Kilometres travelled -10,000 - 25,000 km
Do you buy this car new or used? - Used (purchased in 2019)
How much did you pay? (including all on-road costs) - $94,000
What were your needs when you bought this car? Has it fulfilled those needs?
My previous car was a 2002 3.8L Holden Calais, supercharged, great cruising wagon, so I was looking for something comfortable to drive, spacious, more upmarket & upgraded safety features. I had read about the F-Pace as Car of the Year 2017 online & in publications, so decided to contact several dealers, see what was available new or used. Several dealers made contact, were trying to sell lower spec models but I had already decided on the Supercharged Sport, but not many out there. Out of the blue Archibalds in ChCh contacted me re one probably coming on the market soon, was I interested? When they told me the owner bought it new in 2017 & it had only been out of the garage a couple of times for service, of course I was interested!!!!!
What were your initial thoughts about the car? Tell us why it appealed to you.
So Archies sent some photos, I asked them to get the vehicle, check it over, let me know an indicative price etc & we'd go from there. Well, new battery, new tyres and a full service later I decided to buy it with only 140km on the clock - thats not a typo either!!! "Black Betty" came with most bells & whistles, Pano roof, 19" mag wheels, fitted mud flaps etc. I'm not a big fan of black, but it has grown on me. It is a big SUV, lots of boot space, very comfortable, excellent road manners, goes like stink when throttle is tweaked, is a very safe vehicle to drive. And there is something very appealing about the shape/look of the F-Pace, as with its F-Type stable mate. Certainly no regrets about buying "Black Betty".
Economy is sitting at ~9.5L/100km which is not bad for such a large SUV with a supercharged motor, so it is on a par with my previous Holden Calais. This is in Central Otago so not much flat driving around, mostly hills. The last free service has just been completed by Archibalds @ 22K kms, so will be interesting to see what future service costs are. It took a while for the wife to adjust to all the ins & outs of the F-Pace, but she now enjoys driving it. It has taken a while to adjust to reversed indicator/wiper controls, especially given my truck is a Ranger. Love the boot space which is huge with the rear seats down. So far very happy with the decision to buy Jaguar.
Very little - the main drawback is the GPS system which, in 2017, was a SIM card affair and all support for it was dropped in 2019, luckily just after I had updated. Support has just recently been reinstated, but at rather a high cost. So I just slap in my new TomTom from the truck with free lifetime updates. Could do with more USB outlets, even in the newer models they are lacking. Not so keen on the rotary gear shift and newer models have reverted to stubby stick shift. One of the first things I did after purchase was install a clear-coat liner kit over the bonnet, undersills, & boot sill - that has helped prevent stone chipping as our roads down south have a lot of grit applied in winter. The windscreen has taken several big hits, nothing broken though.
Any other comments about the car?
Overall I am very satisfied with it. So what about the previous owner? Well, he had told Archies he wanted a V8 F-Pace, so "Black Betty" was traded in for one of those. Apparently it is still sitting in the same garage, hardly any km's on it, because he just likes looking at it!!!!! Go figure - maybe I'll upgrade to a seriously discounted SV8???? Meantime he has lost a heap in depreciation.
Star ratings:
- Reliability - 4/5
- Features/technology - 4/5
- Performance/economy - 4/5
- Value for money - 5/5
- Overall rating - 4/5
Lastly, would you buy this vehicle again?
Yes
Why would/wouldn't you buy it again?
The new P400 F-Pace sounds good, but is only a "mild" hybrid, 48v electric alternator boost. Eventually I will switch to a full hybrid, maybe the P200. Test drove a Cupra recently, nice car but a lot smaller and not as comfortable, so plan is to stick with Jaguar at present, see how the technology progresses. The I-Pace is nice, but the range is too restrictive living in Central Otago.