JAGUAR E-PACE

While our PHEV is in for repair, will its stand-in woo us away to a diesel life instead?

- RACHEL BURGESS

MILEAGE 9035

WHY WE’RE RUNNING IT

Have a new platform and PHEV power made Jaguar’s cub fully fighting fit?

It’s the perennial modern age question: should I buy an electrified car or stick with what I know? We’ve been running the plug-in hybrid E-Pace for a couple of months now, but while it’s back at Jaguar with some as yet undiagnosed electrical problems, we’ve borrowed an E-Pace D200, the mild-hybrid diesel offering in the compact SUV range. In fact, for the moment, it’s the only other E-Pace currently available to order alongside the PHEV, because of the semi-conductor shortage.

We’re in the D200 R-Dynamic SE, one trim above our R-Dynamic S PHEV, but to compare like for like, in S trim the diesel costs £42,840 and the plug-in hybrid is £48,795 (a sizeable £2800 price rise since our test car’s arrival). In personal lease terms, based on a quick look on the web, the diesel is around £610 a month for three years at 12,500 miles a year whereas the PHEV is £670.