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Jaguar crossover to be named F-Pace [w/video]

Remember when the Apple iPad came out, and even reclusive Myanmar tribes were signing up for the Internet just so they could comment, "What kind of @#$%^ name is that?" But now, no one thinks "iPad" is unusual. Well, maybe the name of the new Jaguar crossover, F-Pace, will be like that. Maybe. We're told it was christened after worshipping at the altars of the F-Type and the company tagline, "Grace, Pace and Space" coined by founding father Sir William Lyons. The rest of it shouldn't give pause, though. Called a "performance crossover," the production version of the CX-17 concept will have five seats and be built on the firm's new aluminum-intensive platform. It's promised to have an "advanced suspension system" that incorporates both Jaguar's Instinctive All Wheel Drive and All Surface Progress Control tech, the latter being a low-speed cruise control for handling slippery surfaces, touted on the coming XE R-Sport model. Unfortunately, we've been told the production F-Pace won't actually get a Detroit Auto Show reveal, despite the video leading us to believe that will be the case. However, the CUV is well into development testing and will hit showrooms next year. So get ready. For the F-Pace. There's video above, you can click on the inset image to begin acquainting yourself with that name, and a press release below has a few more particulars. JAGUAR F-PACE: AN ALL-NEW PERFORMANCE CROSSOVER TO JOIN LINE-UP IN 2016 - Jaguar announces F-PACE – the production version of the breakthrough C-X17 concept car - A highly-efficient five-seat performance crossover underpinned by Jaguar's innovative aluminium-intensive architecture and advanced suspension system - All-weather and dynamic driving traction to be aided by the Instinctive All Wheel Drive® system and Jaguar's All Surface Progress Control technology* - The Jaguar F-PACE will deliver an unrivalled blend of style, performance and practicality (MAHWAH, NJ) – January 11, 2015 – Jaguar has today confirmed it will introduce an all-new model to the Jaguar line-up, to go on-sale in 2016, named the Jaguar F-PACE. Ian Callum, Director of Design, Jaguar, commented, "We received such an overwhelmingly positive response to the C-X17 concept car last year that we just had to make it a reality. "The Jaguar F-PACE, inspired by the F-TYPE, represents a perfectly judged balance of style, performance and practicality.

2017 Jaguar XE First Drive

For the first time in decades, the prize for the best-driving compact luxury sport sedan is very much up for grabs. BMW's 3 Series, the segment's longstanding archetype, has grown a bit soft, distant and pricy. Its Japanese rival from Infiniti, the Q50, lost the plot thanks to its video game steering and dated powerplant. The Audi A4 is due for replacement and the fantastic Mercedes-Benz C-Class skews luxury over sport. The Cadillac ATS? With an excellent chassis hobbled by middling powertrains and the devil's own infotainment system, it isn't selling. Unlikely as it sounds, the Lexus IS is probably the segment's best driver, but you've got to learn to love those turn-to-stone looks. So, where's a segment malcontent to look? Provided he or she is patient enough to wait for this car's spring 2016 arrival, allow us to recommend the 2017 Jaguar XE. Let's be honest. Jaguar really needed to come out with guns blazing. The last time the British brand battled in the compact premium sport sedan segment, its much-maligned X-Type slinked into the underbrush, tail between its legs after just a single generation. While the X was in some ways a better car than history will begrudge it, there's no getting around that Jaguar brought a front-wheel-drive-based knife to a rear-wheel-drive gun fight. This new XE will need to be a very different kitty, and it is. Internally known as X760, Jag's latest rides atop an all-new aluminum-intensive modular architecture wearing a handsome mosaic of aluminum and steel body panels. While the XE's design has struck us as very familiar since it first bowed in September, it's an attractive shape. Its longish, 111.6-inch wheelbase and wheels-at-the-corner stance gives the design a planted look emphasized by its wide rectangular grille and prominent lower air intakes. Jaguar claims a super-slick .26 coefficient of drag, but that's the skinny-tired overseas base model that we'll never see – ours will likely ring up a few hundredths higher. The aluminum body-in-white is itself an impressive piece of work, weighing just over 550 pounds. Vehicle engineering manager Jonathan Darlington says it's 20-percent stiffer torsionally than the XF, and "the lightest in the sector by far." What's more, the chassis incorporates liberal amounts of recycled aluminum (a claimed world first) and increased use of structural adhesives.

2015 Jaguar F-Type V6 S Coupe

My first, ill-fated job in the auto world was at an exotic car dealer in metro Detroit. The job itself sucked, but the cars, they were exceptional. Amidst a sea of Tiptronic Porsche Boxsters, first-gen Mercedes-Benz SLKs and abused second-generation Range Rovers, there were some real gems.
In particular, I have fond memories of a trio of undrivable Jaguar E-Types. Two Series II coupes as well as a Series III convertible (that featured a mostly broken roof) spent the entirety of my brief tenure at the dealership in the back of the musty service garage. I'd make side trips through there just to see the trio of E-Types, which rarely failed to put a big, ridiculous grin on my face.
Since that time in the summer of 2005, there hasn't been a single Jag that's been capable of eliciting the same goofy smile. Not the XFR-S, with its un-aristocratic wing, nor the XKR-S. At the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show, though, Jaguar introduced this F-Type Coupe. Sure, the droptop model had been around for a bit, but I thought it was the new coupe that most captured the E-Type's classic aesthetic, with a swooping roofline, those gorgeous rear haunches and a long, powerful hood. I had to drive one.