2022 Jaguar I-PACE Review

When I think of Jaguar, I picture Pierce Brosnan at the wheel of an XKR sliding around on ice, hunting down baddies with absurd levels of traction.

My mind then shifts to Nicolas Cage and his crew of sneaky misfits, helping themselves to a 1994 XJ220 in Gone In 60 Seconds.

The Jag I'm test driving is not like that. There is no petrol engine and you are hard-pressed to get even the slightest little slip from the tyres.

It is faster than Bonds XKR too, though it makes nowhere near as much noise.

If Brosnan had driven this in Die Another Day, the movie would have been much shorter, and there would have been much less damage caused to, well, everything.

Anyway, this is Jaguar's only electric car – the 2022 I-Pace SE.

While it doesn't have an internal combustion engine or an invisibility feature, you don't miss out on anything when it comes to features and comfort.

There are only really 2 years left until Jaguar's self-imposed deadline of making its entire line electric. This is the marque's only current electric vehicle, so it is an important one for the company. It needs to be good.

2022 Jaguar I-Pace as reviewed

What's the Jaguar I-Pace like inside?

Fortunately, it is good. Sitting inside, you're hard-pressed to tell it is electric. There are soft leather seats and 2 screens for the Pivi Pro system. It has all the touches and finishes you'd expect from Jaguar.

There are a few features that make you remember you are riding on a battery though. Gears are selected by buttons rather than the rotary dial that exists in the F-Pace, which is a bit futuristic. And underneath these controls is a cave of sorts that hides the wireless phone charging bay (an optional extra costing $350).

Other devices can be charged via one of the 4 USB-C charging points throughout the cabin.

Seating has memory functions so you don't have to fiddle with all the different buttons and levers down the side of the chair every time you hop in after your partner. This is good, because otherwise you find yourself in all sorts of strangely contorted positions as you try and find the right lever.

Whoever optioned this I-Pace test vehicle seemingly had an unlimited budget, because there were lots of optional extras fitted. Standing out? The panoramic roof which costs $3,850. That's a pricey but posh touch as it curves with the shape of the sloping roofline.

Customisable ambient lighting features throughout the cabin, which, along with the panoramic roof, make the 2022 I-Pace interior feel like something from the future.

Other options included in the test vehicle were the head-up display ($1,040), the exterior black pack ($990) and the 3D camera ($1,000).

In my opinion, these should be standard, as they are on many new vehicles. But for most driving scenarios you can probably scrap these extras and save yourself $10K. You'll still have a good luxury electric car.

It is also spacious and people in the back won't be uncomfortable unless they are above 6-foot-2 or so. Taller than that and the sloping roofline might impede headroom. For me though at 6 foot, there were no complaints.

I also had some knee and toe room to spare as well as a decent amount of storage in a well-lit door bin.

There's a good amount of boot space too, with the I-Pace able to haul 656 litres in the back without the rear seats in place and 1,453 litres with them folded down. That is a fair amount of capacity.

What is the 2022 Jaguar I-Pace like to drive?

The ride in this Jaguar I-Pace is impressive given its weight and the lack of sidewall on the tyres, due to its 20-inch rims. It manages to smooth out any imperfection in the road but isn't rolly-polly thanks in part to its floor-mounted battery.

Regenerative braking comes with a high and low setting. We found ourselves using the less aggressive low setting, which will bring you almost to a stop in most circumstances, but we did find that on occasion it continued to creep forward.

It is good for around 446km of range too, assuming you aren't constantly putting all that power to use. That's more than enough for a week of driving if you're doing the average Australian daily commute of 36km a day.

The image from the reversing camera is clear and crisp and the optional 3D camera gives you a good idea of your surroundings as well.

As a daily family car, there isn't any faulting the 2022 Jaguar I-Pace.

It goes like the clappers too, with the dual-motor drivetrain putting out 294kW of power and close to 700Nm of torque (695Nm) which is insane.

That's more than a McLaren 650s!

Charging the 2022 I-Pace

Charging the Jag is as simple as plugging it into a normal wall socket in the garage and topping it up overnight. It will take roughly 30 hours for a full charge, but to top it up for the drive to work and back, you won't have a problem.

If you have access to a higher-powered 7kw/h charger at home, this comes down to 12.75 hours. And if you are able to jump onto a fast charger, you should be able to recover around 127km from 15 minutes of charging.

Is the Jaguar I-Pace safe?

Along with 6 airbags, there is a comprehensive suite of safety features. These include:

• Autonomous emergency braking
• Lane-keep assist
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Adaptive cruise control
• Adaptive speed limiter
• Traffic sign recognition
• Reversing camera with front and rear parking sensors
• Rear cross-traffic alert

The verdict

Despite missing some basic features as standard (wireless charging, head-up display), there is still a lot to like about the Jaguar I-Pace.

Interior quality and comfort are hard to match at the price point and the technology update has really helped to level up the I-Pace. It is a nice drive too and stands out from the sea of Teslas on the road.

Even with an influx of competitors in the market from premium brands, the Jaguar I-Pace is worth a test drive and your consideration.

My only hesitation here is that the Jaguar brand has pledged to be completely electric by 2025. With that being just 2 years away, is there something much better on the short-term horizon?