It's great that it still rains: bright sunshine and dust-dry streets are not what you need to get the latest Jaguar- to request products on the hairpin bends of the Gerlos Pass. After all, it's about competence. Four-wheel drive expertise.
The typical Jaguar prospect has not connected them to the British brand in recent decades. Sometimes it was pronounced sportiness, then exalted luxury, some years of mass-produced goods in better clothes - and only after the restart in 2009 did Jaguar reinvent itself. With resounding success. Just not wherever the customers are going.
Women in particular love driving safely in taller SUVs. And one in four drivers of better company cars relies on the power of four driven wheels in the premium middle class - preferably with diesel. It's a third above that, as the Jaguar marketers have analyzed. It's just that they haven't had anything to offer them.
So far: "For the first time in its history, Jaguar has a model range that is available with all-wheel drive," as the engineer in charge, Emma Penney says. And with the F-Pace, a mid-size SUV has also been available in Germany for three weeks to meet the desires of the better families.
Could work, as the start on the slightly soapy road proves. Because nothing slips there. The F-Pace is getting fed up. The system responsible for this translates to "torque as required" - it distributes up to half of the normal 165 percent rear-wheel drive to the front axle on a slippery surface in 100 milliseconds. The driver only notices that everything is running as usual.
Such all-wheel drive technology, to have in F-Pace from 42.390 euros, builds on the wealth of experience of Jaguar sister Land-Rover. The Jaguar colleagues have been working in a department with their developers for three years - looking for the special all-wheel drive route for the big cat brand. After all, the new customers shouldn't come from their own group brand.
Strategically, the F-Pace has little to do with the similarly large Range-Rover Evoque or Land-Rover Discovery Sport. He should poach in the area of the BMW X3, Mercedes GLC or Audi Q5 - that's a must.
It is a piece of cake to hurt the sporty X4 and the Porsche Macan as well. And developer Penney sees opportunities not only because of the much cheaper entry price: "The F-Pace is 50 percent more torsion-resistant than the Macan - and has a 35 percent higher transverse rigidity," she says. This advantage of the full aluminum body can be felt on the road. The F-Pace is very direct, not too hard, but extremely precise on the road even at higher speeds.
The performance of the 180-hp diesel paired with all-wheel drive in the sleek F-Pace, just like in the sedans XE (from 41.900 euros) and XF (from 47.660 euros), is not as sporty as the shape promises, as well as steering and road holding , The vehicles from the SUV, middle class and upper middle class segment are sovereign touring cars with performance reserves; They are not miracle of agility. If you want to let it rip, you will probably choose all-wheel drive with the six-cylinder petrol engine (340 to 380 hp) for XF and F-Pace. Or the SUV with the three-liter diesel (300 hp) and all-wheel drive. In Germany it will be a minority.
Jaguar's strategy behind the inexpensive all-wheel drive diesels is therefore rather to offer a real alternative for the premium all-wheel drive vehicles in the high-volume segments. And in addition to the low consumption around the five-liter threshold, the inner values are also right. In the F-Pace, for example, it sits much more airily than in its German competitors. And the driver quickly feels at home in the logical operating concepts - everything sits where the customer expects it to be.
In general, the use of space is convincing - also on the adjustable back seat. Behind it are another 650 liters of luggage space - and a maximum of 1.740 liters, more than in the larger X5. The Jaguar men were certainly inspired by the experiences of Land Rover colleagues with the discovery sport when it came to the room layout.
The very extensive assistance and safety technology, like the multimedia system with its 12,3-inch display, is also used across the group. Navi and Co. convince with quick reaction and the connection options to the smartphone. Only materials such as in the door panels, on the loudspeakers or seat bolsters are less solid. Only the processing is premium.
So far, 1.000 German customers have not touched this contact with the hard plastic too negatively: They have already bought the F-Pace without ever driving it. With the sedans XE and XF Jaguar now wants to use such enthusiasm from the stand to sell more all-wheel drive cars here.
(Peter Weißenberg / SP-X)