FearLess Posted March 2, 2019 Posted March 2, 2019 More than 400km range (when fully charged), 0-100km/h sprint time of 4.8 seconds, a network of charging points in and around the country's major hubs to switch off any fears of range anxiety: these are the headlines Jaguar screamed ahead of their new all-electric vehicle, the I-Pace, hitting the South African market. Yes, Jag took a huge gamble of creating a 'Power Highway' along major routes in Mzansi, fitted with 82 charging stations. The cost? An eye-watering R30-million. That's how much the automaker is investing to ensure that I-Pace owners and other EV owners aren't caught in the dark. The recent announcement by rolling blackouts by Eskom, would have only made the naysayers 'switch off' even more about the future of electric vehicles in South Africa, of which only two models were locally available: BMW's i3 and the Nissan Leaf. Sean Parker drove the electric vehicle (EV) in Johannesburg to find out how the 2.2-ton SUV feels on the road. Is it electrifying to drive? Like an ordinary car, in absolutely no way at all. The torque, close to 700Nm, is instant from the two electric motors mounted to each axle. Power? Well there’s enough of that too, 294kW in fact. It’s not delivered in a ferocious manner, but in a way, that’ll snap your head back and wide-eyed. The steering is electric power-assisted and offers little feedback and little understeer is evoked when pushed into a corner at swift speed. The I-Pace feels settled on the road mainly because of where the batter is placed, between the two axles, and almost as low as the cat’s eyes. The positioning of the battery translates into a low centre of gravity and 50:50 weight distribution. Did I mention it weighs around 2.2 tons? But on the drive, I felt it really did a fantastic job of hiding its heftiness. The model I drove on the launch was fitted with the optional air suspension (a touch less than R17 000). During a brief off-road challenge the elevated ride height came in handy over rocks and through a 400mm bath of muddy water. Pricing to install the unit starts from R25 000, however your I-Pace will be fully charged from 0% in 12 hours. And when you’re not at home? Well, Jaguar in partnership with GridCars, has set up 85 charging stations around the country at what they deem as major hubs and shopping centres. Most charging stations along the public network are 60kWh fast chargers, meaning 100km of range will take around 20 minutes and a charge from 0 to 80% will take around one and quarter hours. Not bad.
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