As the Jaguar I-PACE gets closer to production grade, engineers are shaking it down in the real world. One way of doing that is testing how far its battery pack can go on a full charge.
The Jaguar I-PACE production electric vehicle is almost here. It’s coming early next year. For now, it’s still a concept and the company’s top technical minds still have time to buff out any kinks there might be in the first all-electric Jag.
More than 500 engineers have performed more than 1.5 million miles of testing on 200+ I-PACE development mules. That much evaluation can reveal weaknesses in areas such as the suspension setup, mirror design, interior ergonomics, and infotainment response times. Given that the I-PACE is a battery-powered vehicle, the biggest area of concern should be how robust its battery pack is and how far it can go on a full charge.
That’s why Jaguar is currently taking the I-PACE Concept through its final range and durability tests. It’s even inviting some of the potential customers who’ve registered their interest in the eventual production vehicle to ride with engineers in prototypes during these last stages of testing.
As you’ll see in the above video, one of those lucky people was Ann Voyer from Pasadena, California. She wanted to know if the I-PACE could take her on her favorite road trip up the California coast. Simon Patel, I-PACE Senior Engineer, joined her in a fully charged I-PACE Concept and started the 200+ mile trip from Sunset Boulevard to Morro Bay. Did they make it on a single charge? According to Jaguar’s projections earlier this year, the I-PACE’s 90-kWh lithium-ion battery pack should give it a range north of 311 miles, so the numbers seem to be in Patel’s and Voyer’s favor.
There’s still a long way to go – literally and figuratively – before the production version of the Jaguar I-PACE comes out next year. Pricing and final specs will come out in March 2018, just in time for dealers to start accepting orders.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
