Jaguar E-Pace First Drive Review: D240 AWD R-Dynamic HSE - Feral Fighter

I was recently invited to spend a night at the Table Mountain Wash House, provided I bring my whole family along. That meant the right sort of wheels were required – something that would like good under the pines and firs that make up the mantle of the country’s most iconic mountain. But that could hold our squad of five deep in comfort. I wanted the E-Pace, in red.

Priced as low as R605,100, this new compact SUV from Great Britain has a lot going for it. Ours is the range-topping R-Dynamic HSE, with the D240 AWD power-train – yours for the princely sum of R852,900 and for that you get all the Jaguar you’d hope for but on top of a minuscule footprint.

Being the flagship derivative, the HSE comes with 20-inch alloy hoops in each pumped up corner, Windsor leather seats with 18-way memory for the front pews, keyless entry, 12.3-inch driver display screen and more. Also here – LED lamps with corresponding daytime running lights, a raft of safety acronyms and technology plus an even larger raft of luxury and connectivity features within the well-appointed cabin.

Under that long red bonnet lives the 1999cc turbodiesel with 177kW and 500Nm at your disposal. Combine this with a 1.9 ton curb weight and you’re left with a 0-100kph pounce in just 7.4 seconds which is enough to challenge the local hot hatchback, but nothing more. The svelte cat will eventually top out at 224kph and the car shifts its own cogs with a velvety nine speed auto.

The soundtrack is a low frequency purr until you pile on the revs at which point it boils to the typical four point rumble you’d come to expect. Still, there’s a fair enough of urgency and a suspension that favours firm over frivolous. There’s a lot to enjoy here, but nothing that will blow you away.

I repeat, there’s nothing here that truly blows you away. The performance from its diesel engine is adequate, but not what you’d expect from a Jaguar with that R-Dynamic badge. And as we get closer to that R1million mark, expectations tend to rise.

Therein lies the rub, because while the E-Pace (and certainly in top of the range specification) is a tech-laden affair that engages the driver in all the right ways, it still doesn’t feel special enough to justify that price tag.

Don’t get me wrong, the E-Pace is an excellent car - just in no way a good value prospect. In fact, I can’t ignore the fact that for just R30,000 or so more you could have the full-size F-Pace R-Sport. Sensibilities be damned.

Jaguar E-Pace D240 AWD R-Dynamic HSE Spec: