating of 9.0 out of 10.
Is the 2021 Jaguar I-Pace a good car?
The I-Pace doesn’t fool with falcon-wing doors like the Tesla Model X or rethink the whole driver interface like the Model Y. Instead, it pairs a familiar Jaguar driver interface and some alluring design with underpinnings engineered specifically for this model. The nearly 4,800-pound I-Pace can accelerate to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds, will seat four comfortably, and goes an EPA-rated 234 miles on a charge.
What's new for the 2021 Jaguar I-Pace?
On road trips, the I-Pace will charge at 100 kilowatts using CCS hardware so as to recover 63 EPA miles in 15 minutes, according to Jaguar, and a new higher-amp onboard charger this year cuts the Level 2 (240V) charge time to less than 9 hours from about 13 previously.
The I-Pace doesn’t show many signs that it’s all-electric from the outside or inside. The profile is rakish, with a cab-forward design that helps maximize space, and it fits right in with Jaguar’s other crossovers like the F-Pace. Inside, although the I-Pace gets an additional screen there’s no attempt to go sci-fi, and that’s a good thing; the look is elegant and finely detailed, an evolution of Jag’s best attributes.
That impression continues throughout the cabin, where plush upholsteries and excellent trims and details thoroughly outclass anything from Tesla and manage to make just enough space for four six-footers. At about 25 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats when they’re up it’s enough for a weekend road trip for a small family.
The most significant—and welcome—change for 2021 is a new 4G data system in conjunction with a Pivi Pro infotainment system, which Jaguar says will bring faster startup and a more intuitive menu setup, for this vehicle’s pair of digital screens that control infotainment and climate controls. The previous system offered for 2019 and 2020 was inexplicably laggy. The other significant change to the I-Pace for 2021 is the introduction of an upgraded climate control system that adds more efficient heating plus filtration down to PM2.5.
The I-Pace has omitted no active-safety features, and its InControl suite of driver assistance features offers a full suite of useful items like adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitors, traffic sign recognition, and park assist, although you won’t find any equivalent of Tesla’s much-touted Full Self-Driving package here.
How much does the 2021 Jaguar I-Pace cost?
The I-Pace started at $71,000 (including the $1,150 destination fee) for 2020 and hasn’t yet been priced for 2021. The I-Pace’s list of standard features is rich—think panoramic roof, twin-stitched leather, and perfectly coordinated trims. In previous model years, options could easily load the I-Pace up to cost more than $100,000.
In Graz, Austria.
Styling
The 2021 Jaguar I-Pace is a svelte crossover with all the sporty elegance that’s expected from the brand.
Is the 2021 Jaguar I-Pace a good-looking car?
The 2021 I-Pace is first and foremost a great-looking vehicle—one that could be held to the same standard whether you knew it was electric or not. Jaguar hasn’t yielded to any of the sci-fi influences or let aerodynamics completely rule the show. Altogether, the I-Pace is an 8 out of 10 for style.
From the outside, the I-Pace manages to look graceful and taut at the same time, and its combination of widened wheel wells and a body that tapers a bit in the middle helps exaggerate that presence. Fundamentally the I-Pace has a cab-forward look, but the way it all fits together gives it more of an instantly identifiable performance-vehicle profile.
That said, the I-Pace interior does deviate from Jaguar convention on one thing: It goes with two touchscreens for the center stack—one for the infotainment and one for supplementary climate controls.
Performance
The Jaguar I-Pace is brawny and a performance all-star, although its heft gets in the way sometimes and driving range is underwhelming.
The 2021 Jaguar I-Pace performs as well as—or better than—any of Jaguar’s gas-powered models, and its combination of sharp acceleration and near-perfect ride-and-handling balance make it appealing to a wide range of expectations. We give it an 8 out of 10.
Is the I-Pace 4WD?
All-wheel drive is standard and power is equally distributed to all four corners. Twin electric motors make 394 hp and 512 lb-ft of torque. They’re juiced by a 90-kwh battery that is mounted under the floor—accounting for more than a third of this model’s near-4,800-pound curb weight.
How fast is the Jaguar I-Pace?
For all its heft, the I-Pace blasts to 60 mph in a near-silent 4.5 seconds, and the low, central location for the battery pack gives it the weight distribution of a sports car.
Which leads to an important distinction versus plenty of other crossovers and electric vehicles. With a dual-wishbone front suspension and an integral-link rear suspension, plus air springs all around, the I-Pace can soak up imperfections adequately enough—even with the available 22-inch wheels, while offering quite engaging handling.
Off-road ability? Shockingly, that’s here, too—somewhat. The I-Pace can ford 19.7 inches of water, and deal with some light off-roading on the way to trails or launches.
Comfort & Quality
The I-Pace is nicely laid out for four, with cabin materials that don’t lose out to the tech.
The Jaguar I-Pace makes a lot out of its 184-inch length, which is a few inches shorter than the Model Y. The key is a long wheelbase of nearly 118 inches—longer than that of the Tesla Model X.
This very passenger-focused packaging is also focused toward making enough usable space for four adults—five will fit—rather than making room for a third row. It’s smooth-riding and appointed like a true luxury vehicle, with finely detailed trims and materials that don’t get short shrift, and for that we give the Jaguar a perfect 10 here.
The I-Pace feels more spacious than other compact crossovers of its size. Front seats are supportive and well-bolstered, although the base synthetic-leather seats aren’t as cozy as those in upper trims. We especially like the WIndsor leather used in the top-trim HSE model, with the optional performance seats—better seats than you’ll find in other SUVs this size, electric or not.
The I-Pace claims 25.3 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, which fold-down nearly flat, or 51.0 cubic feet behind the front seats. There’s storage beneath the center-console controls, and laptop storage underneath the rear seats.
Safety
The 2021 I-Pace doesn’t have any crash-test results.
How safe is the Jaguar I-Pace?
Neither the NHTSA nor the IIHS have tested the I-Pace, which is expected to be a relatively low-volume model for the U.S. So we abstain from rating it here.
The I-Pace does come standard with a solid list of active-safety features that includes automatic emergency braking, active lane control, and traffic-sign recognition, plus adaptive cruise control. Top HSE models add steering assist to the adaptive cruise control, plus blind-spot monitors, a head-up display, and a 360-degree camera system.
Features
The 2021 Jaguar I-Pace offers a countless number of distinct-looking build combinations and options—all at a steep price premium.
The 2021 I-Pace has a decent list of features, a strong warranty, and a very long list of options, plus the charging conveniences that help make the most of its driving range. That brings it to a 7 out of 10 here.
The I-Pace is one of an increasing number of vehicles to have multiple screens in the middle of the dash. There’s a 10.2-inch upper and 5.5-inch lower screen. The one up top handles the navigation system and connectivity items, while the lower one managed climate control. Compatibility for Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa are included, as is Bluetooth and HD radio, and there are six USB ports.
For 2021, Jaguar has substituted new 4G connectivity plus a Pivo Pro infotainment system they claim is 85% faster and can now pair two phones at once. This system, like its laggy predecessor, includes over-the-air update capability for both the system and some key vehicle attributes. Our experiences with it so far in the Defender—where its ability set is somewhat limited by comparison—have been positive.
We’d go lean on options but beeline to the top of the pecking order, the $81,925 I-Pace HSE (pricing for 2020) and its rich Windsor leather, 18-way heated and cooled front seats. That model also includes heated rear seats and a much-improved 825-watt sound system.
Although Jaguar hasn’t yet detailed pricing and exact features for the 2021 model, it’s already outlined the list of changes and said that the lineup of trims will remain mostly the same.
For 2020, the base $71,000 I-Pace S included 8-way power front seats with a synthetic upholstery, the air suspension, LED lighting, and the single-piece panoramic roof. At $77,275, the SE added leather, 20-inch wheels, and a power tailgate among other extras.
The I-Pace can easily top $100,000, with lavish material and trim options, showy wheel upgrades, four-zone automatic climate control, a heated windshield, and an adaptive dynamics and adaptive surface response system.
The I-Pace comes with a 5-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, with an 8-year/100,000-mile warranty for the battery.
Fuel Economy
The I-Pace is middle-of-the-road in range and underwhelming in efficiency.
The Jaguar I-Pace is rated by the EPA at 234 miles on a full charge.
While that’s not particularly impressive given the big 90-kwh battery pack, any battery-electric vehicle with a range of more than 200 miles is a 10 here.
That said, we haven’t seen anything close to the I-Pace’s 234-mile range in real-world use, and we’ve been downright rattled by the way the I-Pace’s state-of-charge meter—and range meter, or perhaps both—revises as it goes. This is all based on early-build vehicles and Jaguar says it’s been improved since with over-the-air upgrades.
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