2017 Jaguar F-Pace 20d review, test drive

What is it?

What you see here is the freshly crowned 2017 World Car of the Year in a more affordable of its avatars. This is the Jaguar F-Pace 20d and the prices range from Rs 68.4 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the Pure trim to Rs 77.8 lakh for the Prestige trim version featured here. The more powerful F-Pace 30d, for reference, costs upwards of Rs 1.18 crore. That’s a huge gulf in prices.

The biggest saving is on account of what’s under this F-Pace’s shapely hood. Where the 30d uses a stonking 300hp, 3.0-litre diesel V6 engine, this 20d comes with a more down-to-earth 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine. It's Jaguar Land Rover’s Ingenium engine and on the F-Pace it makes 180hp and 430Nm. The power figure may seem low in something touted as a sports SUV, but we’ll give the engine a fair hearing.

On the outside, the F-Pace 20d does with lesser chrome garnishing than its pricier siblings but it's none the worse for it. Even in this parliamentarian-friendly shade of white, the handsome Jag SUV stands out. And why won’t it? It looks so different from every other SUV on sale today.

Elsewhere, the 20d Prestige gets less as standard than the 30d models. Surround camera, LED lights and reclining rear seats are just some of the options on the expansive list of paid extras. And you’ll be wise to tick the box for lumbar support for the front seats. The rear seats, however, are comfy and there’s space aplenty in the back. In general, the ambience inside the bright and airy cabin is nice but some plastics and materials aren’t in keeping with the F-Pace’s price.