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Jaguar F-Pace SVR with 550 horsepower headlines 2019 F-Pace refresh

Jaguar has introduced the lightly refreshed F-Pace for 2019. The regular models are updated with better infotainment and interior touches, but the big deal is the SVR version with its 5.0-liter V8 engine. We already saw the F-Pace SVR at the New York Auto Show, and it will now be available as a 2019 model. The supercharged V8 engine with a variable valve active exhaust system produces a whopping 550 horsepower and a touch over 501 lb-ft, hitting 60 mph in just 4.1 seconds. The SVR's top speed is 176 mph, and it's priced from $79,990. The entire gasoline-powered F-Pace lineup gets exhaust particulate filters, even the SVR. Jaguar says the ultrafine particle trapping system is regenerated every time the driver lifts his foot off the throttle. Jaguar does say the setup is market-specific. There are also larger, 21.66-gallon fuel tanks for the 250- and 300-horsepower Ingenium I4 cars, the 380-hp V6 version and the SVR, to improve range. There's now adaptive cruise with steering assist, which operates between 0 and 112 mph, and emergency braking and lane-keeping assists are standard as well as a driver condition monitoring system and a rear camera. Safety tech has also been packaged into optional safety packs, called Park Pack, Drive Pack and Driver Assist Pack; the third of these combines the earlier two and adds adaptive cruise with steering assist. The 10-inch infotainment touchscreen is standard, and Jaguar now offers new, 14-way adjustable "slimline" sports seats as an option. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 2019 Jaguar F-Pace View 11 Photos Image Credit: Jaguar Jaguar SUV Luxury

2018 Jaguar F-Pace: Ambient lighting is fun and frustrating

Like so many other automobiles from this decade, our long-term Jaguar F-Pace crossover has customizable interior lighting, a part of the $2,350 Luxury Interior Package. I've previously admitted to the fact that ambient lighting has me split in opinion. On the one hand I know that it's probably going to end up being dated and uncool in the future. On the other, I actually quite enjoy it, possibly because I grew up in the neon-fueled world of early '00s import tuner culture. I also like it from a color-coordination perspective. Our Jaguar's bold blue hue called Caesium can be brought inside with equally bright illumination. It's very satisfying. But that satisfaction of having everything just so is quickly sullied as the center stack and switches are only one color that can't be changed. Admittedly, that's completely normal, but unlike many of those other cars that use neutral white illumination, the Jag's light up in the same blue/teal color that made your Razr phone look cool so many years ago. And so whether you bathe your cabin in blue, red, purple or green light, the ambient lighting will clash with the main switch gear. You can pick a shade of blue for the ambient lighting that roughly matches the switches, but I don't want to compromise my color preference because Jaguar didn't put in LEDs in that would be neutral (or, even better, change to match the ambient settings). I have other complaints about color-matching in the car, too. The instrument panel, which is a flat screen, has a few different display modes, but most of the readouts use a similar (but not quite the same) blue/teal color as the switchgear. So that doesn't match, either. Then, in the sport mode, the instrument screen switches to red. That brings me to my next gripe: all the ambient lighting switches to red when choosing this mode. I get it, red means sporty and Jaguar wants everything about sport mode to feel sporty. But damn it, I paid for custom lighting, let me keep that lighting when I'm also in a sporty mood. I actually sometimes skip the sport mode because I want to be swathed in my favorite hue more than I want slightly more sporty driving dynamics. Oh, and of course the switchgear remains teal/blue even in sport mode. So yes, this is picky. But that's the beauty of evaluating a car like the F-Pace over a longer period of time.

Regulators consider adding more carmakers to Takata recall

Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal has been getting a lot of press recently, but the Takata airbag inflator affair could be grabbing headlines again soon. According to Bloomberg, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is contemplating an expansion to the campaign that could add seven automakers to the 12 already affected. They are Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Spartan Motors, Suzuki, Tesla, Volvo Trucks, and VW Group. To be clear, there's no recall for any of these automakers, yet. The government is simply asking for a full list of vehicles that each of them have with Takata-supplied inflators containing ammonium nitrate propellant. The agency is concerned this substance could play a roll in the ruptures. "NHTSA is considering not only whether to issue an administrative order that would coordinate the remedy programs associated with the current Takata recalls, but also whether such an order should include expansion of the current recalls," the letters say. All seven can be viewed, here. From a report supplied by Takata, the government already knows that the company supplied 887,055 inflators with ammonium-nitrate propellant to VW and 184,926 of them to Tesla. In an incident during the summer, a side airbag allegedly burst in a 2015 VW Tiguan. In early September, NHTSA put out a revised report that there were 23.4 million inflators to be replaced in 19.2 million vehicles in the US. An earlier accounting from the agency had about 34 million of the parts in 30 million cars. High humidity is still believed to be among the biggest risk factors for the ruptures. Although, if ammonium nitrate also gets the blame, some already recalled models might need to be repaired again. Related Video: