ELECTRIC POWERTRAINS ON TEST
Our thoughts on cars we’ve tested recently, all of which
feature some sort of advanced powertrain electrifi cation
36 // July 2019 // www.electrichybridvehicletechnology.com
JAGUAR I-PACE EV400
The e-tron not only takes aim at Jaguar’s I-Pace for
superiority in the electric SUV stakes, but it’s another
signifi er the market is growing and it’s a case of the
more the merrier. It’s natural to compare the two
vehicles: they’re both each brand’s fi rst fully electric
vehicle, they’re both SUVs, and they’re both premium
offerings, but their dynamics are quite different.
Driving-wise, the E-Tron, is fun and energetic but it
is a noticeably heavy vehicle at 5,489lbs (2,490kg)
as a result of the 2.28m (7.5ft) long, 95kWh battery
built into its skateboard-style MLB Evo platform. It
does feel quite light and agile going at lower speeds
and in straight lines, but when tackling twisting roads,
you notice the heft as well as more body roll than the
planted I-Pace. That said, it was more than capable of
showing up ICE SUVs and sporty saloons on Millbrook
Proving Ground’s Hill Route during our testing.
As well as a normal driving mode, there’s a boost
mode which increases power from 360ps to 408ps,
delivered from its two-motor setup of one on each
of the front and rear axles. Accelerator response is
snappy and power delivery satisfyingly fl ows through
the all-wheel-drive system with building momentum
to hit 0-100km/h in just under six seconds. Impressive,
but over a second slower than the I-Pace and a lot less
torque (561Nm).
Its regen braking system, which Audi claims is one
of the most advanced and effective on the market
(demonstrated during a stunt when it regained its total
energy expenditure going up Pikes Peak on the way
back down), is smooth and particularly bountiful under
harder braking. Range is a claimed 411km (255 miles)
on the WLTP test cycle, but its big selling point is its
150kW charging capacity, which is able to recharge
(conveniently via either side of the front wing) to 80%
in just 30 minutes. This makes the e-tron usable over
long distance journeys and is futureproofed for when
high powered chargers become more widespread.
2019 World and European Car of
the Year for a very good reason,
the I-Pace meets all of our lofty
expectations as the fi rst premium
EV from a traditional OEM.
Having spent a brief amount of
time with the car towards the end of
2018, we’ve had the opportunity to
get to know it more extensively with
a longer stay at E&H. Sitting inside
the luxurious, tech-packed cabin
and taking full advantage of the
90kWh battery’s ability to launch
from 0-100km in 4.8 seconds, life
with an I-Pace is a different world
to all other BEVs and hybrid SUVs
we’ve tested.
It’s clear how meticulously this
has been engineered to provide a
‘traditional driving experience’ with
all the benefi ts of electrifi cation but
not the trade-offs. It’s not light and
fl oaty, rather it’s got a good weight
to steering and has minimal whir
and whine from the drivetrain. In
fact, put your foot down and, along
with a hefty 696Nm of torque,
it even emits a slight grunt as a
result of a synthetic ‘soundscape’
note, which has been specifi cally
developed and can be customized
by the driver, which we prefer this
over the spaceship-sounding BEVs
out there.
Range-wise, Jaguar claims it’ll
get 470km (292 miles) on a single
charge, but we found we were never
able to exceed 323km 201 miles
from a 100% capacity battery. This
is still very decent for a BEV of
this size but a fair way off what we
were expecting. While some battery
regeneration systems can feel too
harsh, the I-Pace’s is unobtrusive
on deceleration and its strongly
felt on declining gradients. It all
helps, because if you’re running
anything less than a 7kW charging
point at home you’re going to feel
the stretch. It’s ability to accept
a 100kW DC rapid charge goes a
long way to help with ownership
viability, but these charging points
are rare to fi nd. With Audi’s e-tron
taking 150kW and Porsche’s
upcoming Taycan promising sillyfast
350kW charging speeds, will
the I-Pace look a bit behind the
curve in a year's time?
At the moment, though, the
I-Pace is the game-changing
vehicle the market needs and is
the best overall electric vehicle
package we’ve experienced.
AUDI E-TRON
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