2021 Jaguar F-Pace SVR test: English humor

The delirious British SUV offers some evolutions. Which doesn’t make it any less absurd. And that’s good !

English humor is said to be characterized by recourse to the absurd, even to a certain cynicism. In that sense, the Jaguar F-Pace SVR is truly irresistible. A real incentive to burn gum and fuel, this high-sounding 550 hp V8 petrol SUV is so transgressive in our time that getting behind the wheel inevitably makes you smile. By the way, wasn’t it Jaguar which announced a few months ago to become a 100% electric brand from 2025? The giggles start again!

A bit out of time, this big feline drives home the point by reaffirming its presence in the catalog through a few changes that have taken place this spring 2021. The gargantuan 5.0 unit with compressor of the Jaguar-Land Rover group, sees its power unchanged, but delivers an additional 20 Nm. Ready to take full advantage of the gears, especially during a 0 to 100 km / h now promised in 4 ”(against 4” 3 previously), the original ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox is equipped with the converter for the occasion. of the no less delusional XE Project 8. The braking assistance is recalibrated, just like the controlled damping. The front axle also uses new lower arms and at the rear, a large part of the elastic wedges have been replaced. Taken one by one, these changes are hardly palpable. But as a whole, they give extra responsiveness to this wild cat weighing more than 2.1 tons.

Keeping in mind that the conditions of this brief test in Spain are necessarily different from those of our first meeting in the south of France two years ago, the brake pedal holds up better under an insistent foot. This makes it possible to adjust its pace and therefore its trajectory with more precision. Still resistant to the active anti-roll and air suspension of some of its rivals, the F-Pace SVR doesn’t turn quite in one block like a Porsche Cayenne Turbo. But with an easy-to-grasp balance, he gladly plants his snout in a corner to let his rear turn gently around him under the effect of the steered rear differential and the transfer of torque by braking to the outer wheel. The Pirelli P Zero leaves some of their design on the asphalt at every turn, like a provocative tag.

Too bad the response to the gas pedal always overplay the aggressiveness once the most extreme driving mode has been selected. However, it is still possible to adjust the various parameters separately by means of the new 12.3 ”touchscreen interface used by all restyled F-Paces.

The interior atmosphere also gains a little in modernity without losing any of its sportiness in the presence of the sumptuous optional bucket seats and especially the metallic riffs of the V8 which do not require any supplement. It is hardly if the addition of the particulate filters to the backfiring exhausts is noticeable.

However, do you want to be appreciated by your neighbors with guilty ecological morals? Tell them that CO emissions₂ tumble by 6 g / km… to go from 281 to 275 g / km. Otherwise, go your way. The F-Pace SVR is a punk. Moreover, the slogan “no future” unfortunately does not suit him so badly.

Our verdict

Provocative and fun to drive, the F-Pace SVR goes against current moral standards. And just for that, we love it.

WE love

V8 sound
Performances
Flattering presentation

We like less

Crippling taxation
Excessive accelerator aggressiveness
Surrealist consumption

Jaguar F-Pace SVR 2021 tech. Sheet

BUY

Tested version: 106,680 €
From 106,680 €
Average manufacturer consumption / during the test (l / 100 km): 18.8 / 12.2
CO₂/malus : 275/30 000 €
Fiscal power: 47 hp
Country of Manufacture: United Kingdom

Proposed range

Gasoline from 250 to 550 hp, from € 58,890 to € 106,680
Diesel from 165 to 300 hp, from € 54,940 to € 84,150
Plug-in hybrid 400 hp, from € 72,290 to € 88,930

DRIVE

Engine: front longitudinal, V8 compressor, direct injection, 32 valves, chain variable distribution, stop & start, 5,000 cm³
Transmission: all-wheel, 8-speed automatic
Max power at rpm (hp): 550 to 6,250
Max torque at rpm (Nm): 700 to 3,500
Weight (kg): 2 133
Long.xlarg.xhaut. (m) : 4,76×1,94×1,67
Wheelbase (m): 2.87
Tank (l): 82
Max speed (km / h): 286
0 to 100 km / h: 4 ”
Series tires: AV 265/45 R21; AR 295/40 R21
Test tires: AV 265/40 R22; AR 295/35 R22, Pirelli P Zero