A few months have passed since our 2017 Jaguar F-Pace S joined the burgeoning Four Season fleet, but that hasn’t diminished its luster. Even when compared to our 2017 Infiniti QX30, 2017 BMW M2, and the itty-bitty Audi that is the 2016 VW Golf R, the Jaguar still manages to make long trips and daily commutes feel special. Despite this, the supercharged SUV has kept us on our toes, both on the test strip and out on California roads.
The Italian Racing Red five-door has been a busy bee, hopping from contributor to contributor and testing at the track. After a go on the figure-eight loop, our primo sporting SUV made quite the impression. The F-Pace was quite the wild ride, sliding out its rear end out at the slightest provocation, after which point it became essentially uncooperative. By our estimation, it could really use a set of summer tires for better grip and control, and would likely improve the Jag’s 0.82 g skidpad average.
The result of all this preparation is a 0-60 mph time of just 5.2 seconds, just one-tenth off the factory quoted time of 5.1 seconds. That’s enough straight-line hustle to dispatch the quarter-mile in an impressive 13.7 seconds at 101.1 mph. It sheds forward momentum with the same alacrity, with an as-tested 60-0 mph distance of 116 feet, not bad for the high-riding cat.
From that sun-soaked parking lot of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, the F-Pace fell into the hands of longtime contributor Ronald Ahrens, who enjoyed the Jaguar for a spell in blistering Palm Springs, California. With 1,200 miles behind the wheel, his opinions on the Jag were mixed. The performance-oriented suspension that has thus far proved a sore point among editors won approval from Ahrens. “I do like how it rides: excellent compliance, well-suppressed rebound, and containment of body motions,” he notes. “If the Jag were a linebacker, it would never be blocked out of the play.”
Unfortunately, it looks like the Jag might not be holding up to daily abuse as well as we hoped. Ahrens was quick to note noisy pieces in the interior after scuttling along a particularly bumpy stretch of the Mojave Desert. “The driver’s A-pillar groans, and the trim rattles. The dashboard quivers. The instrument panel tremors,” Ahrens laments. “I had the feeling the body shell is moving all the time. And if there’s rattling now, how bad will it be after 80,000 or 120,000 miles?”
It’s not just noisy trim that’s giving us problems. Following the performance testing, I found the brake pedal softer than before, and the travel was a bit long. Upon arriving back in LA around midnight from a weeklong trip abroad, I was happy to slide into the rich leather seats until a bright orange tire pressure warning flashed into my tired, jet-lagged eyes. After a quick stop at a gas station air pump, the warnings abated, but it looks like this wasn’t a permanent solution. Online Editor Ed Tahaney ran headfirst into the same issue not long after I topped off the tires with fresh air. “The tire sensor may be broken. Came on this morning for all four tires,” he notes. We think it’s the sensors themselves, considering the pressure is right as rain when we checked them several times. There’s warnings on the dash, but as far as I can tell, there’s no way of bringing up a digital display of individual tire pressures, so all measurements must be done by hand. This would prove annoying for Jaguar’s well-moneyed customers who are used to finely brewed dealership coffee, not crouching outside in a dirty parking lot handling dollar-store tire pressure gauges.
As the miles roll on, time will tell if the handsome Brit can keep up with our demanding American attitudes. We’ll check back later with more of the F-Pace’s escapades.
Our 2017 Jaguar F-Pace S |
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| MILES TO DATE | 8,565 |
| PRICE | $71,360 |
| ENGINE | 3.0L supercharged DOHC 24-valve V-6/380 hp @ 6,500 rpm, 332 lb-ft @ 4,500 rpm |
| TRANSMISSION | 8-speed automatic |
| LAYOUT | 4-door, 5-passenger, front-engine, AWD SUV |
| EPA MILEAGE | 20/26 mpg (city/hwy) |
| L x W x H | 186.3 x 76.2 x 65.6 in |
| WHEELBASE | 113.1 in |
| WEIGHT | 4,015 lb |
| 0-60 MPH | 5.1 sec |
| TOP SPEED | 155 mph |
The post Our Four Seasons 2017 Jaguar F-Pace S Hits the Test Track appeared first on Automobile Magazine.
