may 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 73It’s not all moans. Performance is perfectly acceptable for typical driving,
with a perky whoosh of boost in the mid-range, the gearbox is very good,
and quickly responsive steering imbues energy. It grips well too, plus you
can unlock a rear-biased secret level if you work the X2 like Starbucks is
closing. But good grief, don’t actually buy the thing. A 3-series is miles better.
Jaguar’s XE has dynamically troubled the 3-series for the last few years.
A refreshed version is imminent and we’ll test it soon, but it’ll probably
unjustly languish in showrooms while the E-Pace goes great guns. It’s
another compact SUV you might pick instead of a 3-series.
The E-Pace is 123mm taller than the X2 and 51mm longer but costs a little
less, starting from £37,870 in 178bhp turbodiesel/auto/all-wheel-drive trim.
It shares the just-replaced Range Rover Evoque’s platform, and like the
Evoque is heavy: 1831kg kerbweight versus the X2’s 1675kg. Again the SUV
tailspin knocks all the important figures.
You sit higher in E-Pace than X2, but the driver’s seat hunkers low for a
sportier sensation reinforced by a dash inspired by the F-Type’s. It’s a shame
some very poor plastics have crept into some high places and that the
infotainment – while functional – can’t compete with either BMW. There’s
decent space in the rear, but both the X2 and 320d better the 425-litre boot.
Despite also wearing 20-inch rubber, the E-Pace suffers less road noise
than the X2, and its ride – on adaptive dampers – is better, though it’s
still quite niggly in town, and at speed big vertical movements are sternly
checked on trickier B-roads. It does feel more fluid though.
The Ingenium 2.0-litre diesel isn’t particularly smooth or quiet, but
there’s a decent slug of torque low down, pacey, precise and mid-weighted
steering for a nimble feel, and the nine-speed auto responds quickly to
paddleshift commands, though it’s sometimes a little ponderous in auto.
This car feels less dynamic than the last E-Pace I drove, partly because
it’s on all-season tyres, partly because the sportier Active Driveline all-
wheel drive can only be combined with top-spec diesel and petrols, not
our mid-ranking diesel. The front end throws in the towel more easily
than I remember, and there’s no real sense of rear bias, just grip and then
a neutral, understeery slip. The outgoing XE is a much better drive, so too
the new 3-series.
Usually we test SUVs in isolation or in the context of direct rivals, but
to drive these cars back-to-back with similarly priced saloons is to realise
the huge compromises they entail. These crossovers weigh more, they can’t
take you as far on a gallon of fuel and they’re much less enjoyable to drive
than lighter, lower-slung models. For what? So buyers can sit up high and
not go off-road? Honestly, it’s inexplicable. Just buy the obvious car. ⊲Jaguar E-Pace 180PS
Diesel R-Dynamic SP RicE £37,870 (£45,745 as tested)
P ERfoR mancE 9.1sec 0-62mph, 127mph,
47.1mpg, 158g/km CO2
EnginE 1999cc 16v turbodiesel four-cylinder,
178bhp @ 4000rpm, 317lb ft @ 1750rpm