Jaguar I‑Pace EV400

Excellent to drive, but battery efficiency needs improvement – As you’d hope from a Jaguar, the I-PACE is fantastically put together. The materials, lack of distinct panel gaps, trim pieces and screens are all fitting when asking north of $150,000 for this EV. This car is devoid of any squeaks, rattles and road noise, which is a very important trait in a silent EV. My disappointment came in the form of electrical issues I experienced during my week with the I-PACE. For around 15 minutes, I was unable to interact with the digital climate controls and centre touchscreen - a slight problem on a particularly hot day.

Some cars I test have screens that might glitch, that a simple off/on can fix. However this persistent issue only resolved itself after some time, regardless of whether the car was turned off or on or was locked or unlocked.

I would have been pretty disappointed if this was my car and I was experiencing stereotypical Jaguar electrical issues less than 1000km into my ownership.

This trim of the Jaguar I-PACE will cost you $142,580 before on-road costs and incentives.

Our car was fitted with an enormous shopping list of options (all listed further down), including a panoramic glass roof ($3580), air suspension ($2002), and a Meridian Sound System ($1200). That brought the total price to $161,055.

The warranty is 5 years/unlimited kilometres, and high voltage parts are covered over 8 years/160,000km.

Your service intervals aren’t that different from a petrol car, occurring every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. However, what is a bonus is that your servicing is complimentary over 5 years or 200,000km.

It’s one of the better offers alongside those of brands like Genesis.

The added sound deadening and high quality materials ensure that the cabin of the I-PACE is silent. You can just feel it in your ear holes that Jaguar required this car to be as silent as a big cat hunting at night.

Although, that does change when you head into Dynamic mode, which activates some sound to be played through the speakers to enhance the feeling of speed.

I would also mention that the speaker upgrade is a must, especially if you’ve already committed to paying this much for an EV. I loved the rich sound this system generated; it’s a great way to make the most of a silent sound stage like this.

To my surprise, Jaguar have tuned these brakes to erode any sensation that this car has a heavy battery pack on board.

Yes, you do notice this car's weight at times, but those beefy brakes don’t make a fuss when being stomped on some backroads.

This AWD setup places two electric motors between both front and rear axles. With the car producing a combined output of 294kW (400hp) and 696Nm, you’re going to hit 100km/h in a brief 4.8 seconds.

This car feels every way as quick as Jaguar claims. It’s rapid, it’s exhilarating and it’s also unassuming to most punters who are up for a drag race from the lights.

This is a brilliant amount of power that absolutely helps the Jaguar achieve one of the most important characteristics of the brand: pace.

As an EV, you only have one forward gear to engage with, so there’s nothing more to say than it’s a perfectly smooth experience.

What I really loved was the way you select your shift into gear, all done by pressing buttons along a ‘bridge’ that emerges from the centre console to meet the dashboard.

Incredibly, the I-PACE manages to offer one of the best electric car driving experiences alongside something like the Kia EV6.

What you have is the best handling and driving EV you can buy. The way Jaguar has dialled in the chassis, steering and suspension of this car makes it quick to react but also extremely comfortable in mundane situations.

Air suspension helps with lowering the car for more dynamic handling, along with the adaptive dynamics package ($2002) fitted to our test car. I really haven’t had this much fun driving an EV through corners before.

I loved the driving position, the way you sit in the car to maximise the feel of the vehicle. This EV 1000% deserves to wear the Jaguar badge, and just makes me excited to see where the brand takes this electric platform into the future.

A slight kicker to all this positive stuff is the energy consumption. Jaguar claims 27.9kWh per 100km, a big difference to other EVs that usually hang just below 20kWh per 100km in their claimed figures.

You have a claimed 446km (WLTP) range from a humongous 90kWh battery.

I didn’t have the chance to range test this car, but I did find the projected range to slightly overstate the actual range I achieved in city driving. Regenerative braking helps keep some range when driving around town, but it’s not enough to bring that consumption figure down dramatically.

It is a little annoying too that this battery can only accept up to 100kW of DC charge, when other EVs are entering the realm of up to 350kW for fast charging.

I’ve always loved the interior of this EV, as it’s a bespoke design that hasn’t just been lifted from Jaguar’s other cars.

The new Pivi Pro software is a fantastic improvement from older cars, including connected services like weather and incorporating Amazon’s Alexa as a voice assistant. Over-the-air updates are also available, which the company has already used in the past to bring customers upgrades like wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto without having to visit a dealership.

The layout of the drivers display is easy to read and customise, so you can have as much or as little information as you might need.

The way the screens in here are integrated is fairly impressive, apart from the climate control screen which feels a little out of place. Making up for that are the screens inside the climate control dials, which are multi-functional and help reduce the visual clutter here.

If you’re looking for the best EV money can buy, it’s not this Jaguar. You can spend less for better battery technology, but you're not getting the best car if you do that.

What this Jaguar is, is a fast, elegant, comfortable, ergonomic luxury car that just happens to be electric. The way Jaguar have implemented the EV drive train has been done so well that you genuinely have a product that feels class-leading in the way it drives and performs on the road.

I would love to see some progress in the battery technology department to improve range accuracy and efficiency, but other than that, I think the I-PACE is a worthy luxury EV deserving of your attention over what Audi and Mercedes-Benz have to offer at this moment.

*Disclaimer - I work for ProductReview as their independent car and motorbike expert. I borrow new cars and motorbikes from manufacturers and owners to review. I am not paid or incentivised by these brands to post reviews. I write and create content to provide insight and information about any new or used vehicle I can get my hands on.