Touring the Grand Design Homes in a Grand Jaguar I-Pace

I know when I fell in love with Jaguars. It was when I was watching the Bathurst 1000 in 1985. Jaguars burst onto the scene, winning everything in sight and upsetting the local manufacturers. Tom Walkinshaw driving the mighty XJ-S V12 led the way with Jags occupying the first two positions at the finish. What a car – It looked fast and was. Jaguar would be thrilled to know that all these years later I associate their brand with winning. It’s never changed for me. I’ve always loved Jaguars.

My next introduction to a specific model was my parents talking about the beast that was the E type Jaguar. They were in London in their 20s during the 1960. In London it was all Beatles, Jags and miniskirts. My father proudly pronounced the E type Jaguar possibly the best looking car ever made. It was regularly talked about in the same sentence as the Spitfire as the pinnacle of English engineering and design.

So well bowl me over when Jaguar offered to lend me a car for a day to visit some beautiful homes from the Grand Designs series. It was a quick decision. Jumping in the I-Pace immediately settles you into a zone of complete comfort. It’s classic yet contemporary and refined but with a glint in its eye.

Triggering all kinds of memory buttons for me, I pushed the start stop button and of course being electric, it wakes up but there is no Jaguar growl. As you touch the throttle you are ushered off in a serene moment gliding into the traffic with ease.

With all of the standard driver assistance modes you get these days dealing with the busy traffic and the highway was really no problem and you are treated to a quiet glide out of the city and eventually onto the back roads. This is where the car really shines and comes into it’s own. The iI-Pace has extraordinary pickup and performance and it coupled to very capable roadholding. In fact, when we got to the gravel roads, the car got even better somehow it seemed to crouch down and grab hold of the unsealed surface in a way that gives you complete confidence in its ability. You might be worried about your paint, but you won’t worry about the handling. I wanted to strip the car down to rally basics and put a racing number on the side and take it onto some forest street tracks. Except of course you don’t want to strip out this beautiful interior because it hugs you and caresses you with that cheeky wink.

Jaguar have really nailed leaving plenty of physical controls available to the driver. Everything is doable through the central screen of course, however having direct access to heating and cooling ventilation settings through a single dial is not only convenient but safe and practical. Especially when you’re off road and don’t want to take your eyes off the heads up display enhanced view through the windscreen. 

I think when the I-Pace was released, Jaguar surprised the auto world. Here was a traditional manufacturer putting out a class leading electric vehicle. A little bit like the way they shocked the Australian racing industry when they turned up at Bathurst. I have the feeling they might do it again because they’ve got a new motivated CEO inAdrian Mardell and a ‘House of Brands’ approach across the Jaguar, Land Rover, Range Rover and Defender. I can’t wait.