Jaguar I-Pace review

Perhaps surprising, given the Jetsons exterior, is that the inside of an I-Pace isn’t nearly as future-gazing as a Tesla. You still have several acres of screen (now with JLR’s latest Pivi Pro infotainment system), split over three displays (spec dependant), but also physical buttons. Fancy that.

A floating centre console jazzes things up, as does an inexplicable slab of old school veneer if specced as such. Particular mention must go to the Recaro seats: the driving position is spot on and comfort levels way higher than the skeletal backrest suggests.

Switch it on – the screens do a dance but no noise – but otherwise it’s as per a Range Rover Velar, or anything else in the upper echelons of Jaguar’s range, to operate. It’s refreshingly similar to ‘normal’ cars, with just the right amount of future.

What's it like space-wise?

This is one area where the I-Pace excels. Because the front wheels have effectively moved forward and the rears stayed where they are, Jag claims it has the interior space of a Porsche Cayenne, but the footprint of a Macan. As well as a 27-litre cubby in the Jag’s foreshortened snout there’s roughly the same bootspace (577/1,453 litres seats up/down) as a BMW 3 Series Touring.

It’s hard to know, we suspect purposefully, where the I-Pace fits into a conventional model hierarchy. It looks slightly like a hatchback, but, inside, the boot is twice the size of a Golf’s and outside it’s well over 400mm longer. When you step out, your foot goes down further than you expect (unless you’ve set the suspension to lower automatically), and inside the driving position is surprisingly commanding. It’ll also handle four adults with ease.

Does it feel like a £70k car?

Well, that depends on your taste. It lacks the glitz and glamour of some of its electric rivals, and to some it may feel too ‘ordinary’, but there’s a sense in here that Jaguar didn’t want to scare off its usual customer demographic by going OTT.

But that’s not a criticism. It looks and feels like, well, a regular car, and to anyone on the fence about making the electric switch, familiarity isn’t a bad thing. It’s a smart looking, well packaged, spacious car that just happens to be powered by electrons.