Jaguar E-Pace review

If you're after an E-Pace over Jaguar's XE saloon, you'll likely be seeking the classic 'command driving position' sat up on high. The E-Pace delivers: you feel like you're sat a good wedge taller than in a BMW X1 or X2, but the high beltline still cocoons you within the car.

A new I-Pace-spec steering wheel with huge metal paddles is among the updates for the 2021 facelift. Also new are the climate controls and the gear selector, which replaces the old and rather likeable pistol-grip joystick.

The best news is the new 11-inch Pivi Pro interface which at long, long last gives Jaguar a decent infotainment system. The Apple CarPlay/Android Auto mirroring was foolproof in our test cars, while the native interface is clearer and more modern-looking than before. It's taken Jaguar far too long to get here, but operating the tech inside is no longer like trying to pull old photos off your circa-2003 Windows XP laptop. While driving.

Two USB sockets lurk under the armrest in a huge cubbyhole, with a detent in its lid so cables trailing into grande cupholders aren’t pinched.

Someone’s thought that through. Probably the same person who hollowed the door pockets to cradle bottles at a 45-degree angle so they don’t rattle as you steer, insisted that a six-footer should sit comfortably in the back behind an equally sized driver, with enough room for size-12 feet even when the pilot has their seat wedged as low as it’ll lie, and made sure the panoramic glass roof begins slightly aft of the driver’s head, so any glares or glints don’t creep into your eyeline, or render the screens an opaque reflecto-mess.

The boot’s not giant, thanks to the stylist’s swoop of a pen that brings the rear window down at a fast angle. It’s 425 litres with the seats in place, or 1,234 litres in van mode. Bigger than an Audi Q2, but smaller than the (ageing) Q3, and hundred of litres below a BMW X1.