THE F-PACE SUV is quite a risk for Jaguar and not just for the obvious reason. Sure, it’s a new type of car for the British brand but it could also tread on the toes of sister brands Land Rover and Range Rover too. Time to find out if that jump into the unknown has paid off.

Answering how the F-PACE gets down the road depends a lot on which box you ticked when placing your order. The entry level motor is the familiar 2.0-litre ‘Ingenium’ four cylinder turbodiesel as found in the XE and XF, with rear wheel drive (AWD is optional). The 180PS unit is good for 0-62mph in a reasonable 8.9 seconds and 130mph flat out. Moving up the range, there’s an AWD 3.0 litre V6 turbodiesel with 300PS which allows 62mph to pass in a brisk 6.2 seconds. If you want to go faster, there’s always the supercharged 3.0-litre petrol unit that’s also found in the F-TYPE. 0-62mph takes just 5.5 seconds while it’s limited to 155mph.

The smaller diesel is the only engine that can be had with a manual transmission - a six-speed unit - with an eight-speed ZF auto an option if you spec AWD. The V6s are only available with the auto box.

Style wise, the F-PACE stays surprisingly close to 2013’s C-X17 prototype, including plenty of F-TYPE-inspired touches. You can even get 22” wheels for the full concept car look. Incidentally these are not only an inch larger than competitor’s wheels but they are better protected against curb damage too thanks to chunky sidewalls for the tyres. You may sit higher than any other Jaguar but it still feels more sports car than SUV and there’s no seven-seat option either. At least there are plenty of premium interior touches including real metal and proper wooden veneers. While ‘All Surface Progress Control’ is an option, don’t mistake this for a proper off-roader. Jaguar have cleverly distanced themselves from Land Rover in that respect.

Overall, this may not be the most accomplished off roader but then, there’s always Land Rover for that. We can see the F-PACE selling like hot cakes.