Given the Jaguar I-Pace pretty much pioneered the premium EV SUV segment, it doesn't appear to garner the level of attention (or affection) that might have been expected just a few years after launch. With a sprawling Audi e-tron range, an ever growing range of BMW i models, a Mercedes EQ sub-brand set on world domination and all-electric Porsche Macan on the horizon, Jaguar was clearly on to something with the EV SUV. Now it just needs to be noticed a bit more.
The Black models are the main news for the 2022 model year, available on SE and HSE I-Paces. As well as a standard Black Pack - accenting the mirror caps, badges and grille - the new models get a panoramic roof, privacy glass and 20-inch wheels painted you-know-what. Jaguar says the tweaks "subtly affirm I-Pace's visual impact and presence"; certainly it's no less attention grabbing now than in 2018, and perhaps more appealing given the generic designs that have followed the I-Pace to market. The interior continues the theme of outside, with Ebony leather seats, gloss black trim and Ebony headliner.
The rest of the I-Pace package is as you were for the 2021 update; that means Pivi Pro in place of the old Touch Pro Duo (and very welcome it is, too), three-phase charging with an 11kW onboard charger and the ClearSight rear view mirror. Power and torque are unchanged, too; whether S or SE, HSE or Black, all I-Paces get the same 400hp and 512lb ft as the car launched with.
Which, all told, probably doesn't sound like much to face the onslaught of rivals that are due. But it says much of the I-Pace's innate quality that, Black model or otherwise, Jaguar's SUV ought to remain competitive against newcomers like the EQ C, e-tron and iX3. The 2022 model year range starts at £65,245 for the I-Pace S; the Black models start at £72,445, rising to £76,695.
1 / 4
