Leisure Wheels – September 2019

leisurewheels.co.za SEPTEMBER 2019 63

JAGUAR F-PACE SVR

HARDWARE

Engine: Supercharged V8 petrol

Displacement: 5 000cc

Power: 405kW @ 6 000r/min

Torque: 680Nm @ 2 500r/min

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

4WD system: All-wheel drive

Driving aids: ABS, Dynamic ESC,

lane keep assist, forward collision

warning.

Differential lock: None

Tyre size: 265/45 R22 front,

295/40 R22 rear

Tyre brand: Goodyear

Rim size: 22-inch (optional)

Suspension front: Double wishbone

Suspension rear: Integral link

Brakes front: Ventilated discs

Brakes rear: Ventilated discs

SPEEDOMETER CALIBRATION

60km/h: 56km/h

80km/h: 78km/h

100km/h: 97km/h

120km/h: 116km/h

ACCELERATION

0–60km/h: 2.4 seconds

0–100km/h: 4.8 seconds

60–120km/h: 4.0 seconds

Quarter mile: 12.9 seconds @

179.5km/h

BRAKING

60–0km/h: 1.6 seconds and

12.8 metres

120–0km/h: 3.0 seconds and

48.2 metres

MEASUREMENTS AND CAPACITY

Average fuel consumption:

16.81 litres/100km

Fuel tank capacity: 82 litres

Range: 487km

Ground clearance, front: 240mm

Ground clearance, rear: 230mm

Weight: 2 130kg

OWNERSHIP

Warranty: Three-year/100 000km

Service plan: Five-year/100 000km

Service Interval: 15 000km

Price: R1 530 728

to 60%) when the system deems it necessary

to enhance grip.

This Jaguar has a naughty streak about it.

Even with the traction and stability control

systems enabled, you can get it to wag its tail.

In a similar German offering, the computers

would have intervened at the first hint of loss

of grip, closing the taps. Again, a bit more of

unbridled Trump there.

Switch off the handling nannies, and

you’d better be ready to try prevent this

Jaguar from killing you. Dead. The

performance is breathtaking. Step on the

throttle from a standstill, and this Jaguar

blasts out of the blocks with such ferocity

and noise, you may imagine you’re strapped

into the Apollo 11 spacecraft, blasting off

from Cape Canaveral.

In the corners, with Dynamic Drive Mode

selected, you can push the Jaguar much

harder than the average compact SUV. In

slower corners, the SVR tends to understeer

first, the nose clearly heavy. On faster, open

corners (with plenty of space) you can get the

tail out but know that, if this Jaguar bites you

in the backside on such an occasion, the

resultant smash will earn you some social

media notoriety.

Make no mistake: in the right hands, the

SVR is extremely brisk. At the Simola

Hillclimb in May, two SVRs competed in the

Road and Supercar class, and finished fifth

and six overall (from 28 entries, including

McLarens and Ferraris).

In a straight line, the supercharged SVR

completes the 0–100km/h dash in 4.8 seconds,

and it obliterates the 60–120km/h sprint in

four seconds. It will go on to a claimed top

speed of 283km/h.

Still, despite all that performance potential,

the cabin is traditional Jaguar... sumptuous

luxury, amazing attention to detail, top-

quality fittings and, inevitably, a feeling of

superiority, topped off with a dash of

obnoxious extravagance.

The beautifully crafted racing-style seats,

covered in the finest leather, are supremely

comfortable, in the front and rear. Three adults

may not be so comfortable in the rear though;

the design clearly favours two adults, each with

their own racing-style seat arrangement. There

is a practical 650 litres of boot space available,

considerably more than a sporty roadster like

Jaguar’s own F-Type, of course.

When you don’t feel like chasing the

405kW engine to the red line (we’re not sure

this is possible though), you can waft along in

supreme luxury, the ride quality surprisingly

pliant considering those 21-inch wheels and

the sportier suspension set-up.

In short, the Jaguar F-Pace SVR is not

merely a car, even though it clearly started life

as a practical compact SUV that had a change

of heart. It’s a motoring marvel. Driving it is

not like driving a car... it’s the epitome of what

performance motoring should be: sheer

driving pleasure. Or in Jaguar speak: The art

of performance.

It’s even more amazing when you consider

the same company is breaking new ground

with its politically correct electric vehicle (EV)

technology, in the cool, new I-Pace. Thank

goodness there are, for now, a few petrolheads

left in the Jaguar head office in Coventry.