REVIEW: Jaguar F-Pace SVR

Pretoria – Think performance SUVs and it’s the Germans that first spring to mind, but there’s something special about climbing into a bespoke British-made performance luxury car. Look, the whole idea of a performance SUV goes against all that I believe is good in sports cars, I mean you don’t see a racing series with cars that are essentially large rectangles on wheels anywhere in the world.

Yet it seems the world wants them, so here we are driving the Jaguar F-Pace SVR.

Jaguar SVO (special vehicles operations) understands their customers well, catering for a market that wants something a little out of the ordinary and more than the common garden variety fast SUV.

So occasionally they bring out a special edition that’s been tweaked both inside and out, and in South Africa’s case give them unique paint colour names such as zi Khaleni plum, Namaqua orange, Egoli yellow and Gloss avocado.

We’re a sucker for limited edition vehicles as well as performance cars, with South Africans always taking up our full allocation of M-cars, AMGs, GTIs and Porsches.

Perhaps it’s because of the design of the original E-Type Jaguar but there’s always a sense of occasion when you look at it and even though it’s still a rectangle with four rubber bits on each corner, the guys at SVO know how to do things just so.

In true British style it’s understated, rather than a garish vision of bad taste with lines and curves, air scoops and go fast bits in all the right places.

There’s increasingly bad news for petrolheads coming from the Jaguar Land Rover stable about culling fossil fuel engines in favour of batteries sooner rather than later, so cars like this will sadly become unicorns that the next generation are unlikely to loudly burn rubber with.

Simply put, there are few things that beat a V8 for pureness of sound and power and when a supercharger has been slapped onto it, even better.

Delivering 405kW and 700Nm of torque to all four wheels via an eight-speed gearbox connected to a torque converter that will get you to a head-jerking 100km/h in four seconds, this vehicle needs to be handled with kid gloves.

The sound from the tailpipes is spine-tingling and hats off to Jaguar for keeping it real by not piping a soundtrack into the cabin.

It oozes interior class with superior quality leather and shiny bits, SVR race-inspired bucket seats with embossed logos and Alcantara roof lining. Nothing here was left to chance.

If you’re in the market for one you can personalise the interior to suit your lifestyle or personality, and I would recommend doing it now because in a few years the F-Pace SVR as we know it will be dead.

As with almost all expensive cars and SUVs, dials have been replaced by glass and in the case of the F-Pace it’s a 12.3-inch curved digital display that you can toggle between display options, depending on what you want to see or in driving mode.

To your left is an 11.4-inch touch-screen infotainment system with the Pivi Pro dual sim system. It’s used across most of JLRs products, and while it takes some time to figure it out the graphics are crisp with a quick response.

Despite not being a big fan of sports SUVs you have to appreciate what the F-Pace is capable of.

Dial it into dynamic mode and it becomes a bit of a gentleman hooligan. The response from the drivetrain is brilliant as is throttle response. Floor it and the new dynamic launch-control feature lurches you forward loudly with a bark, the tightened suspension intelligently doing its work keeping pitch and roll to a minimum as you disappear into the horizon.

The gearbox shifts quickly and you can feel it grab the clutch firmly, especially through the first three gears.

Sport mode is a little less aggressive, but still fun and you can open the exhaust flaps even in normal drive to keep the neighbours on their toes.

Grip is fantastic thanks to the all-wheel drive, and the chunky steering wheel guides it around sharp corners and bends easily.

Fuel consumption you ask… Jaguar claims 12.2l/100km but good luck with that.

As you would expect from a R1 995 000 car safety and driver assistance features abound including six airbags, lane-keep assist, blind-spot warning and adaptive cruise control.

The Jaguar F-Pace SVR is a fantastic bit of engineering and design that deserves a lot of praise for what it is. It’s not a thug but rather a well-heeled SUV that will give you a lot of fun and feedback when pushed hard or tone it down when you visit your fancy friends in a golf estate.

For my money though if I had the means, I’d grab the F-Type R75 coupé (R2 759 000) with similar outputs except that it’s a real sports car also by the way, in JLRs petrol intensive care unit.

FACTS: Jaguar F-Pace SVR

Price: R1 995 000

Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8

Gearbox: 8-speed automatic

Drive: All-wheel-drive

Power: 405kW @ 6 250 – 6 500rpm

Torque: 700Nm @ 3 500 - 5 000rpm

0-100km/h: 4.0 seconds (claimed)

Top speed: 286km/h (claimed)

Fuel use: 11.7 l/100km (claimed)

Fuel capacity: 82 litres

Towing capacity: 2 400kg (braked)

Load volume: 650 litres

Warranty: five year/100 000km

Maintenance plan: five year/100 000km.

IOL Motoring