Jaguar F-Pace SVR (2019 -2024) review – F-type character and Range Rover practicality from £45,000

We may be more partial to a fast estate than a high-performance SUV at evo, but given the choice of one fast family car or none at all, we can be persuaded to take a closer look at the latter. The Jaguar F-Pace SVR was neither big nor clever, and while it will never have the undeniable ‘cool’ factor of the short-lived XFR-S Sportbrake, upon closer inspection there’s actually a lot going for this very loveable family hauler. It's also a car with increased appeal now that depreciation has done its thing.

In that most unusual of circumstances, despite the Jaguar F-Pace sharing a majority of elements with its more rugged Land Rover cousins, one of the things it doesn’t share is its chassis, instead drawing from Jaguar’s rear-drive saloons in its development. This permeates the F-Pace SVR’s technical make-up in the best way possible, as it’s both lighter, simpler and more focused in its underpinnings than it ever would be with Land Rover bits under the skin.

> Jaguar F-Pace SVR Fast Fleet test – living with a supercharged V8 Brit

This much is clear to see in the sleek Ian Callum design, proudly featuring a long bonnet, sleek cabin and athletic proportions that do a great job of making an otherwise chubby SUV look lithe. The F-Pace SVR was upgraded in the 2021 model year alongside the rest of the range with even sleeker new elements, including a new bonnet that runs all the way down to the grille (the old model had a shorter bonnet and corresponding shutline purely for insurance purposes). The SVR still has plenty of bespoke elements compared to lesser F-Paces, too, with either black or contrasting matte grey wheelarch extensions, lower body trim and bonnet vents. At the rear, the four large exhaust outlets still sit within a unique bumper insert, complete with vaned aero management on the outer corners.

Engine, gearbox and performance

29

• 542bhp supercharged V8
• 0-62mph in 4sec and 178mph top speed
• Facelift received beefier Project 8 eight-speed 'box

The SVR’s 2021 changes inside were even more substantive, with a brand new dashboard and infotainment screen that replaced the previous F-Pace’s fairly underwhelming interior with something much more befitting its panache and price point. In fact, save for the oddly cheap-feeling gear selector, the interior is now a highlight of what is a broadly impressive package.

Ironically, the gearbox the new selector controls is a fresh unit that’s been borrowed from the SVO department’s Project 8. With a higher torque rating and reinforced internals, Jaguar’s been able to fit the 8’s more aggressive shift software, giving it a proper snap of upshifts accompanied by much sharper downshifts, with a blip thrown in for good measure.

On charisma alone the SVR’s ageing supercharged AJ V8 engine it’s connected to has a lot going for it, and in this trim produces a rousing 542bhp and 516lb ft of torque – the same power figure, but an increase of 15lb ft compared with the previous SVR. Together with the sharper transmission, this is sufficient to propel the F-Pace to 62mph in just 4.0sec and on to a top speed of 178mph. The old version topped out at 176mph.

The V8 engine does now feel a touch cumbersome beside more modern equivalents from BMW, Porsche, Mercedes and Alfa. It produces the goods statistically, and makes a decent noise in the process, but you get the distinct feeling that we’ve been here before with this engine, and already have several T-shirts to show for it. What the on-paper performance doesn’t relay, though, is how well the V8 suits the F-Pace – the pairing is near perfect, with the engine’s responses totally synced into the car’s chassis set-up.

Ride and handling

29

• Updated car allows mix-and-match settings accross chassis and powertrain
• SVR is happiest below the absolute limit
• Great steering and body control

There are still the same modes to choose from within the drive programme – but what happens when you now switch between those modes has a much more dramatic effect on the car’s dynamic personality. And in Dynamic mode, especially, it feels much more cohesive. Plus you can alter the characteristics of the drivetrain individually now far more easily to suit your mood, the conditions and so on.

The other big area of improvement is the isolation and damping of the drivetrain, which makes the SVR feel both more refined on the move and more urgent at the same time. Again, Jaguar’s SVO division has employed much of the know-how it gleaned when creating the Project 8, and transferred it almost lock-stock to the F-Pace.

On the road, the SVR isn’t as sophisticated as an Aston Martin DBX, but it has its own set of attributes that strike a delicate and nuanced balance between outright entertainment and GT-like touring ability. The F-Pace feels deftly set up for UK roads in a way few, if any, rivals can match. Behind the V8 engine, it's a vehicle that speaks not just of the quality of car Jaguar is capable of creating, but also the talent still inherent in British engineering.

29

This engine is hard to criticise and easy to like because of the amount of raw performance it endows the SVR with – and for the way it sounds – but in its latter years, began to feel old-school nowadays. And the fact that the rest of the F-Pace SVR became so good – great steering, excellent body control, fine damping and drivetrain refinement, seriously strong brakes and so on – leaves the dear old V8 out in the cold even more obviously.

Try and manhandle the SVR and it can get a bit ragged, but there’s a sweet spot somewhere below the limits of adhesion on turn-in and above the limits on corner exit. The coil-sprung suspension is also superbly calibrated, with a fine balance of spring rate and damper frequency that finds a near perfect compromise between body control and suppleness that just monsters UK roads – something we feel is accentuated even further by the no-cost option 21-inch wheels (22s are standard).

As Jaguar veers away from the combustion engine and its performance car heritage, the F-Pace SVR was a reminder that it could still compete at the top level. We ran one for the best part of 12 months and loved every second of our ‘ownership’, even revelling in some surprisingly good fuel consumption and flawless reliability. F-Pace SVRs, the significantly enhanced 2021-onwards cars specifically, are now mighty tempting (if an SUV can indeed ellicit temptation) from £45,000 in the used market.

Living with a Jaguar F-Pace SVR

29

A drive out to the Bilster Berg circuit in central Germany and back in just 36 hours is quite a lot of driving in one go. I must admit I was feeling the strain by the end, but the Jag was still a great car to do the journey in. It also gave an opportunity to really stretch the V8’s legs on the autobahn, although the heavy traffic meant that, in reality, it boiled down to one particular section that was quiet enough to really go for it.

As with any vehicle, approach the last ten per cent of the envelope and the SVR suddenly goes from feeling as planted as you’d expect a sporty two-ton SUV to feel to decidedly nervous. Not that I had a passenger, but if I did, any conversation would have ceased, smartish. It definitely helped to firm up the dampers with Dynamic mode, but there was still the creeping unease from feeling the invisible effects of air starting to tug at the F‑Pace’s shape and lift it away from the road. 

My nerves were not improved by the dramatic wobble of the bonnet, which would have done an old Impreza proud, and while I’m assuming this is normal, the fact that it popped onto the latch the other day for no reason that could be explained became a nagging distraction as the speeds really rose. All in, I think the best was an indicated 160mph – not bad, albeit a little way short of the claimed 178mph maximum. What a bellow though from that V8 fully extended; apologies if the windows rattled in Paderborn that afternoon…

I didn’t actually drive the Jag at Bilster Berg, it was merely my transport, but the fact that the consumption climbed to 30mpg over the entire trip was something to celebrate when you remember there’s a 542bhp supercharged lump under the bonnet. Or looked at another way, from what I can tell the Jag was about 1mpg down on our 242bhp four-cylinder Skoda Kodiaq vRS – and no, I don’t have the foggiest idea how that’s possible either, but there you go.

Although there were no track laps, there is a very interesting road through a forest to actually reach the circuit. That characteristically smooth, shiny German asphalt seems to offer very limited grip, and the SVR was immediately moving around, tyres softly whining in protest at the edge of their hold on the surface. In the really tight turns you can be aggressive with the throttle – ESP off, of course – and provoke some alarming and very amusing power oversteer, but it can quickly become a little scrappy and there’s always the feeling of trying to battle physics.

It was at this moment in particular that I really wished I was driving an XFR‑S, for there’s no getting away from the fact that high-rise vehicles are still a compromise. I’m told by someone close to the development of the SVR that much of the chassis work was done on the larger 21” rims, and that these benefit the handling but not at the expense of the ride quality. We may give Jaguar a call to see if we can try the larger wheel. All in though the SVR is still impressing greatly. – Adam Towler, evo issue 303

Share this on TwitterShare this on FacebookEmailAdd as a preferred source on Google