Jaguar can beat Tesla's ludicrous mode

Jaguar says it decided not to be drawn into an acceleration race with Tesla with its first EV, the I-PACE.

Tesla’s Model S and Model X EVs have made headlines with their hard-core 'ludicrous' launch mode which generates supercar-beating acceleration. But Jaguar has resisted the temptation, insiders say.

The brand’s first battery-electric SUV, the $119,000 Jaguar I-PACE therefore cannot match the $250,000 Tesla Model X P100D's heroically rapid 0-100km/h sprint of 3.1secs.

Jaguar I-PACE's engineering manager, Dave Shaw, told motoring.com.au that the I-PACE could have easily overthrow the Tesla Model X as the fastest accelerating SUV in the world if that was the objective -- but the priority was drivability and reliability.

"We weren't looking for bragging rights, deliberately not… No," Shaw said during this week’s Jaguar I-PACE launch in Portugal.

"It certainly wasn't because we couldn't… It's because we didn’t want to. We chose not to," he stated.

Despite having similar battery density to the Tesla Model X and the capability to fire almost as much energy from its 90kWh battery and into the twin electric motors (1300 amps versus the Tesla's 1500 amps), the I-PACE’s focus was ensuring customers get the full luxury car experience, Shaw said.

"This car for us was all about proving that we're an innovative company but also delivering a Jaguar [experience] – and that's absolutely key, this car has to be a Jaguar," Shaw stated.

"There's many, many customer attributes and [it’s like] they're all on a graphic equaliser and you just dial it in to what the customers wants and expects. And they key for us with this car is to make it as appealing to as many people as possible," added Shaw.

The Jaguar I-PACE doesn't have a dedicated launch mode but it does sprint to 100km/h from standstill in 4.8secs, which is slightly better than the Tesla Model X 100D's 4.9 secs, a car whose circa $180,000 price is closer to that of the I-PACE than the quarter-million dollar ludicrous mode-equipped Model X.

"Fundamentally the [acceleration] limit is often the mass properties of the car and contact patch of the tyres and the ability to transfer the energy into the motors. But then you get into the drivability and what you want the customer to feel," said Shaw, implying the new I-PACE will deliver a more seamless driver experience.

"Do you want a smooth take-off or a violent take off or to break your neck?" he asked.

The first serious EV rival from a mainstream luxury car maker, I-PACE is treading carefully. It's likely that upcoming EV SUV competitors such as the Audi e-tron and Mercedes-Benz EQ C will tread a similar path.

"If you have a powerful battery, a powerful motor and you have the cabling in the car that will carry the current and the chemistry in the battery is such that… you can provide it to the motors… you can go as fast as you want."

"Physics is physics," said Shaw.