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2022 Jaguar F-Pace Review | Brings some flash to a subdued segment

The 2022 Jaguar F-Pace is an aesthetically pleasing alternative to the regular crowd of compact luxury SUVs from Europe and Asia. It bears the leaper proudly on its tightly-wrapped and attractive bodywork, and there’s little to complain about on the interior, too. Jaguar offers a level of performance available for whatever fits your fancy, but this SUV would rather be a cruiser and backroad bruiser versus a Nurburgring-carver no matter the model you choose. Some of our usual Jaguar Land Rover gripes have dissipated with the F-Pace recently, as itÂ’s now sporting a competent suite of tech to match its good looks. Plus, the new and complex inline-six engine is a real treat to use no matter the environment — it pulls hard when called upon, but has a smooth and luxurious side around town. We think itÂ’s the engine to get.  The F-Pace fits in nicely to this large group of luxury crossovers on sale today, offering an unmatched level of style and a good dose of substance to back it up. WeÂ’d still recommend a couple luxury SUVs before it, but the F-Pace is a more worthy alternative than itÂ’s ever been today.  Interior & Technology   |   Passenger & Cargo Space   |   Performance & Fuel Economy What it's like to drive   |   Pricing & Features   |   Crash Ratings & Safety Features WhatÂ’s new for 2022? There are no notable changes for the F-Pace in 2022 beyond a few optional items being made standard. Those include a power tailgate and privacy glass for the four- and six-cylinder models, and adaptive cruise control with lane-following assist for the SVR. The F-Pace received a makeover for the 2021 model year, and you can read more about that here. What are the F-Pace interior and in-car technology like? The F-PaceÂ’s interior just went through a big rethink last year that upgraded it into the realm of a top-shelf luxury cabin. It has an upscale look, uses excellent materials, and while it may struggle to find that balance between the inclusion of features and maintaining ease of use, nobody will criticize it for a lack of trying with technology. Per usual with Jaguar, the color and materials choices are vast, allowing you to find a combination that best fits your personality. The standard heated (front) seats are comfortable, and the interior as a whole measures up to its leading competitors out of Germany in the BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class.

Jaguar calls a hot-rodded I-Pace a when, not an if

Jaguar showed the world what a high-performance I-Pace might look like when it unveiled the racing-ready eTrophy (pictured) in 2017. Though it's built exclusively for track use, the hot-rodded EV is teaching the British firm's Special Vehicles Operation (SVO) division valuable lessons about electrified performance, and those tricks will seep into a street-legal production model in the coming years. Michael van der Sande, the head of SVO, told British magazine Autocar that a high-performance I-Pace is more of a when than an if. Jaguar has amassed decades of sports car-building experience, and it's trying to reinvent itself as a purveyor of electric cars, so combining these two images into one seems natural. We're a little bit surprised it hasn't happened yet, though van der Sande warned the project hasn't started because SVO is busy making other, higher-volume cars with fatter profit margins. The eTrophy uses the same basic powertrain as the I-Pace, according to Autocar, but it receives a long list of chassis modifications that help it handle better than stock. The production model would receive more comprehensive changes, including a more powerful electric powertrain, but its body kit would certainly resemble the one worn by the eTrophy cars. Whether the hotter I-Pace would arrive as a limited-edition model, like the XE Project 8, or as a standard addition to the range is up in the air. Jaguar is aware that venturing into the high-performance electric car segment would force it to lock horns with Tesla, which offers jaw-droppingly quick versions of the Model S and the Model X. The California-based firm is currently planning to attempt a lap record on Germany's Nurburgring track with a triple-motored prototype of a car coming to production in 2020, so Jaguar knows precisely who to beat if it wants to secure ultimate bragging rights in the electric car segment.

Lunaz electrifying classic cars with coachbuilt, millimeter precision

One day last year, as David Lorenz waited by the side of the road for repair help with his classic car, he had an idea: Why not update all of that ancient mechanical "character" with a modern electric drivetrain? That would give an owner the beauty of the past, the mechanicals of the present, and the powertrain of the future. Jaguar does it with the E-Type Zero, and Aston Martin's in the game with the reversible EV powertrain swap for the DB6 Volante. And so Lorenz founded the British engineering firm Lunaz Design, named after his daughter Luna and headquartered at the Silverstone Technology Park. The company's first products are almost ready for order, starting with a 1953 Jaguar XK120 and a 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V. Lunaz conversions aren't a matter of pulling an engine and installing a battery pack; Lunaz reengineers classics. Managing Director Jon Hilton oversees a team bringing experience from carmakers such as Aston Martin, Ferrari, Jaguar, McLaren, and Rolls-Royce, with Hilton's resume including six years with Cosworth Engineering followed by eight years in Formula One. To develop the Lunaz offerings, a chosen car is stripped to the metal and weighed so that engineers understand the weight distribution at each corner, then the car is stripped to the chassis and 3D-scanned. This yields information allowing designers to create a powertrain that fits to the millimeter and stays true to the handling dynamics of the original vehicle. During the rebuild, the company says, any imperfections are remedied "using traditional coachbuilding techniques." The Jaguar and the Rolls-Royce get battery packs in two locations, one under the hood and one under the trunk floor. Lunaz says it can fit more battery for its in-house design into each car that way. The Jaguar's 80-kWh battery feeds two electric motors sending 375 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels. The Phantom V uses a 120-kWh battery pack, but its output hasn't been released. While remaining true to the exterior and interior design of each car, Lunaz fits LED lights and modern tires, a modern suspension, better brakes with regenerative braking, power steering, an upgraded propshaft, and a fly-by-wire throttle. Safety and comfort additions include cruise control, traction control, and anti-lock brakes. Inside, the instrument cluster gets battery gauges, there's modern climate control, an infotainment screen with satellite navigation, and a Wi-Fi hotspot.