HD0As the atmosphere of "crazy SUVs" in the global car manufacturers, the Jaguar / Land Rover Group, which originally had a clear division of labor, finally launched its first SUV product, F-Pace, under the Jaguar brand. For this reason, I flew to Montenegro on Balkans , hoping to explore the product strength of F-Pace.
Judging from the number of vehicles prepared for this event (only some of them are in the picture), this is a considerable media event, which shows Jaguar's intention toward the F-Pace.
Montenegro, with a population of only 600,000, and its land area is not large. This country that most Chinese people are unfamiliar with. If we talk about it as one of the former Yugoslavia member republics, it may be more conceptual.
This small country located in the southwest of the Balkans is named Montenegro. It consists of the two words Monte (mountain) and Negro (black). China is more directly translated as "Montenegro Republic". As the name implies, this is a mountainous country.
Jaguar chose this place as the venue for the global media test drive event of the brand's first SUV product, F-Pace. It is probably to demonstrate the excellent performance of F-Pace through the diverse landforms and extremely challenging test drive routes here.
After 20 hours of flight, I just got off the plane and jumped on the Jaguar F-Pace that I was going to test drive this time. After driving for a short period of time, I discovered an amazing fact.
This is a car that is even better than me personally driving a Porsche Macan.
F-Pace beats Macan?
has gradually developed into the largest "luxury mid-size SUV" level in the market sector, with many competitors. Among them, the Porsche Macan is not only powerful in performance, but also has a top-ranked brand image and has planned an aggressive price setting in the domestic market. It has long been one of the strongest products in this level.
F-Pace is better than Macan? It may not be objective to make such a conclusion as soon as possible. Since I personally drive the Macan, it uses four-cylinder 2.0T power, and the maximum output is "only 237 horsepower (the small facelift power launched in 2016 has been increased to 252 horsepower). The F-Pace of the steering wheel of the I-Grade is equipped with a 3.0-liter dual mechanical supercharger and a power of up to 380 horsepower. The chassis configuration of
is also different. This F-Pace S comes standard with active suspension. Therefore, if you want to compete with the Macan, you should compare the Macan GTS (360 horsepower) or Macan Turbo (400 horsepower) with standard PASM active suspension, which is fairer.
is even a slightly lower power F-Pace F-Pace F-Pace The maximum horsepower of the R-Sport gasoline model is 340 horsepower, and the analogy should be at least the Macan S (the maximum output is 340 horsepower). Therefore, I should not compare the top-powered F-Pace S with my personal entry-level Macan model, but even so, Jaguar F-Pace has left a deep impression on me.
sports car SUV
I first studied the original information before going back to Montenegro. Jaguar claimed that they have created a new sports car SUV product with enough product strength to surpass other competitors in the market.
Based on various materials previously announced by the factory, the factory wants people to expect that F-Pace is a SUV with the functions and space, but its performance and handling are comparable to XE and XF, and even has the performance style of F-Type. It sounds a bit exaggerated, but after the actual experience, What the Jaguar factory said is not outrageous. The F-Pace does have excellent handling and performs very well. After the actual experience of
, what the Jaguar factory said is not outrageous. The F-Pace does have excellent handling and performs very well.
Perhaps some people don’t think this achievement is particularly difficult. In fact, it is very difficult to create an SUV with excellent handling performance.
First of all, you cannot sacrifice comfort. Whether it is the F-Pace or Macan, they are all in the "luxury mid-size SUV" level. Since it belongs to the "luxury" level, you naturally have to perform at a high level in terms of comfort. And handling performance is often the natural enemy of comfort. For example, on the one hand, it requires a clear sense of road, but it also needs to "tacification" these road surface reactions coming from the chassis to avoid disturbing the picky members of the car.
F-Pace uses two main methods to overcome the inherent obstacles that SUV is not conducive to handling performance. First, the use of lightweight materials, and second, excellent chassis technology.
Furthermore, SUVs have a wide riding space and loading function, and are inherently high in car height, which means the center of gravity of the car is higher. Although it is practical to overcome harsh terrain, the long suspension travel is prone to large body undulations, which is not conducive to handling performance. Basically, F-Pace uses two main methods to overcome the above obstacles: one is the use of lightweight materials, and the other is excellent chassis technology.
all-aluminum alloy chassis
Jagu Since launching the flagship XJ of all-aluminum alloy body in 2003, the large number of applications of aluminum alloy body have made Jaguar a car manufacturer with the advantages of lightweight materials. Aluminum alloys have higher strength and lighter weight than traditional steels. F-Pace is Jaguar's third model that uses an all-aluminum D7a smart chassis. The chassis adopts a suspension system composed of aluminum alloy front dual A-arms and a rear integrated multi-link.
F-Pace's entire car is made of aluminum alloy material, so the F-Pace weighs only 1,665 kg, and the light body creates an innate advantage that is conducive to handling. The dual A-arm structure used in the front suspension of
can immediately generate lateral force when cornering, respond more quickly to steering commands, and make the entry into the corner faster. The dual A-arm structure can compensate for the camber angle generated by roll, maintaining the maximum tire grounding area.
Furthermore, Jaguar has had an excellent tradition on the track for many years, and has accumulated a lot of experience in chassis training. The IDD intelligent four-wheel drive system , which was previously used in F-Type AWD, is also equipped with F-Pace.
IDD intelligent four-wheel drive system
generally believes that four-wheel drive can have two benefits at the same time. First of all, since all four tires have grip, they have better tracking performance, which is the benefit of On-Road. In addition, four-wheel drive brings the basic Off-Road capability to cope with harsh grounds.
But if there is no more advanced control mechanism, Yangchun's four-wheel drive will probably only be "basic" for the performance improvement of On-Road and Off-Road. Thanks to the advancement of electronic systems, car manufacturers have developed more vehicle control systems, significantly improving the performance of these two aspects.
Jaguar has developed two control systems to use four-wheel drive, namely IDD and ASPC. The IDD system (Intelligen Driveline Dynamics) improves the handling performance of the vehicle, while the ASPC (All Surface Progress Control) is used in Off-Road.
Therefore, Jaguar has developed two control systems to use four-wheel drive, namely IDD and ASPC. The IDD system (Intelligen Driveline Dynamics) improves the handling performance of the vehicle, while the ASPC (All Surface Progress Control) is used in Off-Road.
IDD is a full-time four-wheel drive control system developed by Jaguar/Land Rover. It was first equipped with the AWD model of Jaguar's two-door sports car F-Type. Through precise perceptron network and computer computing, the power output is accurately controlled, so that the vehicle can take into account the excellent sports performance of the rear-wheel drive vehicle and the good tracking performance of the four-wheel drive system. The
IDD system will not only evaluate the grip between each tire and the road surface, but will also further estimate the grip limit of each ground surface, and be equipped with a fast torque distribution adjustment mechanism. The IDD system properly distributes the torque distribution of the front and rear wheels. Even in the case of all-then-wheel drive (0:100), it only takes 0.165 seconds to switch to the front and rear 50:50, making it difficult for the driver to feel the hysteresis of the switching.
Therefore, the IDD system allows the vehicle to provide optimal handling and grip at the same time under various conditions. The F-Pace also listed the Torque Vectoring torque steering assist function as standard for the entire vehicle series. It accurately adds appropriate braking force to the inner wheels during cornering to avoid insufficient steering and keep the vehicle on the best route.
It is worth mentioning that in order to accurately reproduce the racing spirit in Jaguar DNA, perform the best control fun and precise steering, F-Pace's Torque Vectoring control computer is adjusted by Jaguar engineers. Unlike other brands that directly purchase ready-made modules, it shows Jaguar's persistence in brand performance and style.
precise control, strange feeling
on the track, accurate control means that you can achieve the best results. However, when it comes to commercially available products, good control can reduce the driving burden of car owners.
A model with good handling capabilities. The dynamics of the vehicle are close to the driving expectations. Therefore, the owner does not have to spend a lot of energy to control the vehicle, and the burden on both mental and physical fitness can also be reduced. This is the specific benefits that control performance can bring to the owner.
On the other hand, it can also bring more driving pleasure to car owners.
mentioned earlier that Montenegro is a mountainous country, and the test drive route is specially arranged to have a well-known mountain road, the "25 Hairpin Bend " route. As the name suggests, it is a route consisting of 25 hairpin bends, each of which is numbered in paint. Because this road is paired with magnificent fjord views, it was once a filming scene for the 007 series movie.
When entering the "25 Hairpin Bend", you can clearly see this route from the satellite navigation map, which is a series of 180-degree bends.
Each curve has a number.
This section of the road is like Akima Mountain. On the steep mountain, it reaches a large vertical drop with limited space. Unlike Beiyi Highway, the road surface area of the route taken by the test drive is smaller and the road paving is not good.
If you want to describe the feeling of having an F-Pace on, please let me present it in this way. Just imagine, you drive a cannon-type car model and try to enter the corner at a higher speed again and again. After passing through the curve apex, you will immediately increase the accelerator and quickly increase the speed to get out of the corner. This kind of control experience and the fun brought by the F-Pace gives people the feeling.
Although the F-Pace is huge, it looks like a performance cannon when opened, flexible, clear road sense, accurate steering and easy to control.
Although it is a huge F-Pace, it is like a performance cannon that is flexible, has a clear road feel, accurate steering and easy to control. The difference is that when you speed along the road, your line of sight is higher than the ground, which is not as close to the ground as the small cannon model. When the road surface is undulating, the car body sways up and down a lot, but it will not cause any trouble in handling.
Well, it's a bit like sitting straight and driving. The feeling of stretching your neck and turning on the performance cannon is very weird, but it's full of fun. This kind of sitting posture is not tired for middle-aged me.
styling debuts, adding points to the performance image
Jaguar said that the origin of F-Pace's styling comes from its leading performance product F-Type.
first ignores family characteristics. The DNA of each manufacturer's family is beautiful or ugly, and is a subjective project that consumers have their own preferences. But judging from the figure and the various styling elements that shape the appearance, F-Pace can definitely get high scores and add points to the performance image of F-Pace.
Judging from the body shape and the various styling elements that shape the appearance, F-Pace can definitely get high scores and add points to the performance image of F-Pace.
First look at the side of the car. The long front, huge wheel arches, and shoulder lines with low front and high rear, are all styling elements that emphasize performance.
long front car, creating a configuration space for the front center engine and has the foundation for creating a good counterweight. The shoulder line with low front and high back, combined with the downward roof line, is like a bullet train that spews out quickly. The huge wheel arch can actually accommodate 22-inch aluminum alloy wheel hub . Jaguar indeed designed the F-Pace with the mindset of creating a performance car.
long front, huge wheel arches, low front and high rear shoulder lines, all of which are styling elements that emphasize performance.
is particularly worth mentioning. Jaguar's F-Pace S event is equipped with 22-inch aluminum alloy wheels. It does not look special in the official photos, but seeing this huge rim on the spot, the visual excitement is directly broken.
Jaguar was equipped with 22-inch aluminum alloy wheels for the F-Pace S model at this event. When you see this huge rim on the spot, the visual excitement is directly broken.
22-inch super large wheels, amazing size and avant-garde style, no matter whether you are a visual consumer or not, you will definitely place an order directly. As for how much it will cost to replace 22-inch tires in the future? That won't appear in your mind, it's the part of rational judgment. The stunning appearance of Jaguar F-Pace has long turned off the function of rational thinking.
Conclusion
F-Pace, as the brand's first SUV work, is responsible for the task of seizing the "luxury mid-sized SUV" market. Jaguar factory has announced that in the future, SUV models will account for 50% of the entire brand's sales, and the sales of SUVs will reach more than three times that of sedans (there are other SUV products?).
So, can F-Pace be successful? It is indeed relevant to whether the Jaguar brand expansion plan can be successfully launched. After this test drive, I think the F-Pace is indeed competitive enough to compete with many competitors in the market. If the Jaguar F-Pace wants to win the market, it will directly compete with the Porsche Macan, the strongest product in the same class.
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