Living with the F Pace SVR
Review by Jacob Lerklint
There are some brands you buy for frugality and some you buy for practicality. Then there are the brands you buy for what might be termed "less logical" reasons. Jaguar tends to fall into that third category.
The automaker's current crop of SUVs, sedans, and sports cars are more about what you desire than what you resign yourself to — they exude character and personality in a way that many of their competitors simply do not.
When aspirational brands intersect with utilitarian shapes — in the form of a crossover SUV, for example — some exciting things can happen, and that's the case with the Jaguar F-Pace SUV. It is, in my opinion, among the finest-looking crossovers on the market, despite having changed little since its introduction in 2016. The F-Pace's high-performance SVR flavor came along a few years later.
While testing the 2024 Jaguar F-Pace, my big question was how well the aging design holds up. With a new Porsche Cayenne on sale and attractive alternatives from BMW and Mercedes-Benz widely available, I wanted to determine if the slight updates to the 2024 F-Pace would make this sports-minded premium SUV worth my time. Ultimately, I found its style compelling, if perhaps not compelling enough to make up for its drawbacks.
Though the 2024 F-Pace design may be familiar, you'd be hard-pressed to look at it and think of it as tired. Despite its age, the F-Pace is, in my opinion, among the most visually compelling SUVs available; I find it doubly so in SVR trim.
The sportiest version of Jaguar SUVs adds a pair of vents on the hood to hint at the power underneath. A more open front fascia adds aggression to the SVR and helps cooling, while quad tailpipes and a pair of vertical cuts in the bumper amp things up stylistically from the rear.
The tail end of the F-Pace shares more than a few styling cues with Jaguar's diminutive F-Type roadster, which is still quite a beauty, and those cues have transitioned to the SUV canvas remarkably well. Some of my favorite styling elements on the SVR are the way the crease of the hood subtly overlaps with the headlights, giving it an appropriately impatient air.
The cabin is no less striking, especially dressed in the Light Oyster interior, as my test SUV was. The white leather works wonderfully with the satin and textured metal insets and the various suede and smooth black leather sections. The overall look is busy but beautiful.
Everything feels great, with top-notch materials throughout, even down low on the door panels and center tunnel, where most manufacturers resort to hard, brittle, easily scratched plastic. Tactile highlights include the metal wheel-mounted shift paddles that are chilly on a cold morning, but feel — and sound — delightful when you tap them with your fingers.
All that is essentially unchanged from previous years, with the only significant changes for 2024 being standard blacked-out trim and an ebony headliner to match.
While those shift paddles will stay cool, the now-standard heated steering wheel is especially nice in the icy months. The front two seats are also heated, which creates an effective combination for chilly days. In warmer times, the ventilation alone keeps you from becoming too sweaty when you're really getting into the drive.
In the SVR, those seats are deeply bolstered, but you can manage lumbar support and modify the amount of squeeze, meaning they'll be a good fit for most. You can't modify the position of the fixed headrest, but otherwise the seats are comfortable and supportive. And, with three memory settings for both driver and passenger, you'll always be able to recall your favorite positions quickly.
The rear seats offer a fair bit of lateral support themselves. They look good, too, and are heated, offering decent legroom and good headroom. A pair of USB-C outlets in the rear can keep devices charged, while the panoramic sunroof makes for excellent visibility in all directions.
There's seating for three across in the rear, meaning you can shuttle five people in the F-Pace, but if you're aiming for more than four, they'll be most comfortable if they all have narrow shoulders.
There's little accessible storage for passengers in the back seats, just a pair of slender pockets in the doors. Up front, there's a bit more, including a narrow but deep pocket beneath the armrest (which also hides two USB ports, one type A and one C), a wireless charging pad just ahead of the shifter. A wide but shallow compartment near where your knee rests is great for placing wallets or phones out of immediate view.
The seats drop quickly by pulling levers built into either side of the cargo compartment, with a 60/40 split by default. But press a button next to the headrest on the center of the rear seats, and the middle portion folds down separately, meaning you can keep both outer seats usable while making room for longer cargo running between them. That's perfect for quick jaunts up to the mountain with skis or snowboards in the middle.
You won't find any extra cargo space hiding beneath the floor in the hatch, but you will find a space-saver spare tire.
he 2024 F-Pace SVR features an 11.4-inch touchscreen running the latest flavor of Jaguar's Pivi Pro infotainment system, which has a classy and sophisticated look. It also has reasonably comprehensive functionality, including
Wi-Fi hot spot functionality, and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity.
You'll want to use those because the integrated navigation, though usable, is sluggish and basic. So, too, the integrated voice assistant. It struggled to respond to easy commands such as enabling or disabling the seat heating, and more advanced requests, such as finding local coffee shops or hospitals, completely flummoxed it.
Media plays through a Meridian sound system, which offers excellent, rich sound and all the bass I wanted.
The 2024 Jaguar F-Pace now includes a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster on all trims. It's clear, bright, and fills the space behind the steering wheel. The cluster displays two large analog-style gauges and a center data panel by default. But, with a few taps of the rotary wheel beneath your left thumb, you can customize the display to prioritize media information, navigation, or even driver-assistance settings instead.
The head-up display (HUD) cannot be customized as much as the gauge cluster. Additionally, it doesn't offer the augmented-reality features that are increasingly common in the luxury SUV segment. But it does show you the current speed and speed limit, in addition to prompts and warnings for situations like upcoming turns.
The 2024 Jaguar F-Pace includes a comprehensive suite of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), including automatic emergency braking, active blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control with full stop, and lane-centering assist.
In my testing, while the adaptive cruise control worked well and ensured the SUV kept pace with traffic without issue, the lane-centering assist system struggled in many situations. It mainly did fine on well-lit, well-marked highways, but as exit lanes appeared, it had an unfortunate tendency to meander off course as it attempted to follow the exit.
Likewise, it struggled whenever markings were less than pristine or whenever lighting was uneven. Thankfully, the system is easily disabled, with a dedicated button on the steering wheel. But it's a shame I felt the need to reach for that button so often.
In many ways, this SUV is all about its supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine, which offers a healthy 542 horsepower. That engine is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and an all-wheel-drive system. Jaguar allows drivers to alter the exhaust sound by adjusting a set of exhaust valves. The SVR is nowhere close to silent, but open those valves fully and it can sound downright rowdy.
The F-Pace SVR offers four drive modes: Dynamic, Comfort, Eco, and, for low-grip situations, Adaptive Surface Response. There's even a dedicated button for opening the exhaust valves, so if you want to hear the SVR's glorious burble in Eco mode, you can do exactly that.
When you're talking about specialized machines, like SUVs built for performance, compromises usually have to be made. For the F-Pace SVR, that compromise is in ride quality and overall comfort. The SVR is a lovely ride if you live in a land of smooth lanes or don't mind a bit of extra jostling in the cabin. Otherwise, this Jag's brutality is not confined to the engine bay.
If you want something that offers big speed but does the limousine act better, you might try something like the Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 or the new Porsche Cayenne. Both offer far more compelling active safety and software solutions, as well.
However, neither of those machines offers quite the same character as the Jaguar, and indeed, neither can touch the SVR when it comes to style and presence.
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