Last week, Jaguar finally revealed its first production electric vehicle, the 2019 I-Pace. As an electric crossover, it was only natural to compare the I-Pace to the Tesla Model X, but without U.S. pricing, it was hard to tell how accurate the comparisons were. Now we know. The Jaguar I-Pace starts at $70,495 with destination.
For comparison, the Model X 75D starts at $80,700, approximately $10,000 more than the I-Pace. Later this year, though, the effective price gap between the two will get even larger. That’s because the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles only applies to the first 200,000 EVs that an automaker sells, and Tesla expects to cross that threshold before the end of 2018. There’s also a chance that state incentives could change, too.
It’s also important to note that the I-Pace wasn’t built to be a direct Model X competitor. Yes, they’re both electric crossovers, but the I-Pace is smaller, only offering seating for five. The Model X, on the other hand, can be configured with up to seven seats. And while its estimated 240-mile range almost perfectly matches the Model X 75D’s 237-mile range, the I-Pace’s 4.5-second 0-60 time is more in line with the acceleration you get out of the $97,200 Model X 100D.
I-Pace buyers also won’t have access to Tesla’s Supercharger network, instead needing to plug in at home or find independent charging locations. For suburban owners who own their own homes and mostly use their I-Pace to commute to work, that shouldn’t be much of an issue, but until 100-kW chargers become more common along highways, roadtripping the electric Jaguar may be a challenge. On a 50-kW charger, the I-Pace can hit an 80-percent charge in about 85 minutes, but that time drops to 40 minutes on a 100-kW charger.
Look for the Jaguar I-Pace to go on sale in the second half of 2018.
Source: Jaguar