Jaguar F-Pace SVR review

Introduction

The Jaguar F-Pace SVR – the range-topping version of the Jaguar F-Pace – is not your typical SUV. It's been honed by Jaguar's 'special vehicles department', injecting a huge dollop of excitement into the brand's biggest car model.

The SVR badge is the first giveaway sign that it's no ordinary F-Pace. It denotes Jaguar and Land Rover models that have been heavily fettled for maximum performance (as AMG does for Mercedes).

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The treatment doesn’t happen very often: this is only the second SVR-honed sports SUV after the previous-generation Range Rover Sport. Like the Sport, the F-Pace SVR has a mighty 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol engine, delivering all the pace (and noise) you could wish for.

To mark it out from lesser versions, the SVR has more aggressive-looking front and rear bumpers with larger air intakes, plus extra vents on the bonnet and wings. Jaguar says they help the engine breathe properly, as well as cooling the huge brakes that stop this two-tonne SUV.

There’s also a bigger rear spoiler, 22in alloy wheels, quad exhaust tailpipes and exclusive colours to choose from, including Velocity blue and Atacama orange. In short, no one will think you’ve bought a run-of-the-mill 2.0-litre diesel.

As an SUV, the Jaguar F-Pace SVR is much more practical than a similarly powerful saloon performance car but it's not the only model offering that combination of space and pace. Rivals include versions of the Alfa Romeo Stelvio (the Quadrifoglio or QV), the BMW X3 (the M Performance, the Maserati Grecale (Trofeo) and the Porsche Macan.

Over the next few pages we’ll tell you how the F-Pace SVR stacks up against the competition and how well it fulfils its brief. In short, we'll let you know if it's a good car and whether you should buy one.

And remember, next time your do get a new car, make sure you find the lowest price by searching our free What Car? New Car Deals pages. It has plenty of new sports SUV deals.

Overview

The F-Pace SVR strikes a sweet balance between ride comfort and handling finesse, with a V8 engine that sounds spectacular. It has a plusher interior and is more rewarding to drive than an Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, is more forgiving to live with than a BMW X3 M Competition and more practical than a Porsche Macan.

Pros

• Ferocious pace
• Glorious V8 soundtrack
• Surprisingly practical

Cons

• Interior quality is much improved, but not class leading
• Road noise could be reduced
• Costly to run

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Performance & drive

What it's like to drive, and how quiet it is

The mid-life revisions to the Jaguar F-Pace SVR haven't unlocked any more power from its 542bhp supercharged V8, but tweaks to the eight-speed automatic gearbox and a touch more torque give it faster acceleration.

Now, 0-62mph takes just 4.0 seconds, only slightly longer than an Alfa Romeo Stelvio QV, a BMW X3 M or a Maserati Grecale Trofeo. It’s not enough to feel left behind, and the SVR offers a glorious V8 bellow that is absent from its six-cylinder rivals. The sound is intoxicating, especially when you switch the sports exhaust to its loudest setting. The noise doesn’t abate when you lift off the accelerator pedal, either – you get angry pops and crackles from the exhausts.

Ride comfort in town isn’t as supple as in the regular Jaguar F-Pace especially with the 22in alloy wheels, but it’s no bone-shaker. It’s very well controlled on the standard-fit adaptive suspension and doesn’t amplify lumps and bumps from the road surface much. All things considered, it’s more forgiving than the X3 M, especially as you build up speed on faster roads.

The SVR is good fun through corners, too. The steering response isn’t quite as sharp as the one in the Stelvio QV, but it feels more precise and deliciously weighted, allowing you to feel more engaged. There’s a little more body lean through tight twists and turns than the slightly smaller Stelvio or the Porsche Macan GTS, but it remains balanced, throwing in a degree of rear-wheel-drive-biased fun if you want to push on and be a little lairy.

Wind noise is minimal on a motorway, the engine and exhaust fade into the background, and the suspension thumps less over bumps than cheaper versions of the F-Pace on non-adaptive suspension. There is some road noise, but that's also true with rival sports SUVs including the Stelvio QV and the Macan. The SVR's consistent brake-pedal response makes it easier to stop smoothly than the Stelvio and the Grecale.

Although the optional Meridian sound system has noise-cancelling software, if you want something more hushed, we’d recommend looking at a luxury SUV rather than one this sporty.

Interior

The interior layout, fit and finish

The biggest difference here between the regular Jaguar F-Pace and this range-topping SVR model is the presence of sports seats in the front. They hold you in place really well around corners and are comfortable on longer journeys.

They have 14-way electric adjustment, making it easy to find a comfortable driving position. The fact that you sit higher up than in some rivals – including the Porsche Macan GTS and the Alfa Romeo Stelvio QV – is something SUV fans will appreciate. If you prefer to be closer to the road, you’d be better off looking at a saloon performance car.

The F-Pace is relatively easy to see out of and standard parking aids include front and rear sensors, along with a 360-degree bird’s eye view camera that feeds to the display on the central 11.4in touchscreen.

Apart from a couple of SVR logos found on the gear selector and steering wheel, the digital instrument panel on the SVR has its own font designed to look a bit more racy. It's clear and easy to read, if not particularly configurable. While we’re on the touchscreen, the F-Pace features the current Pivi Pro infotainment system that includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring. It’s light years ahead of the old system because it responds swiftly to inputs, has a logical menu system and an easily customisable home screen.

Ultimately, a touchscreen is trickier to use on the move and that’s when the rotary dial in the BMW X3 M and Stelvio comes into its own. The Alfa’s screen is far smaller and has a more complicated menu layout than the SVR’s.

Interior quality has taken a big step forward since the F-Pace’s mid-life refresh too. There are soft-touch plastics and surfaces you touch regularly have leather and vinyl coverings. The window pillars are lined with faux-suede on the SVR. It’s more impressive than the Stelvio, if not quite as sturdy as the Porsche Macan or the X3.

Passenger & boot space

How it copes with people and clutter

The SVR is faster, louder and more agile than any other F-Pace you can buy – but it’s still just as practical.

Despite the front sports seats, they don’t rob any rear leg room for those sitting behind them. They also have storage nets on the back of them to hold smaller items.

To find out exactly how it stacks up for passenger space, boot space and seating flexibility, read our full Jaguar F-Pace review. The short answer is that the SVR has more space for people and bags than a Porsche Macan or an Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

Buying & owning

Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is

Given that the SVR is the range-topping, high performance V8 model, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that it’s the most expensive Jaguar F-Pace you can buy. It costs tens of thousands of pounds more than the more sensible versions.

Against its rivals, the asking price is considerably less than the M version of the BMW X3 or the Maserati Grecale Trofeo, but slightly more than the Alfa Romeo Stelvio QV. The F-Pace does make up for it by retaining more of its original value than both the X3 M and Stelvio, while matching the Grecale. The cheaper Porsche Macan GTS has better residual values, though.

Jaguar gives you loads of equipment in the SVR, including leather seats, heated front windscreen, heated leather steering wheel, ambient lighting, keyless entry, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control and LED headlights.

Fuel economy is as terrible as you'd expect from a big sports SUV. We managed to hover around 22mpg during our time, falling a little shy of the optimistic official figure of 23.5mpg. That’s about the same as the Stelvio QV and not far behind the official mid-20mpg figures of a X3 M, the Grecale Trofeo and the Macan GTS. While you can use the SVR’s Eco drive mode to help maximise your fuel economy on a long motorway cruise, it doesn’t take long to undo all your efforts with a few generous prods of the accelerator pedal.

Reliability isn’t a Jaguar strong point. The brand finished a disappointing 26th out of the 32 manufacturers surveyed in the 2022 What Car? Reliability Survey – below key rivals including Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche. The pre-facelifted F-Pace came a middling 15th out of 32 large SUVs for reliability, behind the X3.

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