2024 Jaguar F-Pace SVR

I've driven some pretty impressive vehicles in my years here at PRN_TestDrive. Some faster than others, some louder than others, and some with larger engines than others. The 2024 Jaguar F-Pace SVR I picked up after a 9 day trip in the USA was a much needed blend of everything that I love about modern performance vehicles. I knew I was going to have a fun week, but I wasn't really prepared for it. This was going to be an awesome week.

It might surprise you to find out that this is the second Jaguar vehicle I've driven, and the first new one. Back 2021 I drove a used 2018 Jaguar XF diesel and really enjoyed it. The Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV was a vehicle I had booked several times in Montréal but ended up becoming my white whale, every time I had the vehicle coming up something would happen and the booking was cancelled. It's why I jumped at the chance to drive this F-Pace and help correct this grave injustice in my professional career.

James had the chance to drive the 2024 Jaguar F-Pace R-Dynamic a little while ago, and while it was more of an entry-level spec it still impressed him. In the highly competitive compact luxury SUV market, brands need to have a special formula to get buyers interested in what they have to offer. The Jaguar F-Pace competes with German offerings like the BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class, or Audi Q5. Unlike those vehicle, the F-Pace has a V8 offering with this SVR trim. A Supercharged 5.0L V8 good for 542 horsepower, 502 lb-ft of torque, and uses a ZF 8HP automatic transmission. The base price for the SVR in Canada is $103,600.00, with delivery and options our as-tested price was $107,450.00 which is a smoking deal if you consider the 2020 BMW X3 M Competition I drove was $99,650.00 in pre-pandemic monies.

The 2024 Jaguar F-Pace SVR is also the only SUV in the segment that offers a V8, something never offered on the X3 or GLC-Class. In fact the only other V8 we could find offered in this segment was the sister vehicle to this F-Pace, the Land Rover Velar SVAutobiography. You'd have to have gone up in size segment in order to fit this size of engine. I had a lot of fun during my week getting the most out of that exhaust, which you can find plenty of clips in our video at the end of this article.

So why are you going to consider this Jaguar? Aside from performance and sound, the F-Pace is a handsome, if somewhat conservative SUV in a highly competitive market. It's a little older in the marketplace compared to the Germans, and it isn't setting the pace when it comes to technology. The infotainment is functional but far from class-leading. Semi-autonomous driving technologies such as hands-on or hands-off driving aids aren't present, which you can find from brands like BMW or Cadillac. But you aren't necessarily buying the SVR for that, are you?

This Jaguar F-Pace SVR isn't meant to be a smart buy, it shouldn't be a decision made because the numbers line up or the features match the competition. It's a decision you make based on emotion, and this car is full of it. From the moment you fire up that engine in Dynamic mode, to the crackle of the gear changes, or the purrs as you slow down. The magic behind this Jag is the experience it creates and the way it makes you feel while it's doing it.

Words can't truly describe how this SUV performs, which is why I included as much of the exhaust as I could when filming it. You can check out my full tour and review of the 2024 Jaguar F-Pace SVR over on our YouTube Channel.