The Mercedes-Benz GLC, Audi Q5 and the BMW X3 have become household names in the executive mid-sized SUV segment in the UAE. However, there’s a new challenger in this segment, not from Dodge but from the British luxury automaker Jaguar. Its F-Pace slots in this segment and has stood the test of time for quite some time now. After almost half a decade since its introduction, the UAE adorns itself with the new F-Pace R-Dynamic Black model. What we can assure you is that the updates are radical and under the skin too.

Design

The F-Pace is an aggressive looking machine and it doesn’t shy away from commenting this with the Black pack consolidating gloss black side mirror embellishment, 20-inch gloss black ‘Style 1067’ wheels swathed in neatly into the self-sealing tires, a fixed black panoramic roof and privacy glass. In a nutshell, the F-Pace R-Dynamic with Black pack is a contraption that will be easily perceived in a crowd. Such design cues gel well with the novel shade of Ostuni White. The gaudiest bit is the grille ornated in gloss-black which produces a strong presence for its SUV credentials. The vents on the air fender are also finished in gloss black for a sporty stature. Other highlights imparting a discreet identity to the R-Dynamic black package are black window lining, a fixed panoramic roof, black roof rails transcending the silver ones on other trims and red brake callipers, an element describing Jaguar’s sporty DNA.

Jaguar

Interior

If impeccable levels of quality are your craving, then the F-Pace in its facelifted avatar will incessantly please and pamper you with trims such as satin charcoal ash veneers on the midriff of the dashboard and the centre console. One will appreciate the attention to detail given to the lower part of the dash where the satin charcoal ash effect is present. To rant its aggression, it gets pedals finished in aluminium. To suit your disposition, it offers 30 ambient lighting colour options against the erstwhile 10. Typical of Jaguar, the car boasts its understated elegance with a thoughtfully laid out instrument binnacle, a massive infotainment system which is a lot more intuitive to use and a convention gear selector instead of the rotary now which used to pop out upon starting the car. That will be sorely missed.

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Features

The car goes all guns blazing in the creature comforts arena bringing some really unique features. Part of the long roster is a PM2.5 filtration system used to ionise the air inside the car. It goes one up over its competition by including the Cabin Air Purification Plus system which enhances the air quality and stymies the filtration of bad aroma. It thinks before it acts via its Air Purge system which freshens the car even before you enter. This is made possible courtesy of the infotainment system or the Jaguar Remote App which connects you to your F-Pace. It keeps a check on the carbon dioxide particles in the car through its Cabin CO2 sensing feature and formats it out.

It gets a slew of other goodies such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard fitment. However, wireless versions of both of these will be introduced shortly as part of an update. Travelling every morning from Dubai to Abu Dhabi has become that much easier as the 11.4-inch Pivi Pro infotainment system allows access to Spotify app. The system also allows you to pair two phones simultaneously. It eliminates all external sounds while you’re on call for pure sound via an external antenna enveloped in the roof pod. You can wirelessly charge phones which gets a booster to make the process an easy grind. Futuristic features include adaptive cruise control along with Steering Assist function which steers the car for you to be within the lane peripheries.

The most unique and notable feature are the self-sealing tires which use a sealant that surrounds the object if it penetrates into the tread. This is available only on the All-Season specification and is available with 19, 20 and 21-inch sizes.

Powertrains

All powertrain options come engaged with all-wheel drive and 8-speed automatic tranny.

If you like playing the memory game, here is your chance as the F-Pace comes with plenty of petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid engine options. For starters, there’s the most frugal of the range, 250 PS 4-cylinder turbo configuration. Going up the scale, there’s a more potent mild-hybrid EV 3.0-litre 6-cylinder engine with e-supercharger and turbocharger that can be had in either a 340 PS or 400 PS guise. A plug-in hybrid 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo with 404 PS is also available for tarmac shattering performance. However, for true-blue enthusiasts, nothing but the 550 PS 5.0-litre V8 supercharged motor will get their pulse rate booming. It goes from 0-100 Km/h in just 4 seconds and clock a top whack of 286 Km/h thanks to an astounding 700 Nm of torque.

If you’re in love with great low-end torque, there are diesel options too sporting a 2.0-litre turbo-4 available in either 163 PS MHEV, 199 PS or 204 PS MHEV. Consider this as only the trailer as the movie is all about the more potent 3.0-litre turbo available as a PHEV with both producing 300 PS.

Another talking point is the P400e trim which can operate either as a hybrid where it optimises petrol and electric battery contemporaneously and can switch between them according to the need. The EV mode provides pure electric driving for upto 53 Km getting your grocery commutes sorted. The SAVE mode as the name suggests is for the parsimonious folks which saves 85-percent of the battery charge and can be used when required. Using a 32 kW DC fast charger, it increases the battery percentage from nought to 80 in just 30 minutes.

Jaguar

Verdict

The F-Pace is stronger than ever with remarkable cosmetic updates, oodles of drivetrain options to select and customisation which it offers in abundance. Does it take the fight close to its German counterparts? We certainly think so.

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