Petrol V Electric

IF ELECTRIC IS THE FUTURE AND INTERNAL COMBUSTION REPRESENTS THE PAST, WHAT’S BEST IN THE HERE AND NOW? WE PIT VOLTS VERSUS V8 AT TARGA

THIS SHOULDN’T BE HAPPENING. Ahead of me is a Jaguar F-Type SVR convertible. It has a power-to-weight ratio of 246kW/tonne. I’m driving an electric I-Pace SUV, with a comparatively feeble power-to-weight figure of 138kW/tonne. Both are all-wheel drive, both on similar rubber, yet out of every corner, the I-Pace is monstering the sports car, gobbling up metres on it, trying to drive through its quad exhausts such that the collision warning system is a constant accompaniment. It feels as if everything you thought you knew about performance needs to be reset. If you figured an electric future was one bereft of enjoyment or entertainment for the keen driver, think again.

Targa High Country 2019 will be remembered as the year the mountain bit back. The 10th anniversary running of this event in the Victorian alpine region saw unprecedented unseasonal snowfalls on Mount Buller, the home of the event, and where it wasn’t snow, slush and ice, it was often wet, greasy, foggy or any other combination of nasty. We had a pair of punchy SUVs from Jaguar to compare and contrast: the electric I-Pace and the petrol-powered F-Pace SVR. The combination of drive going to each corner and a reasonably treaded tyre were a boon when the mercury dropped below zero and some of the competition cars were gliding down the hill, using the guardrail like your dad playing Gran Turismo.

On paper, the F-Pace should be the quicker thing. It packs 405kW/680Nm, does zero to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds and its kerb weight of 1932kg ought to put it at an advantage in all aspects of go, stop and steer. The I-Pace is good for 294kW/696Nm, stops the clock at 4.8 seconds and weighs a chubby 2133kg. Both cars run on a version of Jaguar’s modular D7 chassis, so they’re not as disparate as their initial launch dates might suggest.