22 May 2023 – Driven To Write

The Jaguar I-Pace shone brilliantly, but briefly.

Rarely can a car have carried such a weight of expectation at launch than the Jaguar I-Pace. It was first previewed in concept form at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2016 and the reaction was overwhelmingly euphoric. Designed in-house by a team led by Ian Callum, the I-Pace Concept successfully integrated Jaguar’s styling cues into a low-slung crossover coupé form. That automotive sub-genre had been around for almost a decade⁽¹⁾ but the I-Pace was radically different in proportions and stance to other such vehicles, many of which looked like regular SUVs with a (not always successful) roof chop. The I-Pace, with its ultra-long wheelbase⁽²⁾ and cab-forward stance, was new from the ground up and, stylistically, very much the better for it.

Buoyed by the reaction, Jaguar moved quickly to bring the I-Pace to market and the production car was launched in March 2018, with deliveries beginning in June of that year. Wisely, Jaguar made only fractional adjustments for the production vehicle, and one would need a keen eye and tape measure to Continue reading “A Promise Unfulfilled”