OUR JAGUARS

PAUL WALTON – EDITOR

2020 I-PACE S

Paul goes inn nto more detail abb bout his time withh h the I-PACE that was fee eatured in the Sprii ing 2022 issue

LII IKK KEE E AA A nn nee eww wss srr ree eaa add dee err r bb bee eii inn ngg g tt trr roo ouu uss see err r-ll lee ess sss s under the deskk k, my four-page feature in the Spring 22 2022 issue about using an I-PACE to exploree e Jaguar’s historic home of Blackpool [[ [p24] missed something important; the timee e, effort and money it took to get this all-ee electric car to the northwest of England andd d back again. Yet my time with the car is an illustration of what it’s like to drive an ee electric vehicle in the UK.

The jj journeyy y to Blackpp pool doesn’t start well. Since I don’t lee eave my home (to the south of Peterborouu ugh) with a full battery, the car’s satellite naa avigation suggests an Instavolt charging stt tation on the outskirts of Doncaster. Howee ever, it directs me to the rear of a supermarkk ket instead, my progress stopped by a large aa and locked metal gate. Confused, thankfullyy y the invaluable ZapMap app on my smaa artphone gets me to the correct location thaa at’s on the other side off f a tall lll l hh hedd dge bb behh hindd d thh he shh hop. Not thh hee e first time I’ve experienced Jaguar’s Pivi Pro making that sort of silly mistake but sincc ce it takes another mile to get to the right place, ii iff f tt thh hee e cc caa arr r hh haa add d ll lee ess sss s cc chh haa arr rgg gee e, ii itt t cc coo ouu ull ldd d hh haa avv vee e bb bee eee enn n caa atastrophic.

Like many charging points I’ve used in thh he past, this one is located in thh he dingy coo orner of an unlit car park. I maa ay be a big, buu urly bloke who rarely says no tt to a pie buu ut even I feel vulnerable sittingg g in the daa ark watching the power slowlyy y increase. Pll lus, the parking bay is so close to that aff forementioned hedge that it doesn’t leave enn nougg gh room for me to opp pen thh he door,, , mm meaning I have to position the cc car at an ann ngle. Why can’t chargers be locc cated in mm more practical locations and offf fer as much roo oom and as many facilities as trr raditional fuu uel stations? But with it being aa a fast 50kW chh harger, after just 40 minutes ann nd £25 I haa ave enough power to reach myy y parents’ hoo ome near Richmond in North Yorkshire ww where I’m spending the night.

Next morning and needing ann nother burst off f ell lectricity ff for thh he 100-mill le journey to Blackpool, I discover there isn’t a charger in the immediate vicinity which I find incredible in 2022. I know from growing uu upp p hh hee err ree e tt thh hee e aa arr ree eaa a ii iss s hh haa arr rdd dll lyy y tt thh hee e cc cee enn ntt trr ree e oo off f civilisation buu ut neither is it a backwater like the Outer Hebrides. Or even Swindon.

According tt to Zap-Map, the nearest charging statioo on en route is on the outskirtss s of Barnard Caa astle, 12 miles west along the A66. But on aa arrival we (I’ve been joined by my father) discover of the six chargers, three are unfinished and behind metal fencing and of the rest only one works. Is it myy y eyy yesigg ghtt t I wonder? If onlyy y there was somewhere I cc could visit to check… Anyway, 40 minutes, ££ £15 and a flask of my old man’ss s coffee later, thh he battery is at 80 percent, thee e resultant 170--mile range more than enoughh h to comfortabll ly reach Blackpool.

Other than horrendous weather –meaning I neee ed to use the demister which quickly zaps pp power – the journey to the coast passs ses uneventfully. Since the batteries are rr reasonably full, I feel confidentt t enoughh h to enjoy thh he car properll ly, naill ling thh hee e throttle hard so the I-PACE responds with the same ballistic urgency as a traditional sports car. When Autocar tested the I-PACEE E

The I-PACE at the 50kW charging station in KingsThe T I-PAC ACE a E t t the he 50k 50k5 W c W char h ha gin g g stat a ion on in Ki K ngs ng LynnLy ynn n

For one week Paul had a collection of three very different Jaguars

The sat-nav directs Paul to the back of a supermarket rather than the charging point And when he finds the charger, it’s in the corner of a dark car park and the bays are very tight

in 2018 it timed the car’s 30-70mph acceleration at 3.5 seconds, a mere 0.3 slower than the F-TYPE R with 550PS. Yet while the V8-engined sports car delivers its power with the subtlety of a fighter jet, the I-PACE’s acceleration is quiet and discreet.

With the first few shots on Blackpool’s seafront in the can, we head to the town’s multistorey car park for a recharge of coffee for us and electricity for the car. But not only does the charger initially not work, needing the swipe of the security guard’s card for it to hum into life, but in the 40 minutes it takes for us to enjoy our latte and bacon roll, the range increases by a miserable one mile. One mile! I could have added more by using an old-fashioned bicycle dynamo.

After visiting the former homes of Jaguar founders William Walmsley and (Sir) William Lyons on King Edward Avenue, the car is by now in serious need of power so I follow the sat-nav to a BP Pulse charger close to the junction where the M55 starts. But there’s less life in it than my teenage boys on a Saturday morning, meaning when I reach the next one, a worrying 14 miles along the motorway, the low-charge warning light is on. “If this doesn’t work,” I tell my old man, “you’re pushing.”

Thankfully not only is the 50kW charger operational but it’s in the car park of a welcoming pub. So while dad and I enjoy some well-earned fish and chips, the car’s batteries are equally replenished to over 80 percent, which costs me another £26.

After again staying overnight with the folks in Yorkshire, the car requires another charge to get home. Since I know it works, I use the same Instavolt station near Doncaster for a 40-minute, £25 repower.

Together, the 530-mile round trip to Blackpool via Yorkshire has cost over £90 plus an extra three hours of time. Yet my XF Sportbrake 2.2-litre diesel could have done the same journey on a single tank of fuel costing a similar amount but minus the wait.

A much better experience comes later in the week when I head to Norfolk in the car for a photoshoot of an XK8 4.2 for the June 2022 issue of Jaguar World. Despite been plugged in at home all night, its range isn’t high enough to get there and back so I find an Instavolt charging point handily close to the A47 in a Kings Lynn-based Starbucks car park. By being a 50kW, in the time it takes for me to drink my coffee, an extra 70 miles are added to the range costing me less than a tenner. If all journeys were like this I’d consider swapping over to electric power. But I know the reality is different.

In the three years since I first tested an I-PACE, the British charging network doesn’t seem to have improved. If anything, thanks to all the broken chargers I found, it’s arguably worse.

The UK government might have announced recently it is to invest £450m into the charging network, increasing the number of chargers to 300,000 by 2030, but judging from this experience, like that trouser-less newsreader about to start his shift, the country is still a long way from being ready for the switchover.

Power up at Barnard Castle when only one of the six chargers were either operational or accessible

SAM SKELTON – CONTRIBUTOR

1996 XJR auto & 1997 Sovereign 3.2 LWB auto

New to Our Jaguars, but certainly not new to Jaguars in general, Sam Skelton introduces his current fleet of two models

BACK IN 1994, my father looked out of the window of his office and over the road was parked an X300generation of Jaguar XJ6 in turquoise. His own father had always wanted a Jaguar, but buoyed by Yorkshire parsimony, the closest he got was the Rover 2300 company car he allowed himself in 1981 as managing director of an engineering company in Sheffield. The idea of meeting his father’s dream stuck with my old man – and having considered a used X300, he eventually bought a 2001 X-TYPE 2.5 SE in 2008. When it was replaced in 2016 (with another, newer X-TYPE 2.5 SE) that car went to fellow Jaguar World contributor, Craig Cheetham.

By then, I was in my first X300 – a Flamenco Red 1994 4.0 Sovereign I’d been given for free, with the intention of running it to its MOT and scrapping it when it inevitably failed. A plan which was flawless, right up to the moment it passed. It was as rough as you’d expect of a car with over 170,000 miles on the clock and had formerly seen service as a courtesy car for a specialist in Devon. But no matter what, it just kept going – and the combination of comfort and reliability had me sold on a type of car I’ve owned continuously since. I kept that example until late 2017, when it was sold in favour of a Mercedes I needed when I was editor of a Mercedes title. I’d put 15,000 fault-free miles on to it and were it not for the fact that I had too many cars and too little space I’d have kept it. As a first XJ, it was faultless.

I wasn’t totally out of Jaguars though – in August 2017 I bought my 1996 XJR from Kim Cairns Classic Cars in Snettisham. It was bought as a project, but at the time didn’t need that much work. A blowing exhaust and new tyres were the main concerns, along with a dead radio. Again, I’ve done about ten thousand miles in this car, but stretched over a longer period of time. It’s featured twice in JW; the January 2018 [38] and April 2021 [p22] issues.

As much as I hoped otherwise, 20mpg simply wasn’t sustainable for an everyday car, and my XJR has spent most of its time with me as a high days and holidays car. I still have it, though and it’s resting at present. I suspect that the gearbox electronics are on the blink, and these and a rear brake rebuild are on my list of jobs to do in the next year or so. It’s not been anything like as reliable as my Sovereign was – though it’s never actually failed to start. There have been a number of niggles – but nothing to stop me from selling it. I’m addicted to the surge of power – especially now it has the popular crank sensor bracket fitted as developed by original XJR engineer Andy Stodart – and I can’t wait until I have it back on the road and in use.

As time passed, I missed the Sovereign – and fancying another naturally aspirated XJ as a regular-use car I started browsing eBay back in July 2020. And there was a Jaguar XJ Executive for sale – 72,000 miles, zero bids, and only an hour up the road.

3.2 Sovereign LWB is Sam’s fourth X300

Alongside his P38a Range Rover, Sam’s 3.2 Sovereign is a semi-daily driver

His 1996 XJR has been part of Sam’s fleet for five years The combination of comfort and reliability make these cars unbeatable for Sam

The view most other road users get...

...and the reason why; six cylinders, a supercharger and 325bhp. Sam has fitted an “Andy bracket”

The photographs were truly appalling, but it looked to be British Racing Green. I stuck a bid of £350 in, reasoning that I could nab some panels for my XJR and weigh it in for most of my money back if it was a nail. And when I went to see it, it was one of the straightest examples I’ve ever seen. It had in fact sold at Brightwells in 2016 for well over £2,000, but the most recent owner had bought it for the cherished number plate and now wanted rid of the car. I bought it and pressed it into use and fell back in love with the X300 all over again. This car stayed until February 2021 – I swapped it for a Citroen CX, as I’d long missed CX ownership and didn’t really need three X300s at the time.

But I wanted a Daimler. And looking at the values of Daimler Sixes, I decided I wasn’t spending the premium over a Jaguar out of my hard-earned. I thought a game of trading up might be fun, so I bought a long wheelbase 3.2 Sovereign in August 2020, which turned out to be so unexpectedly good, I stopped looking for Daimlers as I knew I’d never find one as nice as the Sovereign. With the help of my mate Lee Evernden, I revived this car by torchlight over the next couple of months – a fuel pump, a full service, brake overhaul and a new bonnet. But the day after the MOT, a foreign HGV on the A1 decided that mirror, signal, manoeuvre was the wrong way round. A gouge was torn down the side of the Sovereign from rear wing to front bumper, and the car had to be sent for bodywork. I was assured, when I dropped it off in December 2020, I’d have it back by Christmas.

When I finally collected it in June, it wasn’t finished. The chrome gutter rails were missing, the garage had taken it upon themselves to have a specialist replace parts and wanted me to pay the bill, and if I were to print what a friend of mine said about the paint job then this title would need a swear filter. I’d have told my insurer to withhold payment, but the bodyshop lied and told them it was completed in December to get the cash and seemingly worked on it around other jobs for the next six months...

Suffice it to say, it’s subsequently been rectified at my expense. And because my Range Rover P38a has decided it’s not overly wedded to the idea of working air suspension, I’ve been using it daily for the last few weeks. For the third time, I’ve fallen in love with running a Jaguar X300 as an everyday car – and suddenly, I’m not overly bothered about how long the Range Rover takes to be repaired...

SS

Sam’s XJR appeared on the front cover of the April 2021 issue alongside an X308 XJR