Just checked out The Car Connection's review on the new I Pace and was wondering what you guys think of it? Does it do the I Pace justice? I know barely anyone has gotten to test drive it, but I'm just curious if you guys think it's going to outshine, say, Tesla Model X.. and why or why not?
Link to review: https://www.thecarconnection.com/ove...ar_i-pace_2019

Quick summary of The Car Connection's review:
Styling - 8/10

• spaceship design
• minimalist interior
• long wagon body
• curvy lines on the exterior
• dramatic grille

Performance - 10/10

• all wheel drive
• fast 0-60 mph times: 4.5 seconds
• high center of gravity, but still gets a 10 for performance until battery cars can become lighter
• 394 horsepower
• 512 pound feet of torque
• lighter than the Range Rover
• can go through up to 19.7 inches of water
• electric power steering
• dual wishbone front suspension
• integral link rear suspension
• air springs

Comfort and Quality - 10/10

• lots of interior space
• comfortable seats
• 2 rows and 5 seats
• wide door openings
• stitched leather on dashboards
• programmed noise

Safety - not crash tested yet

• low speed automatic emergency braking
• LED headlights
• active lane control
• optional high speed emergency breaking with pedestrian detection
• optional cruise control
• optional blind spot monitors
• optional head up display

Features (all models) - 9/10

• available in S, SE, HSE, and First Edition
• power features
• 8 way power front seats
• ambient interior lighting
• air suspension
• LED headlights
• keyless start
• panoramic roof
• connection with Amazon Alexa
• Bluetooth audio
• wireless hotspot
• 380 watt sound system

Fuel Economy - 10/10

• estimated 240 mile range
• comes with charging cable
• charging station at home is expected to be installed by most owners
• 10 hours to reach 80 percent battery w/ Level 2 home charger
• under 90 minutes to reach 80 percent battery w/ high speed 50 kw fast charger
• 40 minutes to reach 80 percent battery w/ 100 kw fast charger

 

My wife and I were able to see the touring I-PACE prototype this past weekend, and were allowed to turn it on and play with the sound system, A/C, buttons, etc, but weren't able to drive it.

As someone who has a Tesla Model X, I can unequivocally say that the I-PACE is a LOT smaller. I can seat seven in my Model X, but five is the most in the I-PACE, and that fifth person is not going to be happy. Leg room in the second row can be tight depending on the position of the front seats. Rear storage is flat in the I-PACE, whereas the Model X has a deep well underneath for additional items. The I-PACE's 2nd row does fold forward if necessary. Getting in and out of the I-PACE requires ducking, which the Model X does not.

Size aside, I found the I-PACE interior to be worlds more luxurious than the Model X. All controls were intuitive at first use (aside from the A/C dials, but once I understood how they worked, they made sense).

The I-PACE also looks a lot sexier on the outside, but that design does impact the coefficient of drag and efficiency of the I-PACE. (My Model X P90D gets about 250 miles fully charged, and the I-PACE is rated at 240 miles; but the I-PACE is a smaller, lower vehicle, so it should be well into the high 200s.)

A/C was robust, cooled front seats were nice (although I wasn't 100% convinced the seat back is cooled like the seat bottom), and the Meridian sound system was excellent. Maybe not Cadillac Panaray or Lexus Mark Levinson nice, but it's a quality system. However, no matter how hard he tried, the salesperson could not get the I-PACE to pull in the equivalent HD station of any local FM station, so I can't confirm whether the I-PACE has HD radio compatibility.

Some items the salesperson couldn't reconcile were whether the I-PACE gets Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (different answers depending on who you ask, and I couldn't find a definitive answer on Jaguar's website). But for sure the Model X doesn't have either. You can't even plug in an iPhone via USB and play it in a Tesla - it's all Bluetooth, which impacts the fidelity negatively. However, Teslas can play FLAC files natively off of a USB thumb drive, and the salesperson couldn't tell me if the Jaguar could.

Also, Jaguar doesn't appear to have an equivalent "Auto Pilot" system (partial self-driving on highways) like Tesla. The salesperson was trying to tell me that Lane Keep Assist and Adaptive Cruise Control combined to offer the equivalent, and I laughed in his face. Mind you, the website videos on Jaguar talk about a "Steer Assist" feature that sounds more Auto Pilot-like, but there doesn't appear to be a way to order it, so it could be vaporware.

The I-PACE will have over-the-air software updates capability. Of course, so do newer Cadillacs, and I've yet to see a single OTA software update from them! (Cadillac is the worst when it comes to CUE infotainment updates.) So just because the I-PACE has it doesn't mean it'll get used.

That's all I've got for now. Hopefully Jaguar will call me to drive one soon so I can report back on that.

 

Some really good stuff there, thanks for sharing!

I agree with the back seat leg room situation. Saw a picture of it and I was a bit surprised. Not a deal breaker for me though- I like that it's smaller than the Tesla for street parking purposes.

 

Thanks for the reports! Yeah, the I-Pace is way smaller, barely a five-seater. But that is OK with me, I like 'em small or I would have already gotten a Model S. Interesting that the Tesla plays FLAC files! I really doubt that the the I-Pace will... And yes, the stereo sounded better than my F-Type (which is not hard to do AT ALL, even with the fix...)

 

Same for me, the dogs get the back of our SUVs and those seats are rarely up. Looks like the leg room is about the same as my Mercedes and Infiniti which isn't great but not really bad either. Wierd on the HD radio but it could be that is a car that was set for Europe (US cars aren't being built yet). I had the same problem when I picked up my Mercedes in Europe, it was set for the US and a lot of functions (traffic monitoring, satellite radio etc.) didn't work until it made it to the US. I'll never do a Europe pick up again, stupid idea. Car Play and Android Auto should be supported as well as that is part of the current Meridian loadout. Agree on FLAC, not many OEM systems will play those files. I don't use FLAC so don't care. The car is supposed to have the interior space of the F-Pace and the exterior dimensions of the E-Pace which is, to me, kind of Dr. Who cool. You don't get the massive trunk space of the Tesla but it should be a heck of a lot easier to park (parking a Telsa X or S is like parking a bus, I had to move stuff just to get my old garage door closed). It is a shame about our F-Type Meridian system but then mine hasn't had the problems of others, though I do admit the system in my XKR is a ton better (given it cost me $10K to put in I guess it had better be...). I can still hardly wait to get my iPace...