Used Jaguar F-Pace Review (2016-2024)

Before the F-Pace, Jaguar had never made an SUV. It built suave and sporty cars, not Chelsea tractors. With our crystal ball in hand, it seems like the reception to the F-Pace when it launched was ‘about time’. Jaguar needed something to compete with the likes of the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Porsche Macan, and the F-Pace became its best-selling model almost overnight.

The F-Pace was removed from Jaguar’s order books in 2024, amid the Brit brand’s reboot that somehow caused a social media firestorm. 

But because of the F-Pace’s popularity, there’s no shortage of used cars for sale. And no shortage of reasons to buy one. It’s more characterful than the Q5 and Mercedes GLC, it has a bigger boot than the BMW X3 and it’s better all-round than the smaller and cheaper Jaguar E-Pace. It manages to feel like a luxury car and a sports car all in one.

This wouldn’t be a Jaguar review without mentioning the company’s poor reputation for reliability. However, as is often the case, the loudest voices aren’t always the most representative – you’re unlikely to hear owners saying how their F-Pace started on the button again today, because that’s expected. There are examples on car sales sites with over 150,000 miles, and the majority of cars should prove to be trouble-free as long as routine maintenance and servicing is kept up to date. Consider an extended warranty for peace of mind and protection against big bills, just in case.

Inside, the F-Pace certainly feels like a fancy, premium car. There’s a lot of pillowy leather upholstery with double stitching, plus cool metal-like trim and tactile climate dials. Build quality is pleasingly strong.

Cars built from 2021 get a newer infotainment system, which sits proud of the dashboard like an iPad. Previously a smaller screen sat neatly within a surround, with a couple of rows of buttons for major functions beneath. In newer cars the buttons have largely been replaced by touch panels.

We’ve tried both systems and, while the older screen seemed to work perfectly well for nav and music streaming duties, the newer screen does look more modern and it’s a little quicker to load. Both include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto if you’d rather use your phone’s interface.

Perhaps this is to be expected given the F-Pace’s size, but it’s really spacious. Rear-seat passengers have plenty of space to stretch their legs, and there’s enough headroom for a tall adult even with a panoramic sunroof fitted. Even more without a sunroof.

The F-Pace feels much more spacious than a Porsche Macan, although a BMW X3 feels marginally more spacious still.

It’s really easy to get kids into the F-Pace, thanks to wide-opening doors, the car’s SUV ride height and easily accessible Isofix points. Once your little cherubs are strapped in, the F-Pace’s large windows give them an excellent view out – if they can sit in the car without watching Mr Tumble, of course.

Rear-seat passengers have map pockets, armrest cupholders and USB sockets to explore. The fact that the doors cover the sills means that the back of your legs won’t get dirty when you slide out of the car.

The boot space measures around 600 litres (the exact figure seems to vary between individual cars). However you cut it, that’s a really useful amount and it’s a bit more than the X3, Q5 and GLC. A couple of hooks let you tie items down to stop them rolling around.

Our test car had a full-size spare wheel under the boot floor. Peace of mind if you ever get a puncture, but the result is that the boot floor is quite high, which could make it difficult to put heavy items in. The flipside is that there’s no load lip, so once you’ve got those heavy items onto the boot lip, it’s easy to slide them in.

Plug-in hybrid models have a smaller boot because of the bulky battery pack being stashed underneath, but there’s still enough space for a family’s weekly shop or a few medium-sized suitcases.

Most F-Pace models can tow a chunky 2.4 tonnes – even the PHEV can manage two tonnes.

Diesel is still a strong fit for the F-Pace, provided you give it the longer journeys it needs to keep the diesel particulate filter (DPF) clear.

A 200hp 2.0-litre is the entry point to the F-Pace range, and provides a decent blend of performance and economy. It can return up to 45mpg in mixed driving, and gets from 0-62mph in a shade over eight seconds. Above that is a 3.0-litre six-cylinder D300, which knocks nearly two seconds off the acceleration time – but with the extra urgency comes a bigger appetite for diesel.

If you’re not expecting to travel tens of thousands of miles a year, the P250 petrol could be worth checking out. This gives a strong punch of power for easy overtakes, for a luxury driving experience – but you’ll need to overlook its quoted fuel economy figure of 30mpg. Six-cylinder P400 and supercharged V8 SVR models are considerably thirstier again.

Short of the unhinged SVR, the plug-in hybrid F-Pace offers the quickest acceleration. With petrol and electric power, the P400e dashes to 62mph in just 5.3 seconds, while its 17.1kWh battery also enables an electric range of up to 33 miles. The plug-in hybrid requires lots of short journeys to maximise its efficiency – it promises around 130mpg, but drive around with an empty battery and it’ll be struggling to hit 30mpg.

With the F-Pace being a premium, in-demand product, it’s not overly surprising that insurance groups are on the high side. You’ll need to pay the luxury car tax, too – it’s a good thing that tax and insurance can both be paid monthly.

The premium SUV market is split into two camps – one that prioritises comfort with little regard to handling, and the other that tries to do both. The F-Pace is firmly in the latter, along with the BMW X3, Porsche Macan and the Alfa Romeo Stelvio. Actually, not the Alfa; the Jaguar is far more comfortable.

Generally, the ride quality is pretty good. Big pothole impacts are smoothed out like a handyman plastering a wall, and it copes well with the more frequent but smaller imperfections – something that rivals struggle with.

So it’s decent when you want to settle back and cruise – what’s it like when you need to rush home? While not as lithe as the XF saloon it’s based on, the F-Pace is one of the best-driving SUVs. Part of that comes from the responsive steering; the F-Pace feels keen to turn into a corner and resists washing out wide unless you’re being silly.

In recent years, all F-Paces have featured all-wheel drive, giving you plenty of grip even on slippery or undulating surfaces. It helps the car feel secure on the road. Very early F-Paces could be had with a manual gearbox, but the far more common automatic is well-behaved – and you can change gears yourself with the lovely gearshift paddles behind the wheel if you want.

One minor complaint is that our P250 petrol test car sounded quite coarse and diesel-like – but without the diesel’s better fuel economy. We’d quite like a petrol F-Pace to sound like the F-Type sports car. Just us?