A New Beginning

Just like politics and honesty, supercars and economy, Jags and SUVs could never be spoken of in one sentence. Until now. Is this metamorphosis worth your attention?

- Agasti Kaulgi

India is the only place where Jaguar and Land Rover is said in one breath. In fact, it was the Indian media and business analysts who coined the term ‘JLR’ when the talks of Tata Motors buying the brands off Ford started to surface. Till then, both had an individual identity and did completely different things. The gap has started to blur, and the first case in point is Jag’s entry into the space that Land Rover has been dominating for so many decades. Never did I imagine that I’d drive a Jaguar on a beach and it’ll take up a few pages in the SUV Special issue of an automotive magazine. But, it’s here, the F-Pace, Jag’s answer to the Porsche Macan, jumping on to the bandwagon of carmaker turned-SUV-maker just like Maserati, Bentley, Porsche and soon Lamborghini.

The F-Pace is as different a vehicle as the name sounds. It has inherited styling cues from Jag’s newer sedans, but you cannot deny that there’s a bit of F-Type, too, in there. The F-Pace isn’t a very big SUV. You could call it the size of a Macan (pun not intended) or a Merc GLC. But it isn’t too small to be mistaken for a crossover. It has quite a presence on the road, and if you go in for a bright paint shade like the car here, it’ll be even more of a head turner.

The cabin is typically Jaguar. The only thing that’s not like any other Jag is the seating position – it’s high and commanding, giving a nice view of the road ahead and the tall, flat hood. The rest will remind you of the XF or the XE. There’s generous use of piano-black finish on the centre console, and there’s plenty of equipment to play with. The F-Pace is strictly a five-seater. But for the five passengers that’ll be on board, there’s ample room. The rear seat is comfortable and roomy and gives you the proper feeling of being in a premium SUV.