F-Pace

The marriage of beauty, agility, and refinement.

- Sue Mead

Some might have been surprised. We weren’t. When Jaguar strutted its stunning, high-performance C-X17 concept on the international auto show circuit, we knew we’d soon be driving an all-new SUV made by this luxury marque known for creating fast cats that, until now, have taken the shape of sports cars and sedans. Jag’s first sport ute enters into the hottest segment of the global market that has attracted not only all mainstream manufacturers over the past two decades but nearly every top-end luxury auto purveyor as well.

Pundits scoffed when Porsche introduced its performance SUV in 2002. Since then, the Cayenne has become a top performer in its lineup. Jaguar is predicting the F-Pace, with a wheelbase that slots between the Cayenne and Cayman models, will do the same. In fact, the automaker is anticipating the tall sports car, with wide proportions and the largest “trunk” of any Jaguar vehicle, will triple its sales in the U.S. market and will quickly become the automaker’s best-selling model. It will be the least expensive model in Jaguar’s lineup until the compact XE sedan arrives, and the British automaker hopes it will move the marque from what many perceive as an older person’s brand to a hipper space in the market. Jag says to think of it as a James Bond car that will appeal to millennials.