Jaguar releases E-Pace image 22 | 06 | 2017
JAGUAR HAS REVEALED its first official image of the car its believes will becomes its biggest seller: the E-Pace. Designed by Scot Ian Callum, the new Jaguar SUV will go head-to-head with the likes of the BMW X1 and Audi Q3. (Related: Jaguar reveals XF Sportbrake)
The car, smaller than the F-Pace and which will be officially unveiled in production form on July 13, will be priced at less than £28,500 when it goes on-sale at Scottish dealerships. That’s a little less than the Audi Q3 but exactly the same as the BMW X1.
How important is the E-Pace? When Jaguar released its company report in April, it showed an 83% increase in global sales for the year 2016/17. Much of that increase cam from the launch of the F-Pace. Jaguar expects the E-Pace to outperform its larger sibling.
It’s also worth factoring in how the sector is increasing: in the first five months of this year, year-on-year sales of the X1 increased by 47% to 113,367. Last year, Audi produced more than 230,000 examples of the Q3.
Sitting on the same LR-MS steel platform as the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque, the E-Pace be offered with either front or four-wheel drive.
Buyers will be able to choose from a comprehensive range of both petrol and diesel 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium engines. It’s expected the main sellers will be the 161bhp and 178bhp diesels.
Elsewhere in the range, expect a 237bhp 2.0-litre diesel and a 247bhp 2.0-litre petrol. There will also be a choice of either a six-speed manual or eight-speed auto gearbox. It’s also likely the E-Pace will be the first Jaguar to receive the company’s new hybrid powertrain.
“The combination of sports car looks with Jaguar performance will ensure that the E-Pace stands out,” Dumfries-born Callum, Jaguar’s director of design, said. “Every Jaguar is designed to excite the senses, and we think E-Pace will do just that.”
Related: Scots unveil for Range Rover Velar
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Jim McGill