► Jaguar’s baby SUV due 2018
► Likely to share Evoque floorpan
► Final name still to be confirmed
As CAR magazine revealed in summer 2015, Jaguar is planning a smaller crossover sibling to the F-Pace that could be called the E-Pace. This modified Range Rover Evoque is thought to be an early test mule for the upcoming baby Jag SUV, and is being used to develop suspension, powertrain and cooling solutions.
On the surface it’s an Evoque with a slightly different snout but CAR’s spies also note a longer wheelbase and wider track. When Jaguar Land Rover was first testing the larger F-Pace, it had to use a kind of mutant monster truck XF initially; this looks like a slightly easier solution.
Does this mean the E-Pace will share its platform with the Evoque?
That’s the expectation. The larger F-Pace’s latest-generation modular aluminium platform is shared with the new XF and XE, and would require significant development costs to shrink another size. The Evoque’s older Land Rover D8 problem, itself inherited from the Ford-related Freelander floorpan, is a more cost-effective steel design, with plenty of flexibility for body styles and powertrains. A development of the same underpinnings can also be found beneath the current Discovery Sport.
Will it really be called the Jaguar E-Pace?
Not necessarily; Jaguar Land Rover has also applied for trademarks for the names I-Pace, I-Type and EV-Type. Whatever its final name tag, early indications are that the E-Pace will be revealed late in 2017 and go on sale in 2018.
Read CAR’s earlier scoop dossier on the Jaguar E-Pace