In the urban jungle, no one can hear you scream. A quick flash of orange and all you hear is the mighty roar. Step aside Simba, the 2022 Jaguar F-PACE SVR is the new king of the road, delivering one hell of a drive.
Developed by the car maker’s Special Vehicle Operations, it’s a limited run collector’s edition that’s sleek, sexy, and oozing sophistication from every angle. It starts with the perfect stance, enhanced by the 22-inch diamond turned alloy wheels.
The Gloss Black and Satin Technical Grey rims are matched perfectly to the optional Atacama Orange paint scheme. The iconic Jaguar emblem laid against the F-PACE’s gloss black grille and SVR badge hint ‘beware the beast’.
But with a goddess like body and curves in all the right places, perhaps that should be beware the hot car. It’s not all about looks though when it comes to the F-PACE SVR, because this SUV has the goods to back it all up.
The monster in the closet, or in this case, under the hood is a thumping supercharged 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine that knocks out an impressive 405kW of power and 700Nm of torque. It’s got an active sports exhaust system that delivers a near orgasmic aural experience.
It’s here that you get a much needed reality check though, because if current fuel prices have you making life decisions at the bowser, then testing the claimed 0-100km/h in 4.0 seconds will have you positively distraught.
Give the F-PACE SVR all the beans and you’ll get no change out of 16.0-litres/100km in terms of fuel economy. That’s a far cry from the 11.7-litres Jaguar estimates, or the 12.3-litres we actually managed in a conservative road trip down to the NSW South Coast.
If you can afford a high performance SUV like this though, you’re probably not going broke filling it up. Inside, the F-PACE SVR is sporty and sexy, at the same time; the combination of Ebony suede cloth and Light Oyster Windsor leather in our tester, simply stunning.
The build quality, craftsmanship and general design works so well as a complete package. Be warned though, the suede brings out the touchy feelies in passengers, so finger marks are going to be inevitable.
The 14-way adjustable, heated, and cooled performance front seats, complete with memory function, are surprisingly comfortable, given their firm and thin look. The rear passengers are treated with similar 40:20:40 SVR embossed folding, heated rear seats.
These score an accompanying centre armrest with dual cupholders to avoid back seat conflict. A model specific heated leather steering wheel features Satin Chrome gearshift paddles, and there’s metal Jaguar illuminated scuff plates, and 10 colour ambient lighting.
An electrically adjustable steering column, embossed aluminium finishers and Ebony suede cloth headlining are just some of the additional luxury features you receive as standard. SUV traditionalists can eat their heart out, because there’s loads of space.
The SVR has a generous 793-litres of load space, while leaving plenty of legroom for your pampered back seat passengers. Drop down the second-row seating and watch your load space grow to a hefty 1,842-litres.
That’s plenty of space for brand-named luggage bags, golf clubs, weekly groceries, fishing rods or the family pet, although we’re not sure about the last two personally. And 2,400kg maximum towing capacity means you can tow your matching jet ski or power boat.
The Meridian 12-speaker and dual-channel subwoofer sound system deliver clean crisp tunes, whether it’s ‘The Wiggles’ or ‘AC/DC’, and the huge 11.4-inch Pivi Pro touchscreen infotainment unit puts loads of information at your fingertips.
You get an interactive driver display too, new intelligent navigation with real time traffic information, 2D and 3D maps with automatic updates, fuel and parking services, online search with ratings and reviews, and more.
Now with all these feature packed options, we did notice some slight lag in the system, very minimal but still noticeable. On the whole though, the infotainment system is easy to use, and comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.
It also supports Bluetooth, AM/FM and DAB+ digital radio, iPod integration, USB input and of course Pivi Pro’s brilliant AI, which provides self-learning features you can show off to in-car oglers. If there’s a downside, it’s that some key functions are stashed in there.
Rather than have important stuff attached to a button, or on the steering wheel, it’s hidden in the infotainment system. Now onto that drive, we mentioned at the beginning. It’s amazing. No air suspension here either, just a SUV with the heart of a supercar.
The powertrain is smooth through all of its 8-speed automatic gears, the all-wheel drive and Pirelli P Zero 265/40 front 295/35 rears keep you firmly planted through corners, and the 395mm disc brakes and big ass callipers will stop you quick smart, if you mess-up.
We couldn’t tell you about wheel spin either, because you literally can’t hear it over the sound of raw power from the supercharged V8. We can tell you though that the ride and handling is smooth, and sleep inducing comfortable for passengers.
There is a slightly noticeable amount of road noise on the freeway at speed though, almost like there was a slither of air coming into the cabin. That said, the F-PACE SVR does not feel big when driving, even though it tips the scales at more than 2,100kg.
The body design and power to weight just work well. Congested suburban streets, tight parking spots and road chicanes will have you praising the 3D surround camera system too. But if you still want more, you can even configure the drive mode dynamics.
There’s also headlight power washing, two-zone climate control, multiple storage points, ISOFIX for the excess baggage, or kids if you prefer to call them that, and four 12V sockets to keep them entertained.
It comes with a 5-year unlimited kilometre warranty and 5-years roadside assist, as well as a host of safety tech, including traffic sign recognition, clear exit monitor, driver condition monitor, all surface progress control, hill launch assist, and a brake pad wear indicator.
There’s also auto high beam assist and trailer stability assist. In its stock form, it’s priced at $142,170 plus on-roads, but he had a lot of extras on our test vehicle, including a sliding panoramic roof, those custom alloy wheels and that SVO paint, and privacy glass.
Consequently, that makes it $164,200 as tested, plus on-roads. And it’s here we have a bone to pick with Jaguar. The finish of the paint work in some ‘not seen’ locations, particularly under the bonnet, is patchy and rough.
We get that car maker’s don’t necessarily have to spray the literal entire car, but when the paint costs more than $11,000 alone, you’d think they’d make an effort. There’s also no finisher on top of the supercharger, which we find somehow weird.
You can choose from 24 colours for your new 2022 Jaguar F-PACE SVR, and there’s six trim options. You can build your own on the Jaguar website, and there’s an absolute bevy of optional accessories and extras to add-on.
If you want to be different from the AMG and M-Power crowd and you’re not quite financially ready for exotic offerings like the Bentley Bentayga, then the 2022 Jaguar F-PACE SVR could well be your weapon of choice.
If they don’t see you coming, they sure as hell will hear you.
Our test vehicle was provided by Jaguar Australia. To find out more about the 2022 Jaguar F-PACE SVR, contact your local Jaguar dealership.
Another amazing review thanks for sharing Jason