Jaguar E-Pace review

Don’t mistake the E-Pace P300 as some kind of Jag hot hatch. Anyone who tries to tell you this 300bhp 4x4 is some kind of XXL Golf R is talking cobblers. It sees off 0-62 in around six seconds, but the engine works hard to shift the E-Pace's bulk, and unless slotted into Dynamic mode (via the F-Type’s mode switch), it doesn’t make an enthusiastic noise about the fact. Even when the dials do glow red and the gearbox sips a Red Bull, the fervent note is sung from the speakers, not the exhausts. Who are you kidding?

And delectable as the alloy paddles feel, like all Jags, the E-Pace’s transmission is much happier left to swap gears for itself than translate human interference into instashifts. At the other end of the scale, the D165 won't win any awards for being an inspiring drive, but it's smoother than Jag four-pot diesels were a few years ago, and we got 40mpg real-world economy.

Jag's attempted to give the E-Pace handling smarts worthy of its range of nice-handling cars, and to a degree, it's worked. This is not in any way intimidating to an SUVirgin, or ungainly. And because it's less girthy than the F(at)-Pace, it’s immediately less stressful to tack along in.

This has had an effect on the ride. This is a firm car that tosses your head around as it deals with British tarmac. It’s never crashy, but it’s not quite supple either. Neither is the similarly sporty BMW X2. Is that good enough for a Jaguar, which ought to breathe with the road instead of going all German and schporty? Again, the E-Pace is fine for a crossover, but no revelation.