Jaguar F-Pace makes its Middle East debut at Burj Khalifa

Launched regionally in spectacular fashion in Dubai last week, the Jaguar F-Pace stands to become a transformative product for the British sports and luxury car manufacturer. Coming just days after its global and unexpectedly early Jordanian launch events, the focal point of the F-Pace’s glitzy Middle East regional unveiling was a three-minute light show displayed on Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper. Featuring fluent graphics and the Jaguar and F-Pace logos, the show was the first ever commercial use of Burj Khalifa’s 70,000 bulb world’s largest LED façade.

First revealed as the Jaguar C-X17 concept back at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show and with its various stages of development regularly drip fed to the public, the F-Pace is the brand’s first ever endeavour in the broad SUV segment. With an ever more popular and ever diversifying broader SUV segment gradually stealing sales from traditional saloons and almost completely supplanting the family estate segment, the F-Pace stands to become a seminal model for Jaguar’s expansion within the premium segment, and along with the compact premium XE saloon, is expected to ultimately account for 60 per cent of Jaguar sales.

With “the premium SUV and crossover markets… currently two of the fastest growing segments worldwide” offering “outstanding opportunities for sustained, profitable growth”, according to Jaguar Land Rover Middle East and North Africa Managing Director Bruce Robertson, the Jaguar F-Pace’s arrival is a timely one. Projected to grow globally by 40 per cent over the next six years as per Jaguar’s estimation, the broad SUV segment is expected to account for 30 per cent of global vehicle sales by 2020 according to a recent report by consulting firm Frost and Sullivan.

Particularly popular in the Middle East region, SUVs already constitute 35 per cent of vehicle sales in the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait, and 25 per cent in Saudi Arabia, as of last year, according to Frost and Sullivan’s report, and would be expected to grow substantially by 2020. 

Billed as a premium mid-size sports SUV and potential rival to the Audi Q5, BMW X4, Porsche Macan according to Jaguar, in addition the Maserati Levante and Infiniti QX70, the F-Pace is expected to drastically increase sales and widen Jaguar’s client demographic, and is expected to particularly attract new clients and women to the brand. 

With the F-Pace’s sportier on-road bias, the F-Pace would largely be expected to complement rather than compete with its more rugged and off-road biased Land Rover sister brand, or other Jaguar products. In fact, the F-Pace benefits from Land Rover’s extensive off-road experience and receives All Surface Progress control and Adaptive Surface Response electronic off-road driver assistance systems, which combined maintain traction and adjust engine and brake settings as necessary.

Inspired by Jaguar’s F-Type sports car and built on a similar stiff and light aluminium frame with independent front double wishbone and rear integral link suspension with adaptive dampers to do deliver both ride comfort and handling agility and control. Ostensibly a four-wheel drive vehicle, the F-Pace normally operates with 90 per cent power sent to the rear wheels for more agile handling, while up to 50 per cent can be diverted frontwards when need to maintain traction. Weight distribution of 50:50, meanwhile, provides ideal balance.

Offered with a supercharged 3-litre V6 petrol engine option in 335BHP or 375BHP states of tune at launch, the F-Pace also receives a turbocharged 2-litre 4-cylinder engine for certain high tax markets and diesel options where applicable. Consistent and eager in delivery, the V6 version provide 5.8- and 5.5-second 0-100km/h acceleration, while the 4-cylinder develops 236BHP, with 7.5-second acceleration. Jaguar will, however, almost certainly soon be introducing one — or two — supercharged 5-litre V8 versions, including a high performance SVR iteration expected to develop between 542-567BHP.

Extensively well-equipped, the F-Pace’s semi-autonomous driver and safety assistance suite includes lane warning and keeping systems that can nudge the electric steering back into lane. Also available are Autonomous Emergency Braking if collision with pedestrians is detected, blind spot and reverse traffic detection and adaptive cruise control with a queue assistance system to keep pace with the vehicle ahead and parking assistance. Infotainment systems feature advanced smartphone integration allowing owners to connect with the car from anywhere in the world, and other features include Wi-Fi connectivity and remote engine and climate control operation.