Hi Jag Enthusiasts:

I test drove a pre-certified 2018 First Edition E-Pace today. For the most part, I really enjoyed the experience. But I did notice one thing I did not care for at all: after making a turn and then just tapping the accelerator, I would experience a lag in the transmission shift, followed by a big jerky SURGE. Very unsettling. Not a smooth driving experience at all.

Background on me: I've been driving Jeeps for the past 30 years and manual transmissions at that, so just driving any automatic transmission is a bit of a novel experience for me right now. But I would not have ever expected this Jaguar vehicle to behave like that. And I don't think it was driver error.

I'm hoping you all will tell me that it was just the one I test drove and not all E-Paces. I'm in the market for a newer one than the one I drove, because I want the new technology upgrades they made in 2021. So the 2018 is out of the question anyway. But it's the only one I've ever driven, so I hopped on here to see if this was a common experience.

Thank you in advance for some feedback on the E-Pace transmission performance.

 

The concern here may be the “just tapping the accelerator”. The turbo lag on the E-Pace is very notable (in my opinion).
So it makes sense that you press on the accelerator and then shortly thereafter there is a ‘surge’ of power.
This is one aspect of my 2019 E-Pace that I don’t like so much. However 98% of the time I drive very gently so I do not encounter this concern.
Nonetheless, there are days I feel spirited and choose to be heavy on the gas pedal. Its just fun! But on those days, that is when I have a similar experience to yours.
My work around for this is to exclusively use the paddle shifters. By taking control of the shifting you can keep the engine out of the lower RPM’s and thus never letting the turbo to spool down. Only by doing this can I have a good experience of the turbo performance. Meaning specifically I can whip around other cars, pass and easily out maneuver a great many cars on the road.

Short of taking manual control, if I am on the highway or side streets and I press on the pedal, there is quite the wait time for the turbo to spool up. Noticeable and annoying.
I am not knocking Jaguar. My Mercedes GLK did the same thing. I test drove a 110k GLE Coupe which has twin scroll turbos and it also had a spool up time.

Funny, my most recent purchase is a 22 Hyundai Santa Cruz and they have effectively removed the spool up time to the point that I don’t notice it under any conditions. And it is a lot cheaper!

I am going to guess that you will say that you did not ‘mash’ on the pedal. Just tapped it as you said. This is of course a very subjective matter. It is possible there is a mechanical issue with that vehicle. Or we just have different understandings of what ‘tapping’ the pedal is.

Aside from all this, I most always drive very gently and the car is very quiet, smooth and fun. The shifts are hardly noticeable and it accelerates without any notable concerns.
Actually, I am motivated to drive gently so that I don’t engage the turbo and feel that ‘lag’. I don’t like the side effects of the turbo but driving gently avoids the entire mess of turbo spool. This approach works very well with my preferred driving style so there is no conflict.

I enjoy a quiet, smooth ride and to that end I had my E-Pace professionally sound treated throughout the entire interior (cost about 3K). This further reduced all engine/road noise. My point being that it is such a quiet and smooth ride that I invested even further into it.
My wife very much prefers my E-Pace to my other cars as it is the most smooth and most quiet with the most amenities. But I have the top trim with all options available (we love the air conditioning in the seats!).

 

Thank you for your thorough response. If I do purchase an E-Pace, I was planning to learn how to drive it using the paddles. I've been driving manual transmissions exclusively for 30 years (typical stick-shift style), so I am used to controlling the shifting and enjoying a very smooth driving experience. No surges, jolts, or lags. That's why it was so startling to me to experience that lag/surge sensation. I suppose if I'd been more used to driving an automatic, I might have a different approach to my slow-downs around turns, etc. Sounds like it's possible to drive the E-Pace smoothly, though. So that's good to hear. Thank you again for responding to my inquiry. Much appreciated.
P.S. Your Jag is gorgeous.