Jaguar updates F-Pace with more safety equipment

UPDATED: 07/05/2018

JAGUAR Land Rover (JLR) has revealed a minor update for its F-Pace mid-size SUV, which ushers in an expanded suite of advanced driver-assist safety technologies and a revised interior.

The F-Pace’s adaptive cruise control system has added steering assist functionality, which will automatically centre and steer it in its lane while also maintaining a set distance from the vehicles ahead.

The autonomous emergency braking system now operates between 10 and 160km/h and will first alert the driver of an imminent collision before automatically applying the brakes if no response is received.

Furthermore, the blind-spot monitoring has been upgraded with mitigation functionality, which will apply counter steering if the driver attempts to change lanes when another vehicle has been detected in the vehicle’s blind spot.

Inside, JLR’s 10.0-inch Touch Pro touchscreen infotainment system has been added as standard range-wide, which includes a quad-core processor and an “ultra-fast Ethernet network”, according to the British brand.

Inspired by the F-Pace’s new SVR flagship, performance seats with 14-way adjustment are now optional, featuring a slimmer design that is more supportive while providing additional rear legroom.

A frameless rearview mirror has been introduced, while illuminated Jaguar-branded metal scuff plates, bright metal pedals, premium carpet floor mats, a suede-cloth headliner, chrome switches for the 10-way power-adjustable seats and optional carbon-fibre door trim are also new.

Petrol variants pick up an 82-litre fuel tank, which is 19 litres larger than that of their pre-update counterparts.

Revealed at the New York motor show in March this year, the aforementioned SVR assumes the role of performance flagship in the updated F-Pace range, packing a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol engine that produces 404kW of power and 680Nm of torque.

JLR Australia announced last month that the SVR will be priced from $140,020 before on-road costs when it hits Australian shores in December this year, but the rest of the upgraded F-Pace line-up will lob around two months earlier.

Pricing and specification details for the updated F-Pace range will be announced by JLR Australia closer to its launch. For reference, pricing currently ranges from $72,510 for the Prestige 20d to $104,827 for the S petrol.

Sales of the F-Pace have taken a signification hit this year, with 243 examples sold to the end of April, representing a 53.6 per cent decrease over the 524 deliveries made during the same period in 2017.

This effort places the Jaguar 12th in the $60,000-plus mid-size-SUV segment this year, trailing the BMW X3 (1878 units), Mercedes-Benz GLC (1649), Audi Q5 (1494), Lexus NX (1272) and Land Rover Discovery Sport (1052), among others.