As society embraces the sharing economy, a quest for convenience and sustainability is reshaping transportation norms. Jaguar’s car-sharing pilot aims to offer an on-demand taste of luxury and all-electric living, a vision the brand is committed to expanding as it evolves beyond its traditional offerings.

In collaboration with luxury serviced apartment group MODA Living, Jaguar has chosen two upscale apartment complexes, Angel Gardens in Manchester and New York Square in Leeds, as its pilot locations. Residents in these buildings can effortlessly book an I-PACE for up to 48 hours using the dedicated Jaguar booking platform. Furthermore, each site’s 24-hour concierge team will facilitate key handovers and offer support. The booking covers insurance, charging costs, valeting, and maintenance.

The Jaguar I-PACE, since its debut, has received over 90 global awards, including the remarkable triple victory at the 2019 World Car of the Year Awards. Winning World Car Design of the Year, World Green Car, and World Car of the Year, the I-PACE has solidified its position as the benchmark all-electric performance SUV. Jaguar’s innovative mobility scheme promises to bring this award-winning luxury to the doorsteps of urban residents, ushering in a new era of convenient and sustainable transportation.

The luxury SUV and 2020 SA Car of The Year, which Jaguar Land Rover Centurion, through holding entity Lazarus Motoring Company, has donated to Times Square as part of its existing partnership, is valued at over R2-million and marries the best in opulence and cutting-edge technology.

“Our guests can travel in the I-Pace knowing that they and the hotel they are staying at are each doing their bit for the environment and striving to create a better and cleaner future,” said Maslow Times Square General Manager, Ruben Gooranah.

See our review of the I-PACE here.

There’s also privacy glass and a panoramic roof, red brake calipers and 19-inch Gloss Black wheels in ‘Style 5106’.

Inside, its enriched with beautifully crafted Satin Charcoal Ash veneers, while bright metal pedals add a further finishing touch. There’s also Jaguar’s Premium Cabin Lighting feature, which offers a choice of 30 colours in place of the previous 10. The Pivi Pro infotainment system we’ve seen in other Jaguar Land Rover models is now present here too; In the XF it already has a range of embedded apps, including Spotify, and Apple CarPlay® as standard. Android Auto is standard too.

Jaguar says wireless Apple CarPlay will become available to customers in a software-over-the-air (SOTA) update. No word on wireless Android Auto yet.

Under the bonnet is a choice of two engines to choose from. There’s the 147kW D200 diesel engine good for 430 Nm of torque. Then there’s the petrol P250 engine which delivers 184 kW and 365 Nm of torque and enables the XF to accelerate from 0-100km/h in 6.9 seconds with a top speed of 250km/h.

Pricing for the Jaguar XF R-Dynamic Black D200 is set at R1 122 000 while the P250 will set you back R1 118 600.

With that, let’s focus on the cabin before discussing the numerous, albeit subtle exterior changes. The Jaguar F-Pace was never lacking in power and driving emotion. It remains a pleasant-handling SUV with the agility and athleticism of Jaguar’s F-Type, and that’s high praise for what is seemingly a practical yet luxurious family SUV. But for all its inherent sportiness, the F-Pace’s biggest drawback is its lacklustre interior, and Jaguar is addressing this from the roots for the 2022 F-Pace.

The 2021 Jaguar F-Pace debuts an elegant 11.4-inch curved touchscreen display. It not only looks better than the outdated 10.0-inch unit of the old F-Pace, but it now has a user-friendlier interface with intuitive menus and faster response times. The driver also receives a new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster running Jaguar’s latest Pivi Pro software.

Meanwhile, the 2021 F-Pace has a new three-spoke steering wheel with touch-capacitive buttons, which we reckon is lifted directly from the I-Pace electric car. Whereas the outgoing F-Pace had a rotary shifter that rises when the engine comes to life, the 2022 F-Pace now has a conventional shift knob. Also new is 10-color ambient lighting, standard keyless entry, and a Meridian audio system with 14 speakers. The interior is also home to better soft-touch materials and open-pore wood veneers to deliver a posher vibe.

On the outside, the new Jaguar F-Pace has a larger grille, a new bonnet with cleaner lines, slimmer LED headlights with new signature J-shaped daytime running lamps, and new taillights. The new F-Pace is available in five trim levels powered by a slew of new powertrains. The F-Pace D200, D300, P250, P400 and P400e. All-wheel-drive is standard across the board as well as an 8-speed automatic gearbox. The 2022 Jaguar F-Pace will go on sale later this year. Pricing starts at R1 122 500.

I can understand the confusion, though. The I-PACE is the all-electric SUV that Jaguar launched way back in 2018. This E-PACE, despite what the badge might imply, is resolutely petrol or diesel-only, not to mention being smaller and roughly half the price at start.

It’s Jaguar’s entry-level crossover, in a segment that has already served the automaker well. The F-PACE, its first SUV, is now the brand’s best-selling vehicle. Dropping a smaller version with a more affordable price tag was an obvious move.

Outwardly, though, you’d be forgiven for thinking the E-PACE was a pumped-up F-TYPE coupe, not a sibling to the bigger SUV. Styling cues like the headlamps, oversized grille, and glasshouse side-profile all echo the sports car, even if the performance of the crossover lags significantly behind.

But that’s not what we’re here for – the specifics and technicalities can wait. In fact, you can find them here and here (my favourite) in our dedicated features of the new E-PACE. This time around we took the updated model on a road trip to Cape Town for a well deserved breather.

Is the 2021 Jaguar E-PACE worth it? Certainly it’s one of the more handsome luxury crossovers on the road right now, seductively curvaceous in a way that the angular Volvo XC40 and the BMW X2 can’t compete with. The E-PACE is surprisingly perky from behind the wheel, too: more, certainly, than its numbers might suggest on paper. Your challenge is to bring that in appeal without setting your wallet or purse alight in the process. Then all you have to do is get ready to answer the same “oh, is that electric?” question, over and over again.

All images are captured by Harmonix

Fot those not aware, the Formula E shatters every preconceived notion of car racing you might have. It is much a novelty for racing fans as it is for technology fans. For in what world would you hear about Qualcomm’s wireless charging technologies playing a critical role in racing events, at least in safety cars. The relatively quieter hum of electronic motors, and even the rather odd “voting” system for “Fanboost” truly makes the FIA Formula E not your grandfather’s car race.

The race is even more special for Jaguar, whose return to racing through the Formula E was announced back in 2015, also making it the car maker’s first time to enter the all-electric racing event. Back then, if you can remember, it also named Panasonic as its sponsor with the announcement of the Jaguar I-Type 1 and the Panasonic Jaguar Racing.

The Cape Town round will be the first FIA World Championship single-seater race in South Africa since the 1993 South African Grand Prix. The provisional dates are 26 March 2022.

For 2021, Jaguar has thrown new super-slim pixel LED headlights, at its stunning coupe and convertible, featuring subtly revised ‘Calligraphy’ J signature daytime running lights. At the rear, slender tail lights inherit ‘Chicane’ LED signatures similar to the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE.

That thankfully changes the interior as well. The F-TYPE’s driver-focussed 1+1 interior has been refined wit a heightened sense of luxury and sportiness. Along with deployable centre air vents, the start button’s pulsing red ‘heartbeat’ conveys a sense of theatre , while ‘Jaguar Est.1935’ markings on the centre console finisher, glovebox release button surround and seat-belt guides offer subtle reminders of Jaguar’s rich heritage.

Then there’s that 12.3-inch HD TFT instrument cluster with reconfigurable graphics. Here drivers have a choice of display themes, including a full-screen navigation map, but in true sports car fashion the default mode is set to a large central rev-counter.

According to Jaguar South Africa, three engine options are available to South African customers starting with a 221kW/400Nm Ingenium 2.0-litre 4-cylinder P300. This model dashes from 0-100km/h in 5.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 250km/h, with an average combined fuel consumption of 7.2l/100km.

An ever-popular supercharged 3.0-litre V6 P380 with 280kW and 460Nm delivers 0-100km/h in just 4.9 seconds and maximum speed of 275km/h. The V6 is offered with a choice of rear- and all-wheel drive, and benefits from a mechanical limited-slip differential.

Finally, available throughout the first year of production is a special First Edition version of the P380 all-wheel drive exclusively. The First Edition adds 20” Diamond Turned alloys, ‘First Edition’ scripting on the door tread plates and aluminium instrument panel finisher and Windsor leather Performance seats in a choice of Ebony with Light Oyster stitching or Mars Red with Flame stitching. The First Edition is available in three colours – Fuji White, Santorini Black or Eiger Grey.

Setting a benchmark for a driver-focused sports car with a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 at its heart, is the new F-TYPE R P575. The R makes more than generous outputs of 423kW and 700Nm and can blitz the 0-100km/h test in 3.7 seconds with a max speed of 300km/h.

The 2021 Jaguar F-Type is already on dealership floors while pricing starts at R1,243,000 and R1,241,000 for the Coupe and Convertible models respectively.

Things kicked off last year where the candidates were presented to the public. Next, test drives took place before the esteemed judges. That’s when the real fun began, as each juror got the chance to drive all the nominated vehicles. One can say that the annual awards are a big deal for automakers, as a strong showing can add up to a whole lot of attention when potential owners are considering their next purchase.

The festivities came to a screeching halt by March as the coronavirus pandemic spread like wildfire. This led to the imminent cancellation of several scheduled launch events in the auto industry. With COVID-19 showing no signs of stopping, the live awards event – where the winners were supposed to be announced – was scrubbed.

Much like meetings, school classes, and more, things shifted online instead. Without further ado, we now know the winners of the 2020 South African Car of the Year Awards, including the Top Three in the finalists for each category.

2020 South African Car of the Year: Jaguar i-Pace

Since its reveal in 2018, the Jaguar I-PACE has collected nearly 100 global awards including 2019 World Car of the Year, World Car Design of the Year, World Green Car, European Car of the Year, and German, Norwegian and UK Car of the Year.

All of these titles recognise the technical excellence of the I-PACE’s zero emissions powertrain, which was designed and developed from a clean sheet of paper, in-house. Aside from being the best premium electric vehicle in the world, it’s a true Jaguar driver’s car with a combination of sports car performance, exceptional refinement, advanced driver technologies and all-wheel drive SUV usability and practicality.

A 90kWh lithium-ion battery enables a range of up to 470km (WLTP) and is capable of charging from 0-80% in just over an hour (60kW DC). The two light, compact and efficient Jaguar-designed motors generate a combined output of 294kW and 696Nm of instant torque, delivering 0-100km/h in an exhilarating 4.8 seconds.

Urban Category

The winner in the Urban Category was the Hyundai Atos 1.1 Motion. This category covers compact budget-friendly passenger vehicles that are ideal for in-town driving. Buyers of these cars typically rate practicality over luxury and performance.

Family Category

The next category – Family – is especially popular. It consists of mid-size sedans. Buyers of these vehicles expect quality, practicality and comfort –with an element of advanced handling dynamics thrown into the equation. The winner in this category was the Toyota Corolla Hatch 1.2T XR CVT.

Leisure Category

The third category – Leisure – was won by the Volkswagen T-Cross 1.0 TSI Comfortline 85kW DSG. This category covers sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs). Owners of these SUVs and MPVs enjoy the freedom of driving both on and off-road. This – combined a high seating position and flexible cargo space – makes this a popular category amongst the buying public.

Lifestyle Category

The Lifestyle Utility Vehicles Category was won by the Ford Ranger Raptor. These vehicles typically offer supreme 4×4 ability and can be either an SUV or a single or double-cab bakkie.

Premium Car Category

The highly contested Premium Car Category was won by the overall winner, namely the Jaguar I-PACE EV400 AWD SE. Buyers of these prestigious mid to large vehicles want powerful engines, luxury features and high-end trim options.

Premium SUV Category

The Premium SUV Category caters for vehicles that offer a combination of versatility, comfort, style and performance both on- and off the road. Boasting genuine 4×4 ability without low range, these vehicles are luxurious, spacious and refined. This category was won by the Mercedes-Benz GLE400d 4Matic.

Sport / Performance Category

The final category – sport/performance – was won by the Toyota GR Supra 3.0T. Whether it’s a sportier flagship of an existing passenger range or a pure stand-alone model, vehicles in this category have one common trait: superior performance. Accordingly, thoroughbred sports cars are included in this category.

According to Jaguar, the new headlights are paired with “Calligraphy” signature J daytime running lights with slender LED tail lamps. The car can be had with a range of engines, including a four-cylinder, six-cylinder, and eight-cylinder engines. All are paired up with an 8-speed transmission with paddle shifters.
The turbo four-cylinder 2l engine makes 221kW with a single, central, quadrilateral exhaust finisher. The supercharged 3l V6 produces 280kW and has two large round tailpipes. The 5l R gets a supercharged V8 that has 423kW and quad, outboard exhausts.

The car also gets a reconfigurable, HD 12.3-inch TFT instrument cluster, Touch Pro infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. The system can be updated OTA for new features down the road. Buyers can choose from a pair of Meridian sound systems.

Customers also have the choice of the exclusive F-TYPE First Edition. Based on the R-Dynamic models, the First Edition is offered for one model year only, and has refinements such as the Exterior Design Pack in contemporary Dorchester Grey and five-spoke, 20-inch wheels in Gloss Technical Grey with contrast Diamond-Turned finish, complementing the choice of Santorini Black, Eiger Grey or Fuji White paint.

Jaguar is offering 16 new colours in the SVO Premium Paint Palette in gloss or satin finishes. The F-TYPE range will be introduced to sub-Sahara Africa sometime this year. Exact date TBC.

My mind raced; I hadn’t. Seen Jaguars in all their glory? Sure, I’d even had the  pleasure of sitting in a few. But for perfectly good reasons — cost, liability, rarity, inexperience, my comprehensive lack of wealth or social status — no one had entrusted me with the keys before. “I, uh, I’ve driven a number of clutchless manuals,” was about as far as I could get without lying to the guy who was about to grant me custody of the sub R500 000 vehicle for two days and a few hours. I then mentioned that I’d once (read; briefly) owned a Audi RS4, as if that somehow earned me any credibility in a parking-lot filled with hundreds upon millions of rands worth of fine British cars.

But I suppose you’ve got to start somewhere. After getting the 411 on the knobs and buttons that adjust the Jaguar’s drivetrain on a sliding scale between “stupid fast” and “pants-sh!ttingly fast,” I was handed a smooth, pebble-shaped key and cautioned not to bottom out the XE on a driveway. That left me with an upsetting vision in my head of the glossy, meticulously woven carbon fiber splitter scraping against asphalt while innocently trying to turn into a Dairy Queen. By this time my co-driver (a highly experienced motoring journo) seemed rather uneasy and anxious to get the trip started.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a valid concern. But left unsaid were dozens or perhaps hundreds of other rules and idiosyncrasies involved with driving a car like this — ranging from “Don’t enter a Fast & Furious-style street race” to “Don’t test the rated top speed of 249 km/h on the N1 Freeway.” Most of these rules I inferred; some I learned as I went. Others, I suspect, are unknowable unless you’re an actual millionaire with a garage full of these things, and others of a higher value.

The XE, to me, is a bigger, saloon version of Jaguar’s F-type turned mid-level model, thus slotting between the recently-announced all-new XF and the XJ — it plays in roughly the same space as Audi’s A5 and BMW’s 3-series. Of course, I use the term “mid-level” very, very loosely here: the base XE starts at over R530 000 and you can spend basically as much as you want on options, customization, and the XE’s mesmerizing additions. (Tack on an extra R250 000 or so for the hardcore, V6 engine powered XE S edition.)

For that money, the XE looks and acts the part. It has 335 horsepower on tap from a high-revving 3.0-liter, V-6 mated to a 8-speed transmission gearbox. But what truly separates this sports sedan from a garden-variety sports car is its weight: this British machine tips the scales nearly 46 KG lighter than a BMW M3, for instance, which gives it a supernatural power-to-weight ratio.

But this isn’t really about the XE. (You can already read great reviews of it here, here, and here.) I don’t have the street knowledge to compare it against its contemporaries — but I can tell you that as I cruised the city, schlepped out to Stellies, and braved the traffic north to Montagu, I found it to be a superlative car in basically every possible sense of the word.

This is about what it’s like to drive a Jaguar for the very first time, and to do it in the unforgiving streets and avenues of Cape Town. Here’s what I learned.

1. You are now a piece of exotic meat

“He’s the guys from TV!” a man shouted to no one in particular, coming to a stop mid-crosswalk at an intersection while pointing at us. (For the record, I nor my co-driver are  ‘the guy from TV’.)

I knew there’d be gawkers, but not like this.

I don’t know to what extent it was because the Jag is a statement maker among the expensives — it doesn’t show up on the streets with the regularity of a BMW M-series or Audi’s A-class, or an AMG offering. But given that several people asked me “Can I take a pic inside of it?,” my suspicion is that it doesn’t matter.

The car doesn’t help its own cause. Even in white — a totally normal, unnotice-worthy colour — the exhaust growls an intoxicating note at idle with the subtlety of an air raid. While stopped at a light, pedestrians would run up to the car and take close-up pictures of the front and rear without saying a word. A couple of them asked for rides; one got angry with me when I declined at the pit-stop at the Shell filling station. It’s briefly entertaining, but at some point, I just wanted to disappear into the anonymity of the soccer mom cars and delivery trucks around me.

2. Other drivers are weirdly nice to you

I, like many, have a preconception about super luxurious drivers in that they are not good people. They think they’re better than you, they have considerably more money than they know what to do with, and — let’s be honest — much of it probably came from illicit sources. They’ll cut you off in traffic, wave their Black Card around at the bar, and leave a 12 percent tip. They’re inappropriately over- or underdressed at all times.

This isn’t a fair stereotype, inasmuch as no stereotype is fair. And, in fact, I know good people who own Jaguars. But it’s a common stereotype nonetheless.

I didn’t experience any of this hatred. If anything, there was an almost surreal deference to my presence on the road. Even in nightmarish gridlock heading out into Cape Town from our countryside drive, I could just start to drift into another lane (with or without my turn signal – please do not try this at home) and gawking drivers would get the hell out of my way. And on the every-man-for-himself freeway of N1, I made multiple errors — blocking the box, getting confused in the Paarl pass, standing in a No Standing zone in rush-hour traffic — without a single honk. It must be the attractive daytime lights. 

While this was wonderful for me as the driver, please, don’t afford luxury car drivers any special treatment. I would’ve honked at me.

Jaguar 3.0 Petrol (V6)

Engine: 2995cc
Power: 250kW at 6500rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 4500rpm
Transmission: eight-speed electronic
Top Speed: 250 km/h
Fuel: 8.1/100km
CO2: 194g/km
Price: R908 100

3. Everything is terrifying

Red knuckles, clenched rear: there was no moment in or around the XE where I wasn’t analysing the pavement ahead of me, calculating the trajectories of the drivers nearby, looking around for ill-meaning people, and planning an escape route for me and the vehicle should something start to break bad.

Driving luxury sports sedan is not a relaxing experience – for a first timer that is. There isn’t really an opportunity to revel in it, take it in. If anything, I’d put the stress level on par with, say, driving a box truck in an area crisscrossed by overpasses. The stressors are different, but the knot in my stomach was the same.

You could make the argument that a high-strung performance car like this shouldn’t be a relaxing experience. I hear that, but it’s not good for the heart. Just let me cruise down a twisty patch of asphalt without the constant fear that someone driving the other way is going to cross the double-yellow and level me, you know? Yes, that can happen in a R120 000 car just as easily as it can in a R920 000 one — but at least insurance is a no-questions-asked proposition on a normal car. I gathered from the lengthy contract I signed with Jaguar that there would, in fact, be some questions involved had I wrecked it.

By my estimation, the only way to drive the XE stress-free is to be so wealthy that a fender bender, a break-in, or a head-on collision with jersey cattle will relieve you of an imperceptibly small percentage of your bank balance. That certainly doesn’t apply to me, and I bet it doesn’t apply to a significant fraction of real Jaguar owners, either. The XE is smooth. Once you get settled in, it is the most heavenly ride ever. My co-driver (Sibonelo Myeni from iMoto) and I briefly analysed what would prompt South Africans to take advantage and purchase one of these beutes. In defense, as black South Africans, we concluded that the social factor would prompt us to close deal on the XE (2.5 Diesel and V6 are our faves). Knowing you’re purchasing this Jag to be seen, noticed and talked about. Knowing you’ll be driving this out of cheer pleasure and relaxation – those are the selling points.

4. Its a religious experience

For all the hassles, living with a Jag could be awesome. As a lifelong car and tech guy, I’ll say that there’s absolutely nothing else like it. It helps that the XE is so meticulously designed and livable — front seat passengers (my co-driver here) commented that they were surprised at how much room they had, the back-seat is a let-down. And the boot compartment is big enough for a couple of people to disappear into the Clifton beach for a few days. And I’m assuming that’s exactly how the moneyed couples who own these cars actually use them.

But the tao of the XE isn’t merely a product of the raw power and the stunning looks: driving a car like this connects you to the machinery and the road in a way that other cars do not. The XE made me feel like I was a quicker, more responsive, and a more capable driver. Let me be clear, that effect is mostly psychological — a vehicle with this amount of power delivered to the rear wheels and a top speed north of 280km/h can both humble you and end your life — but it’s a euphoria that I don’t think you can get from any lesser car.

None of this matters in practice, because the XE is an exceedingly rare car for the not-so-rare people. You and I just happen to be among them. But like many rare things, it’s a beacon of aspiration; an example of the incredible things humans can make when they put their minds to it. Even if you never drive it, its existence is somehow still exciting.

But yes, as I learned, driving it is pretty nice, too.