2022 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Review: Aging Wildcat Still Has Claws

Bright yellow is the right color for the 2022 Jaguar F-Pace SVR.

This is not the sort of SUV you buy to blend in. It’s a 550-horsepower monster, with a supercharged V8 soundtrack perfect for a Greek god’s workout mix. An SUV built from unchecked id.

That’s what makes it so appealing. Yes, there are newer performance SUV options, ones that are quicker or handle better. This British high-rider is all about the theatrics, though. If drama is your desire, then you’ll want to grab tickets to this show.

The F-Pace got all of its big mid-cycle updates for the 2021 model year, so the 2022 isn’t dramatically different. Jaguar tweaked the looks, but you’ll be hard-pressed to notice the differences. Cleaned up hood lines, a larger grille, slimmer taillights; minor stuff, really. Which is fine, because the F-Pace remains a handsome compact crossover. The retina-searing yellow paint certainly makes it stand out, as do the insanely cool 22-inch turbine-style wheels. Both are costly extras, but hey, you’re already buying an $87,750 ($101,276 CAD) performance crossover—what’s a few extra thousand from there?

The Jag has always seemed substantially larger than its main competition, but pull out the measuring tape and it’s only about an inch and a half longer than the BMW X3, at 187.5 inches (4,763 mm) tip to tail.

First impressions aren’t great. I picked up the SVR on a brutally cold December evening, and layers of black ice made the drive home a slow one. The culprit? All-seasons. Allow me a moment to remind you how essential good winter tires are.

The rest of the week was much warmer, however, and that helped the SVR and I bond. It’s hard not to fall for it right from start-up: everything else in the segment has moved to turbocharged six-cylinders, but the Jag’s V8 flares up with each press of the start button. It doesn’t want you to forget, even for a second, that it’s packing the biggest, baddest motor in the land. 550 horsepower and 516 pound-feet—the latter 14 more than before—makes it more powerful than them all, too.

Thing is, the SVR never feels scorchingly quick. Jag quotes an even 4.0-second run to 62 mph (100 km/h), which confirms that yes, if drag racing is your thing, you’ll be better served with an X3 M Comp. But that misses the point of the SVR. It’s still quicker than most everything on the road, yet it goes about its business without rattling your fillings loose. Jaguar has found a sweet balance between sport and comfort, soft enough to eat up potholes yet stiff enough to feel responsive.

Even in its most aggressive drive mode, the F-Pace has a fluidity to its movements that’s absent in an X3. It’ll squat under the fun launch control, and dip its nose when you ask for the full stopping power of those massive disc brakes. This is the F-Pace’s way of communicating, and it builds confidence. Dial things back for everyday commute duties and it all works flawlessly. There’s none of that tugging-at-the-leash feeling you get from some other competitors, like you’re punishing the F-Pace if you’re not constantly feeding it a steady diet of full throttle and apexes. It’s a comfortable cruiser.

Another note on that engine: it really is one of the greats. The 5.0-liter has a soundtrack that needs to be heard, especially with the active valve system in its most vocal setting Supercharging means there’s no lag to speak of, either.

The only fly in the driveline ointment is the start-stop logic. Like many other European cars, the F-Pace turns its engine off at a stop and stays off should the driver shift to park. That’s great, no qualms there. However, should the driver open the door when the car’s in park, the car shuts off. That’s not.

In sharp contrast to the SVR’s school bus exterior, the living space is low-key. Upgrading to the semi-aniline leather of the tester means the choice of either black or oyster as the main color. It’s not as dramatic as the red the standard Windsor leather can come in, but it feels as great as the cool, shapely front seats look. Every stitch of the quilted leather is perfect. They might look dramatic, yet the seats manage to be plenty comfortable on a longer drive to get my fiancée to a craft market. Had she needed her usual eight-foot folding table, the Jag would swallow it without issue after folding down the rear seats.

Material quality is generally very good, with only the plasticky center console really feeling out of place in such a premium vehicle. Piano black is used sparingly, and temperature controls stick to big, easy-to-read rotary dials. I’m a big fan of Jag’s clever push/pull activation for the heated and ventilated seats too, which cuts down on physical buttons in a simple, elegant way. The shelf under the rotary shifter is great for handling small knick-knacks, but not much else.

Rear-seat accommodations are a mixed bag. Space is pretty darn good, with nearly square measurements of 37.5 inches (953 millimeters) of headroom and 37.2 inches (945 mm) of legroom. The integrated headrests mirroring the front seat design keeps the sense of occasion alive in the second row, where it can sometimes be forgotten in other compact SUVs. Outboard heat and ventilation is a welcome perk, too. In-door storage is on the small side, however—same as up front—and having to shell out extra for a pair of USB ports in the back row dates the F-Pace.

We used only a fraction of the Jag’s 31.5 cubic feet (892 litres) to transport all my fincée’s craft show supplies. That’s just with the seats up, too: drop ’em, and there’s 69.1 cubes (1,957 L), making the Jag one of the more capacious offerings in the class.

Jaguar dropped its latest 11.4-inch Pivi Pro touchscreen into the F-Pace for 2021. It’s pretty, and keeps sub-menu diving to a minimum thanks to a clear main menu. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard too, so you can leave the cords at home. So far so good, right?

Not quite. Of all the cars I’ve driven with wireless CarPlay, none have thrown more issues my way than the F-Pace. While it connected easily enough, the F-Pace would regularly not play music from my phone. Or rather, the screen suggested it was, but no amount of tweaking the volume would reveal the music. Stranger still was that it would play other sources without issue. The only solutions would be to re-pair the phone, or switch the ignition off and on. You don’t need to guess which made more sense on the road.

Bigger and badder than the rest of the performance compact crowd, the F-Pace is priced accordingly. For 2022 the cost of admission has swelled to $87,750 ($101,276 CAD), including destination charges. This tester included a handful of options, none more pricey than that yellow paint ($4,550 / $6,100 CAD). Total damage? $97,600 ($114,276 CAD).

Want something with sharper handling, and are willing to give up some space? Check out the Porsche Macan GTS or Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Speed is life? BMW X3 M Competition—or the equivalent X4, if you really like the coupe-over profile.

Rational thought tells me the 2022 Jaguar F-Pace SVR is not a wise decision. It’s pricey, the infotainment hangups were frustrating, and it drinks more than an 18-year-old on a weekend trip to Montreal.

But the F-Pace doesn’t care about rationality. “Your mom’s rational” is what it would say could it, sandwiched between lightning-crack downshifts. It is a silly, flawed machine in a segment full of silly, flawed machines. It’s the quirks that make it appealing, with the big-hearted Jag worming its way into hearts with every cold start. This is the last of its kind, and there won’t be another quite like it.

FAQs

How much does the 2022 Jaguar F-Pace SVR cost?

Prices for the SVR start from $87,750 ($101,276 CAD), including destination.

How fast is the 2022 Jaguar F-Pace SVR?

The latest F-Pace SVR will drop the 62 mph (100 km/h) run in 4.0 seconds, and run to a top speed of 178 mph (286 km/h).

Is there a new F-Pace coming out?

No: this model got a refresh for 2021. Jaguar is committed to going fully EV by 2025, so we expect the replacement to be battery-powered.