Electric I-Pace delivers first ever win for Jaguar in European car award

As electric cars go, the Jaguar I-Pace has already earned its name as an award-winning vehicle, claiming Car of the Year awards in three European countries as well as China, and auto mag awards from top names including UK’s Top Gear and Europe’s Autobest among others.

But now the premium all-electric SUV from British luxury car mainstay Jaguar has delivered the coveted European Car of the Year award – the first time that the venerable British brand has ever won the award.

“For our first electric vehicle to also be the first Jaguar to win European Car of the Year gives us a huge sense of pride,” CEO of Jaguar Land Rover Professor Ralf Speth.said in a statement to the press.

“I-PACE was designed and engineered in the UK from a clean sheet of paper. It is the most technologically advanced battery electric vehicle. It’s a true game-changer. Winning European Car of the Year is an honour and real recognition of what our world-class team has delivered.”

With a “real world” range of 480km, a 90kWh battery, 696Nm torque and maximum 294kW power output from the motor, the UK-designed and developed all-electric vehicle combines a premium sports driving experience with the practicality of the SUV style and roominess (it has nearly 700 litres of room in the trunk).

In Europe, 85,000 charging points are accessible by I-Pace owners using a smartphone app or RFID key, and have their monthly charging packages and tariffs rolled into a monthly bill.

Beating six other finalists – the Alpine A110, Citroën C5 Aircross, Ford Focus, Kia Ceed, Mercedes-Benz A-Class and Peugeot 508 –  the Jaguar I-Pace won the title after deliberation by a panel of 60 motoring journalists for merits such as technical innovation, design, performance, efficiency – and value for money.

Despite the high price of the Jaguar I-Pace, which was launched in Australia in late 2018 and commands a price tag starting at $A119,000 before on road costs, over 8,000 vehicles have already been delivered to customers as of January 31, 2019 – and 75% of those within Europe.

The all-electric SUV’s newest award will now no doubt be pinned on Jaguar’s award wall amongst 55 other titles which include Germany, UK and Norway’s Car of the Year 2018, UK auto mag TopGear’s 2018 Electric Vehicle of the Year, Autobest’s “Eco Best” award and China’s Green Car of the Year.