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The all-electric Jaguar I-Pace is aimed right at the Model X

An estimated 220 miles of range, coming in 2018

Jaguar

This is the Jaguar I-Pace concept car. It’s a close-to-final electric SUV and Jaguar says the production version will hit dealer showrooms by the second half of 2018. The concept looks terrific, and it will likely be the first real competition for Tesla’s Model X SUV.

Jaguar says the I-Pace, with a 90 kWh battery and slippery 0.29 drag coefficient, will tally more than 220 miles of EPA-estimated range when it goes on sale. At a press preview earlier today, Jaguar executives emphasized the car’s cab-forward design, made possible because of the lack of an engine up front. Instead, the car uses a pair of electric motors to deliver a total of 394 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque via the all-wheel drive system. Jaguar claims the car will go from 0–60mph in around four seconds.

394 horsepower and 0–60mph in four seconds

But the electric motors are only half the story. Thanks to the space recovered from where the traditional drivetrain would be, Jaguar says the I-Pace has more room for passengers and cargo than some larger SUVs. The interior is vaguely Tesla-ish, with wide open floors and plenty of room. A 12-inch touchscreen dominates the center stack, with a 5.5-inch secondary touchscreen flanked by two aluminum rotary dials sitting below. Infotainment and climate can be controlled on the lower screen, while navigation info can remain in full-view above. The assembled press wasn’t allowed to actually play with the new nav system (it’s unclear if it was functional or not), but it all looks great.

The instrument cluster consists of another 12-inch display and a full-color heads up display, controlled by capacitive touch switches on the steering wheel. Copying the iPhone 7’s home button, the buttons vibrate with haptic feedback when pressed.

The I-Pace uses the same suspension system as Jaguar’s new F-Pace SUV. That’s good news. I drove that car earlier this month and it’s very much a sporty SUV that lets drivers feel connected to the road while still delivering a comfortable ride. Unlike that car, however, the I-Pace will not have a throaty exhaust note.

Jaguar says the SUV will include 50kW DC charging capabilities, allowing the liquid-cooled battery pack to be charged from 0 to 80 percent in 90 minutes, and to full in around two hours. Jaguar, which fielded a Formula E team for the first time this year, designed and developed the battery in-house. The company says it will learn a lot about cooling and charging batteries from its Formula E efforts, and it will put that knowledge into the I-Pace.

Though it’s just a concept, Jaguar says this I-Pace is a good representation of what customers will be able to buy when it goes on sale in the second half of 2018. If it hits that timetable, it could be one of the first non-Tesla all-electric luxury SUVs on the market.

The company gave no estimate on pricing.