Jaguar’s very first SUV has its local launch — three variants available, prices start from $250,999.

Text and Photos by Carmen Rosso

SINGAPORE — The Jaguar F-Pace is in town, and if you’re wondering about the Singapore price, it’s $250,999 with COE. That’s for the 2.0D R Sport that pushes out a maximum 180hp with an in-line four turbodiesel engine.

If you want a bit more push, Jaguar has two 3.0-litre V6 supercharged petrol versions on sale, a 340hp Prestige model (for $284,999 with COE) and the range-topping, 380hp 3.0 S (for $344,999 with COE).

The Jaguar F-Pace may be a latecomer to the world of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV), but it’s brought some dandy moves to the scene.And while it’s Jaguar’s first SUV, the brand considers the F-Pace to be the most important car in its history, since the SUV segment is roaring in terms of sales and this is the litmus test to see if Jaguar can claw onto that.

Under the hood, the entry-level F-Pace 2.0D (powered by guess what? A 2.0-litre turbodiesel inline four) does a decent 8.7-second sprint time from 0 to 100km/h, with a top speed of 208km/h. Where torque is concerned, the diesel engine pushes out 430Nm worth from 1,750 to 2,500rpm, and power is 178bhp.

Meanwhile, the V6 supercharged F-Pace 3.0 (top speed 250km/h) hits the century mark in 5.8 second with 340bhp and maximum 450Nm torque from 4.500rpm. All-wheel drive as standard helps that cat build, ahem, pace, rather quick.

The third of its kind in the other hand is another gem – the 3.0-litre Supercharged S. Though its torque is similar to the other one of 3.0, the Supercharged S makes it from 0 to 100km/h in just 5.5 seconds thanks to a range-topping power output of 380bhp.

Wonder how it drives? Well the CarBuyer team already pawed the latest Jag earlier this year, driving both the 380hp 3.0 and the 2.0 D models and walking away impressed.

Owners of existing Jaguars may find the design to be familiar since the front end takes on the looks of Jaguar XF and Jaguar XE, while the rear lights are inspired by the ones on the F Type sports car.

In a bid to make the SUV as light as possible, Jaguar has used aluminium construction for much of the F-Pace’s bodywork, as in the new XE and XF sedans, so the car’s both light and strong in the tradeoff.

Apart from adopting its stylish looks, the F-Pace has been built with a 650-litre boot space – 100 litres larger than that of the BMW X3 – and when the seats are folded flat, the F Pace offers a total load area of 1,740 litres.

So, with these numbers in mind, and with a vision made possible, it’s clear Jaguar has got on the SUV bandwagon (though it may seem a little late), and by the looks of it, we see a high chance of it sinking its claws into the market.