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Autocar review

12K views 31 replies 11 participants last post by  Arianne 
#1 ·
Firstly, a quick hello ... I've been lurking for about a week and have learnt so much in that time, so thank you all!

Just wanted to mention that Autocar magazine landed on my doormat today and has the full road test of the 2.0d R-Sport in case anyone wanted to see what they thought? ;)

It's not online yet ... I don't know how long they allow us "old school" print subscribers to feel special ... but the model tested is Rhodium Silver with 20' black venoms, black pack and privacy glass and running on passive dampers (the first one like this they have tested).

Turns out that it's not quite a positive as I'd hoped - mainly they don't particularly like the engine - but still ends up with 4 stars.

Richard.
 
#6 ·
Funny that the compared the F-Pace 2.0d with the X3 of similar power and number of gears yet it was the Jag with the superior in-gear performance.
 
#8 ·
I've tested both, back to back.

If I only had the budget, or was prepared only to spend the amount that could secure me a 2.0 Ingenium version then I would still be happy. Let me explain. At this price point the comparison is not with the V6 diesel but with all the other four cylinder diesels out there. I currently have a 2.0d diesel in my Volvo XC60, it's their very latest engine design like the Ingenium (suspiciously similar technology) and my assessment was that the Ingenium engine in the F-Pace was about the same.

You get strong torque and, in that band, the performance is decent. But to maintain that position in the torque band the gearbox needs to drop down a lot when, if you're cruising, you need some oomph to go with the flow of the traffic. Because all four cylinder diesels have a soundtrack that's not so pleasant on the ear, you notice it at that point.

But I would see the glass as half full. That's the budget, it's the Ingenium engine and I don't think any other manufacturer is offering a better engine and gearbox combination at that price point. What you do get is a car that is, to the eye, beautiful and almost identical to the much more expensive S model, if you specify R-Sport.

Right now, I have the budget for the bigger 3.0d V6, although even I had to think twice about the premium for choosing this car over Ingenium. Which is why I wanted to test them both back to back. My assessment is that the Jaguar design team has engineered a car with the potential to be fabulous when it has the smooth V6 engine underneath it and many journalists agree that, if money were ignored, that's true. So we will indulge ourselves this time.

I would agree that, for turn in, the Ingenium did feel a touch more nimble because it wasn't so nose heavy on country roads. It's marginal but it's true.

The AutoCar test car didn't have the configurable dynamics and, as I have said in other posts, that is essential for me as it transforms the ride (as is the case with the BMW X3 / X4). Our Ingenium test car didn't have this option and I knew it pretty quickly. I wonder if that influenced the testers in the magazine as it did make our car feel twitchy.

Anyway, if you've ordered an Ingenium powered car then be assured that this is still a very good car, when compared to all the other 2.0d cars offered by others. If you can afford it and you're prepared to mentally approve the extra spend, the 3.0d V6 is the stuff of sweet dreams.

Arianne
 
#9 ·
Agreed the "car" is brilliant, and deserves the AD pack to take full advantage, but as for the 2Litre engine (or the implementation in this particular vehicle) it just takes it from the list IMHO.

What it really needs is a 230bhp version but that would be taking a jump on the installation in the upcoming Defender poverty spec ;)
 
#10 ·
Boxbrownie said:
Agreed the "car" is brilliant, and deserves the AD pack to take full advantage, but as for the 2Litre engine (or the implementation in this particular vehicle) it just takes it from the list IMHO.

What it really needs is a 230bhp version but that would be taking a jump on the installation in the upcoming Defender poverty spec ;)
I'm sure given a few months someone like Superchips will have a ECU tweak to extract close on 230hp from the engine, if you have the auto then you can be confident it's well up to the task of dealing with the extra power and torque and such a small increase is no burden on the engine either.
 
#11 ·
luminated said:
Boxbrownie said:
Agreed the "car" is brilliant, and deserves the AD pack to take full advantage, but as for the 2Litre engine (or the implementation in this particular vehicle) it just takes it from the list IMHO.

What it really needs is a 230bhp version but that would be taking a jump on the installation in the upcoming Defender poverty spec ;)
I'm sure given a few months someone like Superchips will have a ECU tweak to extract close on 230hp from the engine, if you have the auto then you can be confident it's well up to the task of dealing with the extra power and torque and such a small increase is no burden on the engine either.
There are already companies out there who can re-map the engine its been in the Disco sport and RR Evouqe for almost 12 months now.

google for Evouqe re maps and you can finsd them
 
#12 ·
Does the ECU remap void the warranty of the engine though? I read mixed results!
 
#14 ·
sted24 said:
Does the ECU remap void the warranty of the engine though? I read mixed results!
It will void any claim against a powertrain fault (like any manufacturer they would have problems saying your ECU mod caused the rear seat adjustment switch to fail ;) ), unless it is an approved JLR modification.
 
#15 ·
Boxbrownie said:
sted24 said:
Does the ECU remap void the warranty of the engine though? I read mixed results!
It will void any claim against a powertrain fault (like any manufacturer they would have problems saying your ECU mod caused the rear seat adjustment switch to fail ;) ), unless it is an approved JLR modification.
Hmm I can unfortunately see that happening far too easily! Probably be best to actually collect the car and THEN decide if I want to breach that warranty, especially after including the 5 year service plan! The extra oomph does sound tempting but alas, that'll be something to contemplate down the road! Is it quite common for people to remap their ECU?
 
#16 ·
sted24 said:
Boxbrownie said:
sted24 said:
Does the ECU remap void the warranty of the engine though? I read mixed results!
It will void any claim against a powertrain fault (like any manufacturer they would have problems saying your ECU mod caused the rear seat adjustment switch to fail ;) ), unless it is an approved JLR modification.
Hmm I can unfortunately see that happening far too easily! Probably be best to actually collect the car and THEN decide if I want to breach that warranty, especially after including the 5 year service plan! The extra oomph does sound tempting but alas, that'll be something to contemplate down the road! Is it quite common for people to remap their ECU?
Yes I believe it is a common upgrade people do to their vehicles , as I said if you did want s little more poke I'm pretty certain given a month or two there will be several power upgrades or even improved exhaust systems .
 
#19 ·
Getting back to the OP subject of the Autocar article. I popped into town yesterday and bought the magazine. It was the most detailed and well written review I have read so far.

If you have an Ingenium powered F-Pace on order, but haven't test driven it, then I would recommend buying the magazine.

Two things stand out. They say that the engine doesn't take kindly to being revved and doesn't deliver great power at the higher end. The urban true fuel economy was 33.7mpg with an average of 37mpg combined. The second thing was the suspension. This car didn't have configurable dynamics. It handled cornering well but at the expense of an unsettled ride. Getting the adaptive dynamics is the crucial option, in my opinion.

Because of the other strengths of the F-Pace package in R-Sport trim, they rate the car. But they said that a more powerful Ingenium engine can't come soon enough.

Okay, not what many of us perhaps want to hear but there it is. If one is buying an Ingenium powered F-Pace then it's important not to have unrealistic expectations about the performance. It will look the part, will handle well but owners may need to be forgiving on the straight line acceleration.

Arianne
 
#20 ·
I guess its all to do with what your after in a vehicle. The 2.0d is still a lighter vehicle than most cars in its class and according to other reviews i.e. auto express etc they give it 5 stars (even Autocar gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars in a previous review of the 2.0d - something very inconsistent wit their reviews IMO) and comment its even more agile in corners than the 3.0. 0-60 in 8.2 secs isn't to be sniffed at for a car of that size to be honest and I've test driven the 2.0d and it had far more grunt than my 2.0 VW Sharan!!
 
#21 ·
typolee said:
I guess its all to do with what your after in a vehicle. The 2.0d is still a lighter vehicle than most cars in its class and according to other reviews i.e. auto express etc they give it 5 stars (even Autocar gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars in a previous review of the 2.0d - something very inconsistent wit their reviews IMO) and comment its even more agile in corners than the 3.0. 0-60 in 8.2 secs isn't to be sniffed at for a car of that size to be honest and I've test driven the 2.0d and it had far more grunt than my 2.0 VW Sharan!!
I typed a bit of a rant last night with reference to the Autocar review which seems to have disapeared but cant be bothered re doing it..... Basically i totally agree the car is no slouch i wonder if the reviewer had the car in Economy mode as putting it in to the sport mode makes a huge difference as i witnessed on my test drive. I drive a 2.2 SD4 powered Freelander, and the F Pace was definitely as quick, with a brand new engine that im pretty certain will get quicker and more responsive once it loosens up. There is definitely some disparity between reviews when you read and watch the various reviews on you tube, i dont think anyone mentions the fact the cars have ECO and SPORT settings they probably havent even tried them. Also makes me wonder if the short Vid that that was a drag race between the Bentley the Audi, Range Rover and a Jaguar whether the Jaguar was in sport mode.

In any case the chances to actually use such performance these days are very limited and most drivers of such cars do not use the potential the cars have.
 
#22 ·
typolee said:
0-60 in 8.2 secs isn't to be sniffed at for a car of that size
The official 0-100km (0-62) times on 2.0D is 8.7 seconds does it really take that long (OK not that long) for the extra 2mph, most cars take around 0.2 seconds, I appreciate in the real world these 0-60/0-62 figures are meaningless but they do act as a comparison with other makes and models and it gets confusing when most quote 0-62 but then some throw in 0-60 numbers
 
#23 ·
Jagforme said:
typolee said:
0-60 in 8.2 secs isn't to be sniffed at for a car of that size
The official 0-100km (0-62) times on 2.0D is 8.7 seconds does it really take that long (OK not that long) for the extra 2mph, most cars take around 0.2 seconds, I appreciate in the real world these 0-60/0-62 figures are meaningless but they do act as a comparison with other makes and models and it gets confusing when most quote 0-62 but then some throw in 0-60 numbers
You need to look at when the gear changes are, it's possible this could explain it. Though I agree with you I've looked at the times quoted for my RRS and no way does it take the thick end of half a second to cover those two miles per hour as official stated. Sounds more like JLR being conservative.
 
#25 ·
luminated said:
Jagforme said:
typolee said:
0-60 in 8.2 secs isn't to be sniffed at for a car of that size
The official 0-100km (0-62) times on 2.0D is 8.7 seconds does it really take that long (OK not that long) for the extra 2mph, most cars take around 0.2 seconds, I appreciate in the real world these 0-60/0-62 figures are meaningless but they do act as a comparison with other makes and models and it gets confusing when most quote 0-62 but then some throw in 0-60 numbers
You need to look at when the gear changes are, it's possible this could explain it. Though I agree with you I've looked at the times quoted for my RRS and no way does it take the thick end of half a second to cover those two miles per hour as official stated. Sounds more like JLR being conservative.
I think 0-100kmph (0-62mph) is normally the standard test figure in Europe for testing these times so they probably just round down from there, although I believe different manufactures test their times in different ways ie full boot of luggage and full tank against no luggage and little fuel on the basis that slower 0-100 times keeps insurance groups lower??
 
#26 ·
typolee said:
It was interesting that the F Pace 2.0 trounced the in gear times of the BMW X3 in Auto Express's recent grouptest!!! So can't be all that slow!!
The Autoexpress review I read gave X3 half second quicker to 60 and 0.6 sec quicker 30-70 time, F pace was still given the best car and stopping distance was 50% shorter than X3, I wonder if brake upgrade made that difference if so a very worth while upgrade

I'm testing a FP 2.0D in a couple of weeks so be interesting to see how it performs, just trying to get over in my head why they couldn't get some extra Bhp out of the new engine, I suppose that will come in time, but my heart is with the FP
 
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