Have had the 2019 F-Pace S about 60 days now and, overall, like it a lot. However, disappointed in the quality of interior materials when compared to my previous(and current) Jags and wifey's Lexus SUV. Is it just me being too finicky, did I get a lower-spec interior or did JLR down-scale their materIal?

 

The interiors of my F-Pace and XK are vastly different in quality. Something I'd previously noticed with XE and XF courtesy cars from my Jaguar Dealer. Similar shared design elements so they all look like a Jaguar but very different levels of quality.

In the 1960's Jaguar had a huge trim shop producing all their seats, carpets and veneer in-house. Quality of these items was on a par with contemporary Rolls Royce and Bentley. Seats were Connolly Hide and carpets were also edged with it.Throughout the 70's and 80's quality was gradually reduced. For example, the only leather in a leather seat now is the back and cushion facing - the remainder is synthetic.

The trim and wood shops have long gone as has the original Browns Lane factory. Almost everything apart from body panels and engines is manufactured by external suppliers and delivered for 'just in time' production. Seats, carpets, entire dashboard assemblies are bought-in.

The move away from veneer on door caps and dashboards in response to 'customer demand' has brought with it an expanse of cheap plastic. Just how cheap depends on the model!

This being said, the F-Pace is an SUV. I bought mine for it's carrying capacity and therefore expect the interior to be more robust and utilitarian than a Jaguar sports or saloon model. However, it does compare poorly in this respect with the Porsche Cayenne I had before.

Graham

 

The interior materials could be better relative to peers, and the 2021+ refresh addressed some of those deficiencies, but as the F-Pace is an SUV and thus expected to offer some "ruggedness" I don't mind the rough textured but easy-to-clean plastic door trim where my kids' shoes regularly make contact. However, there is a little too much piano black gloss plastic (more of a style preference, but I dislike how it attracts fingerprints and shows dust), which I never thought conveyed "luxury" anyway since every car manufacturer offers it.

The surfaces could feel nicer, but I'm not worried about the interior materials degrading or failing. Not like the F-Type whose plastic trim can get sticky/tacky with age.

 

The materials on this $100K SUV, my 2024 F-Pace SVR, and my other $100K SUV, a 2023 Mercedes EQE 500 SUV are both inferior to my previous $65K GV80. I think the South Korean made car had better build quality too. There were two white 2024 F-Pace SVRs at the same dealership and those are what I actually went there to buy. One had a hood that was misaligned and instead of fixing the hood Jaguar bent up some of the exterior pieces to make the panel gaps look right. One of the hood latches still wouldn't catch right though. The other while one had an issue with the tailgate where it wouldn't close properly. If I hadn't really wanted to get an old school supercharged V8 before they make them illegal and mandate we all drive hydrids and BEVs I probably would have walked out of there instead of paying $8450 for green paint just to get a good one.

 

This post has me kind of shaken up because it perfectly articulates the mixed emotions I have about my 2024 SVR coming from a X3M Comp. So much low hanging fruit that could easily be addressed if people at JLR had half a brain. I don't know how long this car will last in my driveway...

 

Thing is the SVR motor has been around a long time and parts will be readily available pretty much forever. So I should be able to keep this running. I wouldn't have chosen it as daily driver but as my last gas car I think it fits the bill perfectly. I really wouldn't know what to do if the 48V mild hybrid system in a P400 went kaput.

 

I guess it's relative too... compared to the interior quality of my Mercedes EQE 500 SUV, this F-Pace SVR actually feels much nicer. Even after six months the plastic in my Mercedes is still creaky to the touch. So as weird as it sounds, I like Jaguar's plastic better than Mercedes' plastic.