Jaguar E-Pace long-term test: report 4

Our chief photographer wanted an SUV that was frugal and fun to drive, yet still practical enough to swallow all his gear. Will the Jaguar E-Pace fit the bill?...

Jaguar E-Pace 2021 front static

The car Jaguar E-Pace D200 R-Dynamic SE Run by John Bradshaw, chief photographer

Why it’s here To see whether one premium family SUV can combine fun, comfort and practicality

Needs to Work hard on weekdays, entertain on Saturday and Sunday, and feel indulgent all the time


Mileage 6800 List price £42,075 Target Price £40,349 Price as tested £47,260 Test economy 41.0mpg Official economy 42.0mpg 


29 September 2021 – Warning signs

It’s as if my Jaguar E-Pace is getting mardy at me for forcing a change of lifestyle upon it. After scenic jaunts to Devon and the Peak District early in our time together, the mundanity of my regular working life might well have come as a shock.

I hope, though, that a recent glitch isn’t a sign that the Jaguar's dissent will sour our relationship. One morning, while driving my wife to Richmond, a warning came up on the digital dashboard to tell me ‘power steering assistance reduced’.

Jaguar E-Pace 2021 steering warning

‘Reduced’ was something of an understatement; Geoff Capes himself would have found bringing the car to a tidy, controlled kerbside halt a bit of an effort.

Instinctively, and in time-honoured computer helpline fashion, I turned the engine off and on again, at which point normal service promptly resumed. Here’s hoping the issue doesn’t return, or it will be me, not the car, that’s the grumpy one.

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