Jaguar won’t exist for long as we know it.
WATCH: Paul’s video review of the MY22 F-Pace SVR
As part of a bold new strategy from parent company JLR, the legendary British marque will no longer compete with BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Instead, it’s gunning for Bentley and Rolls-Royce with a new range of electric cars, starting with the production version of the polarising Type 00 high-end grand tourer in 2026.
It’s a plan that has already seen all new Jaguars discontinued in the carmaker’s UK home market, and will see the F-Pace SVR dead very soon. And as exciting as the prospect of a new era of Big Cats with electric power might be, that’s a shame.
The regular F-Pace – Jaguar’s final combustion-powered global model – is a great luxury SUV, with a handsome exterior and a luxurious cabin.
The high-performance SVR flagship adds an old-school supercharged V8 engine to the mix, and turns it into one of the most engaging and charming family haulers money can buy.
It isn’t perfect, but perfection is wildly overrated anyway.
How much does the Jaguar F-Pace cost?
On test here is the top-shelf F-Pace SVR with a range of optional extras.
| Model | Price before on-road costs |
|---|---|
| Jaguar F-Pace 90th Anniversary Edition P250 | $91,915 |
| Jaguar F-Pace 90th Anniversary Edition P400e | $115,882 |
| Jaguar F-Pace SVR (2024 pricing, 2025 update coming soon) | $153,570 |
To see how the F-Pace stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
What is the Jaguar F-Pace like on the inside?
Although it’s getting long in the tooth, the F-Pace still looks and feels fresh inside thanks to consistent updates.
The performance seats look fantastic, and offer a lovely blend of luxurious padding and sporty support. The view over the long bonnet is commanding, and everything you touch feels expensive.
Jaguar’s steering wheel is lovely to hold and behold, the oversized paddles behind the wheel feel cold to the touch on Melbourne winter mornings, and the gear selector slots into place with a reassuring clunk. It’s a nice place to spend time.
The technology in the F-Pace SVR has also come a long way since launch. The Pivi Pro infotainment system is shared with the Land Rover Defender, and is nipping at the Germans’ heels.
It’s pretty to look at and responds in a way that will feel quick to iPad devotees, with a menu structure that doesn’t require too much diving in to reach key functions.
The colours and icons are all similar; it can be hard to make out some of the more obscure functions in the main menu, but the fact you get physical controls for climate control means it won’t send your blood pressure soaring like the multimedia technology in some rivals.
The digital instrument dials are clear and easy to read, with sharp-looking maps, but they aren’t quite as easy to navigate as Audi or Mercedes-Benz options. Realistically it’s a non-issue, given most owners will set and forget.
There’s plenty of storage up front, from the deep central bin to the cupholders that can be covered with a sliding lid. You get a wireless phone charger under the dashboard, and a pair of USB-C ports lives under the armrest.
Rear seat space is pretty good, given this is a smaller SUV than a BMW X5 or Audi Q7. Legroom behind the one-piece backrests is solid, and there’s plenty of headroom for adults in the back.
The outboard rear seats have racy-looking integrated head restraints, and they’re actually bolstered to keep the kids in place around corners. Air vents with climate controls are on hand, as is device power.
ISOFIX child seat anchor points feature are fitted on the outboard rear seats, and there’s a trio of top-tethers too.
| Dimensions | Jaguar F-Pace SVR |
|---|---|
| Length | 4762mm |
| Width | 2071mm |
| Height | 1670mm |
| Wheelbase | 2874mm |
| Tare weight | 2058kg |
| Boot space | 793-1842 litres |
To see how the F-Pace stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
What’s under the bonnet?
Power in the F-Pace SVR comes from a dying breed. The supercharged V8 here debuted for the Jaguar brand in 2009, but has been fettled since.
| Specifications | Jaguar F-Pace SVR |
|---|---|
| Engine | 5.0L supercharged V8 |
| Power | 405kW @ 6250-6500rpm |
| Torque | 700Nm @ 3500-5000rpm |
| Transmission | 8-speed automatic |
| Driven Wheels | All-wheel drive |
| Weight (tare) | 2058kg |
| 0-100km/h (claimed) | 4.0 seconds |
| Fuel economy (claimed) | 11.7L/100km |
| CO2 emissions (claimed) | 272g/km |
| Fuel tank | 82 litres |
| Fuel requirement | 95 octane premium unleaded |
Unfortunately, that means it’s quieter. European noise restrictions required Jaguar to dial back some of the bark that has characterised its V8 models. Don’t worry, it still makes all the right noises… you just get less of them.
To see how the F-Pace stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
How does the Jaguar F-Pace drive?
This is a car with many talents, but they’re all dominated by the engine.
Overseas model shown
It’s quieter than before, with a more muted startup and fewer snaps, crackles, and pops, but it still permeates everything you do with its warm, woofly bark.
Even with the exhaust in its quiet mode it’s operatic, gargling around town on light throttle, harrumphing on upshifts, and burbling away in the background at a cruise; flicking into noisy mode brings more thunder to the exhaust note and more drama to the overrun, for the full V8 experience. Everything is underscored by just enough supercharger whine, too.
It’s not big or clever driving around making angry car noises for the sake of it, but God it’s fun.
Beyond the 5.0-litre elephant in the room, this is a lovely daily driver. Ignore the liquorice-strip tyres and massive 21-inch wheels, because in Comfort mode the adaptive suspension does an excellent job of smoothing out pimply cityscapes to deliver on the ‘utility’ part of the SUV acronym.
The steering is light and direct, so it’s easy to pilot the F-Pace in tight spaces, and the sight lines are actually pretty good. It’s not quite Porsche Macan small, but it’s also not quite as chunky as a BMW X6 or Audi Q8.
With no hybrid help and peak torque from 3500rpm rather than just off idle, as is the case with twin-turbo performance engines, you could be forgiven for thinking the engine in the SVR is a screamer.
There’s no doubt it really does its best work with a few revs on board, but around town there’s enough lazy V8 grunt to sit one, two, or even three gears higher than you’d expect and still get going in a hurry.
Although it’s a capable and happy cruiser, the SVR handles with a real sense of purpose. The steering is always crisp and direct, and you can occasionally feel it gently follow cambers in the road – not so sharply that you need to hold on with white knuckles, but just enough to know this is set up to be quite aggressive at the front end.
It pays off when you’re in a hurry. Tipping the scales at more than two tonnes, it’s no featherweight. But like the XF and XE sedans that kickstarted the last Jaguar revival, it delivers a real feeling of athleticism.
Flicked into Dynamic mode, you can take the SVR by the scruff of the neck and throw it around, and it just goes with you. The front end is impressively direct, and once you’re into the corner and get on the power the all-wheel drive system shunts torque to the rear axle to drive you out with relentless vigour.
There’s no escaping physics. This is a heavy car, with a centre of gravity that’s much higher than any sports sedan’s, and you need to respect that fact.
But driven with consideration for its limitations, there’s so much fun to be had here.
From the velvety V8 thunder and the way it offers a hint of rear bias on the way out of corners, to the feel of the glossy metal paddle shifters as you snap through the gears, it’s old-school fun in a world moving towards electric cars that teleport you silently from corner-to-corner.
And then when you’re done and it’s time to go home, the adaptive cruise control is smooth and smart, and the lane-keeping assist doesn’t want to rip the steering wheel out of your hands.
There’s no droning from the exhaust, and those sticky Pirelli tyres don’t kick up too much of a fuss on coarse chip Australian highways. It’s a very comfortable, capable grand tourer.
To see how the F-Pace stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
What do you get?
On test here is the flagship F-Pace SVR equipped with a range of optional extras.
F-Pace SVR equipment highlights:
- SV Exterior Pack
- Heated, power-folding mirrors with memory and approach lights
- Auto-dimming driver’s side mirror
- 21-inch forged alloy wheels in diamond-turned finish
- 395mm front/rear brakes
- Bright metal pedals
- SVR heated leather steering wheel
- Electrically-adjustable steering column
- Metal treadplates with SVR branding
- Configurable Dynamics (drive modes)
- Adaptive Dynamics (adaptive dampers)
- Electronic Active Differential with torque vectoring via braking
- Active sports exhaust
- Meridian sound system (400W, 12 speakers)
- Active Road Noise Cancellation
- 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
That’s on top of the goodies found lower down in the lineup:
- Suede headliner
- 14-way heated and cooled front seats with memory
- LED headlights and ‘signature’ LED daytime running lights
- Auto high-beam
- Dynamic indicators
- 11.4-inch Pivi Pro touchscreen infotainment system
- Satellite navigation
- Apple CarPlay/Android Auto (wired)
- DAB+ digital radio
- Power tailgate
- Paddle shifters
- Dual-zone climate control with rear air vents
- Configurable ambient cabin lighting
- Keyless entry with push-button start
Options fitted to our tester include:
- Sliding panoramic roof: $4420
- Light Oyster Semi-Aniline leather Performance seats with Light Oyster/Ebony interior: $2290
- Head-up display: $1960
- 22-inch forged, gloss-black wheels with grey inserts: $1560
- Privacy glass: $950
- JaguarDrive Control with Adaptive Surface Response: $310
- Rear seat remote levers: $120
To see how the F-Pace stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
Is the Jaguar F-Pace safe?
The Jaguar F-Pace at one point wore a five-star ANCAP safety rating based on tests conducted by affiliate Euro NCAP in 2017. It’s since expired, and the SUV is instead now unrated.
Standard safety feature include:
- Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
- Lane-keep assist
- Blind-spot assist
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Adaptive cruise control with steering assist
- Driver attention monitoring
- Safe exit warning
- Traffic sign recognition
- Front/rear parking sensors
- Front, front-side and curtain airbags
To see how the F-Pace stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
How much does the Jaguar F-Pace cost to run?
Jaguar offers a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty in Australia.
| Servicing and Warranty | Jaguar F-Pace SVR |
|---|---|
| Warranty | 5 years, unlimited kilometres |
| Service intervals | 12 months or 26,000km |
| Five-year service plan | $3750 |
| Average annual service cost | $750 |
To see how the F-Pace stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
CarExpert’s Take on the Jaguar F-Pace
If you’re in the market for a red-blooded European performance SUV, snap up an F-Pace SVR while you still can.
It’s not perfect, but it takes mundane things and makes them feel special in a way that so few cars still can in 2024.
The bombastic engine is central to its appeal, but there’s real depth to the driving experience that makes it more than a rocket strapped to a roller skate. From the chatty steering to the excellent ride and handling balance, this is a compelling, family-friendly take on the classic British grand tourer.
Jaguar has also made huge strides when it comes to interior technology.
The first F-Pace was off the pace, but consistent refinement has dragged it into line – or even past – its key rivals.
Yes, the SVR is a dinosaur in some ways, but in others this snarling beast of an SUV shows the way for many more modern alternatives.
I can’t wait to see what comes next from Jaguar, and I’m keen to drive the first of its electric Bentley rivals. But they’ll need to be pretty damn special to capture the magic of the SVR, and the V8 brutes that came before it.
Interested in buying a Jaguar F-Pace? Get in touch with one of CarExpert’s trusted dealers here
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